Great Lakes ships draw superfans to Duluth for storm season

The American Integrity, a black and white freighter, loomed larger with every mile it advanced across Lake Superior. Crowds lined up along Duluth’s North Pier, eager to witness its immensity up close and to hear the deep blare of its horn.

One long resonant blast, two short. That’s the daytime salute to onlookers and the operator of the historic Aerial Lift Bridge, who already had the bridge deck raised so the 1,000-foot iron ore and coal carrier could glide through the Duluth Ship Canal and into the harbor. The operator responded with a higher-pitched long blast, followed by two short ones.

This well-rehearsed call and response ranks among the most iconic things to witness when visiting Duluth — the world’s farthest inland seaport at more than 2,300 miles from the Atlantic Ocean.

And for devoted boat nerds and ship junkies, right now is a favorite time to visit. The summer swarms of tourists have dissipated, and there’s a short lull between fall-color travelers and families that will flock to the Bentleyville holiday lights spectacle at Bayfront Festival Park.

And while November weather can be wickedly brooding and raw, ship watchers say it’s worth bundling up to witness a thousand-foot-long freighter emerge from eerie wisps of morning “sea smoke,” which occurs when cold air meets the warmer water.

“[November] stands out because when the ships go through the canal, you get to see the big waves crash and the snow and ice freeze on the ships,” said Logan Mackey, 18, of Grand Rapids, Minn., who has been fascinated by the boats since he was a kid and visits as often as he can.

In November, the jet stream sits lower over the relatively warm Lake Superior, the world’s largest freshwater lake by surface area. When combined with strong regional low-pressure systems, it can amplify the power of any storm, explained Jayson Hron, director of communication and marketing with the Duluth Seaway Port Authority.

“It can lead to especially wild conditions on the water,” he said, “which is why November claims more shipwrecks than any other month.”

Boat arrivals and departures can change as quickly as the weather, said Ray Sheldon, a Great Lakes captain for 45 years who now lives in Hudson, Wis. As gale winds whip up, captains may have to rechart their course, drop anchor or rearrange their schedule. The upside is being able to see more ships at once as they catch up when the weather calms.

Sheldon and his wife, Peggy O’Connell, who were married aboard one of his ships, return frequently to Duluth. It was always a fun port to enter, Sheldon said, with visitors waving from the pier and signaling for an extra blast of the horn.

Social media sparks more interest, as people feel more personally connected to the ships and their small crews. They can watch ship sightings, check live harbor cameras, use tracking apps and follow crew members such as Catherine Schmuck, whose “Ship to Shore Chef” cookbook blends recipes and stories from her Great Lakes shipping career.

Crews also offer surprises for boat-watchers. Sheldon, who captained the freighters Wilfred Sykes and Joseph L. Block, said one crew member plays the bagpipes on deck when arriving in harbors. Others might dress up as Thanksgiving turkeys or Santa Claus and wave to onlookers, or deck the ships in festive lights.

“There’s a proliferation of many more boat nerds and people watching what’s going on,” O’Connell said.

The ships generally fall into two categories: lakers and salties. The heavy-duty lakers can be more than 1,000 feet long and carry ore, limestone, coal and more to ports within the Great Lakes.

Standout lakers include the 1981-built Paul R. Tregurtha, the reigning “Queen of the Lakes” and longest ship at 1,013 feet; the 1952 Arthur M. Anderson, the last ship to be in contact with the ill-fated Edmund Fitzgerald; and the James R. Barker with its distinctive two-tone horn. The Tregurtha alone can hold 68,000 gross tons of taconite pellets or 71,000 tons of coal. It takes about eight hours to empty the five cargo holds.

Salties are smaller ships that can pass through the locks and canals of the St. Lawrence Seaway to reach the Atlantic. These cargo ships load more than a million tons of grains from farmers each year, making it the port’s No. 1 export.

Salties return with imports such as steel, salt, cement and wind turbine parts, including 260-foot-long blades that arrived this year and required transport via special rail cars along Duluth’s waterfront.

The 2023-24 shipping season was the longest in Duluth-Superior port history, Hron said. The last laker, the John J. Boland, arrived on Jan. 21, 2024, before the industry shut down for the winter. No matter how long the current season lasts, devoted fans are likely to be milling around the pier, well bundled and waiting.

“There is definitely a bold breed of ship enthusiast, citizen and visitor to Duluth that embraces the occasional ferocity of November,” Hron said. “And they have a special kinship anchored in hot coffee, winter hats and ship salutes.”

Duluth has multiple hotels along the downtown waterfront, Canal Park or facing the harbor for views of boats approaching or coming into the harbor, but you’ll find the closest views of departing and arriving ships from South Pier Inn.

Located on Park Point at the base of the Aerial Lift Bridge, the inn was constructed with soundproof rooms. The most popular units have balconies facing the bridge and canal, making it easy to slip outside to see ships and the lift bridge in action. Ask the front desk for a nighttime wakeup call when ships are nearing the bridge (southpierinn.com).

A handful of Canal Park hotels are within a few blocks of the North Pier, while Lift Bridge Lodge, formerly a Comfort Suites, offers a few canal-facing rooms (liftbridgelodge.com).

On the harbor side, Pier B Resort has rooms and the Silos restaurant overlooking the port. If the early winter chill feels hard to shake, warm up at Cedar and Stone, a floating wood-fired sauna just outside Pier B. (cedarandstonefloatingsauna.com).

Other hotels overlooking the inner harbor include Fairfield Inn & Suites Duluth Waterfront (marriott.com) and Park Point Marina Inn (parkpointmarinainn.com). Solglimt, a bed and breakfast on Park Point, has rooftop views of ships (solglimt.com).

Live harborcams make it possible to see ships and choose from about a dozen viewpoints for a look at the lake and harbor even when you can’t get to Duluth in person (duluthharborcam.com/p/canal-park-cams).

For more on ships and schedules, check out sites such as Harbor Lookout (harborlookout.com) and Marine Traffic (marinetraffic.com). Both have free apps, but in-app purchases may be required for ship details and route forecasts.

Located next to the Duluth canal and the Lift Bridge, the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center offers free shipping exhibits and warm viewing spots to watch boats from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays during fall and the holidays.

The center also coordinates the annual Gales of November conference (Nov. 8-9 this year), which delves into maritime history, photography and the shipping industry, with a raffle for a one-week cruise on the 1,000-foot laker Edwin H. Gott.

An hour north of Duluth, the Split Rock Lighthouse historic site commemorates the 1975 sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald and all other vessels lost on the Great Lakes every Nov. 10. Names of the lost crew members are read out loud, and the beacon is lit (mnhs.org/splitrock).

The lakeside town of Two Harbors is another ship-watching locale, with three ore docks viewable from the shore of Agate Bay. A long breakwall provides different viewpoints for photographers while the 1892 Two Harbors Light Station overlooks the bay. Guests can rent rooms in the lighthouse keeper’s quarters or the skiff house for a unique view of November storms and a taste of what a lightkeeper’s life was like.

St. Cloud-based freelance writer and author of “Day Trips From the Twin Cities,” Lisa Meyers McClintick has written for the Star Tribune since 2001.