Best and Worst Ports for Sailors

Discussion board focusing on Great Lakes Shipping Question & Answer. From beginner to expert all posts are welcome.
badger

Re: Best and Worst Ports for Sailors

Unread post by badger »

midland, ontario on georgian bay. the royal canadian legion was a 10 minute walk from the grain elevator, which was located right downtown..
Sam

Re: Best and Worst Ports for Sailors

Unread post by Sam »

Escanaba wasn't bad back in the day. I would guess with crews at the levels they are now for most American boats, most don't have the time or desire to go up the street.
Guest

Re: Best and Worst Ports for Sailors

Unread post by Guest »

Back in the late 70's, the (mighty) Medusa Challenger hit the best ports on the Lakes- Charlevoix (home), Petoskey (second home), Manitowoc and Kewaunee. Tiny ports, friendly natives, and pretty scenic (especially the Michigan side). The occasional foray up the North Chicago river was great if we tied up at the pier for awhile, the actual cement plant not so much. And, the rare trip to Hamilton was a nice break too.
Syd bc

Re: Best and Worst Ports for Sailors

Unread post by Syd bc »

Cleveland. Was walking back to the ship on the lake front one night and a cop stopped me asked where I was going. I told him I was going back to the ship and had just walked down the hill He couldn’t believe it Said I was lucky to have made it down the hill He gave me a ride back to the ship
hugh3

Re: Best and Worst Ports for Sailors

Unread post by hugh3 »

Gary and South Chicago were probably the worst and when they ran the crew boat across the slip for the sailors, Conneaut was probably the best what with three bars and a barber and easy access to a cab.
Guest

Re: Best and Worst Ports for Sailors

Unread post by Guest »

South Chicago was pretty bad usually just daytime activities, how was Cleveland?
Guest

Re: Best and Worst Ports for Sailors

Unread post by Guest »

Guest wrote:None of the US port will allow you ashore without a TWIC, and those are not available to foreign sailors.

Thunder Bay and Hamilton are good places, when there isn't a pandemic. Quebec City is always great, Montreal is good on the weekend.
Actually all of the US ports should allow you ashore regardless if you hold a TWIC or not. USCG was so adamant about this they actually issue a directive and regulations in regards to this matter alone.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documen ... facilities

The problem may not be the port itself but the vessels Agent feeding a line of BS to the ship
Mark D

Re: Best and Worst Ports for Sailors

Unread post by Mark D »

Back in the early 70's Taconite Harbor was a regular port for the PM boats I sailed. There was nothing to do up there except take a walk up to Lamb's. Skip always was good to us, though.
Ashtabula was a good port. We never minded going there.
The Iriquois Club was a place that catered to the sailors and put up anyone who might have missed the boat. Wonder if it's still there?
Lackawanna was a rough place. I walked to the Public Health office to see a dentist. He very strongly encouraged me to take a cab back. I was young and dumb.
Indiana Harbor was another place you had to be careful but we had fun at the Ridge Bar. The Fleets Inn was a rough place. Wonder if those places are still there?
Guest

Re: Best and Worst Ports for Sailors

Unread post by Guest »

Guest wrote:None of the US port will allow you ashore without a TWIC, and those are not available to foreign sailors.

Thunder Bay and Hamilton are good places, when there isn't a pandemic. Quebec City is always great, Montreal is good on the weekend.
Actually, using a seafarers mission, many ports allow foreign sailors ashore in the US.
BigRiver
Posts: 1090
Joined: April 28, 2010, 6:37 pm

Re: Best and Worst Ports for Sailors

Unread post by BigRiver »

Just before COVID hit I was on a trip on the Cort. We were unloading in Burns Harbor next to two salties. We took Marshall's van uptown which we shared with several of the foreign sailors going up to buy toiletries etc at the mall. None of those guys had TWIC cards, they barely spoke English. Likely different now due to the pandemic.
Guest

Re: Best and Worst Ports for Sailors

Unread post by Guest »

None of the US port will allow you ashore without a TWIC, and those are not available to foreign sailors.

Thunder Bay and Hamilton are good places, when there isn't a pandemic. Quebec City is always great, Montreal is good on the weekend.
Guest

Re: Best and Worst Ports for Sailors

Unread post by Guest »

Marblehead! Exposed dock to weather. Many snapped cables on bollards. Long walk on pier and between cells and tie ups. Great place on shore though
garbear

Re: Best and Worst Ports for Sailors

Unread post by garbear »

Conneaut was a good port. Big problem you had to walk a long way just to get off the ore dock/coal dock property. Quite a hike if you walked to downtown. Always got my haircut at the top of the hill that overlooks the ore dock.
Guest

Re: Best and Worst Ports for Sailors

Unread post by Guest »

I don't know how true it was, but the uncle I mentioned claimed that some of the roughest ports he had ever visited were on the lakes. He sailed both the lakes and saltwater and had several interesting stories of ports in Asia and Africa at which shipping agents would often arrange for the protection of sailors with local gangs. He did have a story of one of his fellow crewmembers being robbed and beaten badly one time at Toledo after becoming separated from the group. In another port on the lakes, I cannot remember which, he claimed that a few of his fellow crewmates got tricked by a fake taxi cab they met at the dock. Apparently, after getting up the road a bit the person driving pulled over and two other men that were waiting at the predetermined spot jumped into the car and robbed them before tossing them out and taking off. He said they felt lucky to have only lost some money and suffered only some cuts and bruises while being roughed up.
Jon Paul
Posts: 888
Joined: December 14, 2017, 8:37 pm

Re: Best and Worst Ports for Sailors

Unread post by Jon Paul »

Guest wrote:Duluth and Superior were always welcoming for sailors easy to walk anywhere or grab a cab, some of the cities on the lower lakes half the problem was the steel mills were about as big as duluth you would be tired by the time you find the gate!
It was almost a mile to walk from the dock in S Chicago/Republic Steel to the gate. From there you could catch a bus to the shopping district.
Marquette/Presque Isle was nice but several miles from town and we usually had a fast load there in the 5-6 hour range.
Escanaba was great because there were 2 great bars at the top of the hill where the dock is and I would ride my bike to town.
Personally I thought Bethlehem Steel in Lackawanna was the worst. It was in a very rough area and we would never go up town unless traveling in a group.
Guest

Re: Best and Worst Ports for Sailors

Unread post by Guest »

Duluth and Superior were always welcoming for sailors easy to walk anywhere or grab a cab, some of the cities on the lower lakes half the problem was the steel mills were about as big as duluth you would be tired by the time you find the gate!
Guest

Re: Best and Worst Ports for Sailors

Unread post by Guest »

Same goes for Gary, Indiana Rough town
Guest

Best and Worst Ports for Sailors

Unread post by Guest »

What are some of the best and worst ports for the sailors of lake freighters? I don't ever recall my uncle who sailed back in the 1960s talking much about his favorite port but I do know he always said you had to be careful in Toledo.
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