US Coast Guard Cutter Alder - The Loud “King of the Waters”

Here is the US Coast Guard cutter Alder (WLB-216) arriving in Duluth, Minnesota on April 21, 2021. She was following the laker Arthur M. Anderson into the Duluth Shipping Canal. (The Anderson's arrival can be seen in a previous video posted on this channel.) The Alder had been out on Lake Superior tending to buoys, making sure all was set for the shipping season following winter. Upon entering the shipping canal, the Alder treated onlookers to her very loud and very piercing horn as she exchanged salutes with the Aerial Lift Bridge. I don't know if the Alder has the loudest horn on the lakes, but it's certainly one of the most jarring.

The 225-foot Alder was the final Juniper-class seagoing buoy tender built for the US Coast Guard by Marinette Marine Corporation of Marinette, Wisconsin, having been launched in February 2004. She is powered by two 3,100 shp Caterpillar diesel engines. According to her Wikipedia entry, the Alder is "designed as a multi-mission vessel, with its missions being Aids to Navigation, Icebreaking, Search and Rescue, Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, and Marine Environmental Protection." Note the

The Alder calls Duluth her home port, having replaced the cutter Sundew after 60 years of service. (Sundew is still in Duluth and is now privately owned.) Rumor has it that 2021 will be the Alder's last year of service in Duluth, with her moving to Alaska after this year. Another Coast Guard cutter, the Spar, will likely take her place... if these rumors are true. The move to saltwater will probably cause the Alder to "age" a bit faster than she has on the Great Lakes. But her replacement could have it's life extended by moving onto freshwater. Rumors on the Lakes are always in plentiful supply, with many having a tendency of not coming true. Only time will tell what really happens...

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