American Century and Wren 1 - Delivering a Bonus Lighthouse Salute

Here is the American Century departing Duluth, Minnesota on the morning of September 19, 2022. She had just picked up a load of low-sulfur western coal from the Midwest Energy Terminal in Superior and was headed out onto Lake Superior, with her final destination being the power plant at St. Clair, Michigan. When the bridge began its lift to let the American Century through the canal, the tugboat Wren 1 was on hand to pass through first. She pushed her barge of materials out to a work site along the lake shore, doing shoreline restoration work. If you're having an episode of deja vu, it's probably because the Wren 1 also appeared in my last arrival video for the American Century, that time following her through the canal. We also get a brief glimpse of the Federal Frontier in the background, loading wheat at the Riverland Ag dock. (The Frontier’s arrival was featured in my previous upload to this channel.)

While setting up my camera on the south pier to catch the American Century's departure, I noticed nobody was standing at the lighthouse at the end of the pier... which is something of a rarity, as the lighthouses on both piers are a popular viewing point for ship passages. When people are gathered at the lighthouse, there isn't much room to move my tripod around without getting in other people's way (or having them get in my way). So this was a nice opportunity to grab an angle which I rarely feature on my channel.

The American Century sounded the traditional captain's salute for the Aerial Lift Bridge as she made her way through the canal, with the bridge giving a salute in response. As the Century's pilot house reached the lighthouse, I gave them a big wave to wish them well on their journey and was rewarded with a second salute. Okay, it's possible they were saluting the people at the opposite lighthouse... but I'll pretend it was for me, since the salute came only a second or two after I waved. The Century is definitely one of the friendlier boats with their salutes... and if you saw my previous upload of her night departure, they are generous with the spotlight flashes too!

The 1000-foot American Century was launched under the name Columbia Star in November 1980, making her the twelfth of thirteen 1000-footers built for Great Lakes trade. She originally sailed for Oglebay Norton. In June 2006, she was sold to American Steamship Company and obtained her current name at that time. She is powered with four V-20 cylinder 3,560 horsepower G.M. diesel engines and has a cargo capacity of 78,850 tons at her maximum mid-summer draft of 34 feet. Cargo is stored in seven holds that are accessed by 34 hatches on deck. Her 260-foot self-unloading boom can discharge up to 10,000 tons per hour.

Видео American Century and Wren 1 - Delivering a Bonus Lighthouse Salute канала 1 Long 2 Short