Boatnerd Discussion Forum

Hi Steamboater66 and may I thank you for the very nice and kind thoughts as far as me “hitting the jackpot on my trips and adventures to the St. Clair River so far then in the 2026 shipping season!” YES indeed those two river trips to where I saw 12 the first time in early June, then last week with 11 were really special and fun days and times for me my friend. After not making the St. Clair River at all in 2025 due to serious health issues and in general, the past 3 years as far as struggling with my health and diabetic issues I needed something good for a change to happen to me. This year so far has been a great 👍 start and beginning for me and all I can say is about time I get back in the saddle again and I feel like I’m climbing up to the top of a mountain 🏔️ right now. I still have a long ways yet to go to get to where I want to be but, at least this year is a start! It’s also nice to see a few of the ships blowing their horns on the St. Clair River even if it’s not meant for me. They seem to salute at the Bluewater Bridge in Port Huron and sometimes in St. Clair without me even waving to them. Last week I got the Munson to salute me in St. Clair and later the Manitowoc gave me an awesome salute in Port Huron. So far I’ve only seen my all time favorite PRT or Paul R. Tregurtha once believe it or not in May. I was lucky on him as right after I saw him it began to rain and storm. It was the first time I’d seen PRT seen December 2024 and I’m glad I got to see it. I’ve only seen one cruise ship so far this year on the St. Clair River and hope to see more! Thanks for posting your comments my friend. Stay Well, Be Safe and Stay Cool especially with the Heat and all of this smoke and haze from the Wild Fires. Sorry to go off of topic here.

1215h EDT July 16/26
I posted about Parade Time on the St. Clair a few days ago….Good to hear from you in response, Denny. You hit the jackpot on your sightings visits by the sound of it.
Good to hear of your experiences. I can recall being tied up in Sarnia in’60 something, being off watch and sitting aft having lunch and just taking in the parade, listening to the whistles (very few horns then). It would be cool to hear from other watcher experiences( if anyone still does that) on here.
How about some stories about the smoke experiences of the last few days? Must get interesting during the dark hours out there…especially in “tight” spots and in the canals.

I’ve been at the St. Clair River this year 9 times so far and two of those occasions I saw 10 or more ships on the river in one day! Last Friday I had 11 ships seen in one day and in early June I had one day then to where I saw 12 in a day! Twice so far this year I had a day to where I saw 3 of the 1,000 footers on the river in one day! While those are not records for me, still to see 11-12 ships in one day on the river and see 3 of the 1,000 footers in one day all adds up to a great day and time on the St. Clair River for sure! Just like the old days for me too with a Parade Time!

0024h EDT Mon. July 13/26
Over the past weekend ais traffic checks made me wonder if layup time had come early. It was VERY QUIET all over the system.
It’s parade time tonight late!!L Huron is packed up and down. So is L Ontario and on down into the St. Lawrence. Nice to see. Reminds me of days long gone by!