Walter J. McCarthy Jr. - Finally a Long-Awaited Salute!

Here is the Walter J. McCarthy departing Duluth, Minnesota on the evening of June 14, 2021 after picking up a load of coal from the Superior Midwest Energy Terminal in Superior, Wisconsin. The coal was scheduled to be delivered to the power plant at St. Clair, Michigan. This is one of the McCarthy's most regular runs, though she is also often seen in Two Harbors and Silver Bay loading iron ore as well.

While I've captured video footage of the McCarthy several times over the years, I haven't captured a salute from her since August 2015... nearly six years ago! While some of the arrivals and departures I've captured since then occurred late at night and were thus understandable for their lack of salutes, I've also captured her during "prime time" hours where she also failed to salute to the crowds in Canal Park. It's not that the McCarthy doesn't salute... as I've heard her salute in videos captured by others... but I've just had an amazing bad run of luck with this ship. (I captured her arrival on the morning of June 14 as well, where she also failed to salute.) Frankly, I was starting to take it personally! Fortunately, the McCarthy did reward us with a salute for this departure, even if the was a rather quickly-done salute. Still, I'm not complaining... as any salute is better than none.

The 1000-foot Walter J. McCarthy Jr. was launched in 1977 and originally named the Belle River. She was the first of the 1000-footers built as Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin and was the fifth of thirteen 1000-footers built for the Great Lakes. According to the Boatnerd website, the "McCarthy is powered by four V-20 3600 horsepower GM diesel engines. These engines are arranged in pairs, with each pair connected to a gear reduction box driving a four-blade 17.22-foot diameter controllable pitch propeller. This arrangement permits one engine of each pair to drive each propeller shaft for more economical cruising. She is equipped with 1,500 horsepower bow and stern thrusters. Her 37 hatches feed into seven holds, where she is capable of carrying 78,850 tons at her maximum mid-summer draft of 34 feet. Her self-unloading equipment consists of a loop belt conveyor feeding a stern-mounted 250-foot-long unloading boom that can be swung 92 degrees to port or starboard and can discharge at a rate of up to 6,000 short tons of coal per hour." The Belle River was renamed the Walter J. McCarthy Jr. on May 25, 1990 in honor of the retired chairman of Detroit Edison.

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