Arctic Conditions See Off A New, Uncanny Throwback to the Classic Laker Era скачать в хорошем качестве

Arctic Conditions See Off A New, Uncanny Throwback to the Classic Laker Era

There’s nothing like an insane departure with a classic laker… Hey, wait a second! All jokes aside, few experiences have absolutely taken my breath away like this one, both literally and figuratively! Starting with the ship, the all-new for Duluth FWN Sky, a 401ft long, 11,600 ton capacity saltie with a vibrant color scheme: black hull, white superstructure, and bright green cranes and accents. She is a multipurpose freighter, capable of hauling nearly any non-liquid cargo. Operated by the new to the Great Lakes Forest Wave Company, she arrived here with heavy industrial equipment. But of course, none of this is really what caught the attention of people here in Duluth! Her design is one eerily familiar. Featuring a blocky forward pilothouse, a low-slung deck and a stern engine room and what almost seems to be a cruiser stern, this ship clearly has some laker heritage in her design, specifically reminiscent of the Canadian’s John D Leitch. The last classic laker launched in 1974, yet here we are, a saltie built in 2015 with nearly identical features. The only notable difference is the two massive cranes over her deck! For her history, she was originally named Nordana Sky from 2015-2016 and featured a blue and red hull. In Feburary 2016 the ship was involved in a collision in Germany’s Kiel Canal with the containership Vera Rainbow, damaging both ships. In 2017 she was sold and renamed Symphony Sky, keeping her paint scheme. There are no incidents recorded under that name, although there are a few pictures of her in the St Lawrence River suggesting she may have come into the lower Lakes once or twice. In summer 2025 she was renamed FWN Sky and given her current black and green paint scheme. Then we get to the weather. Air temperatures were around -8 degrees F (-22C) with wind chills making the air feel like an absolutely brutal -32 degrees F (-35C). Even by Duluth standards, that is NOT fun, especially after two years of relatively warm winters and knowing January this will feel warm in a month or so. Even dressed in triple layers of heavy snow gear, that cold quickly sunk in, and I needed to constantly swap hands holding the camera and move around a bit to keep from frostbite. Even breathing was uncomfortable. Sea Smoke billowed out of the Canal and open parts of the Lake, it felt absolutely unearthly, especially as the ship’s lights lit the mists around it, a stunning effect that just left me in awe despite the cold, absolutely amazing! I feel bad for the crew on the ship though, being new to the Lakes I have no idea what sort of winter equipment they have available to them, and most people on board are likely from warmer climates. I’m not even sure how well that ship is insulated for temperatures such as these, the Lakers and some of the salties that were built specifically for Lakes trading are designed for this, but this ship… I have no idea. Very few vessels regularly sail subzero waters. It might be a rough trip for them! The Sky wasn’t the only action in and around the Canal at the time, the tug Helen H departed just ahead of the ship to transport a pilot or other harbor crew out to another all-new Duluth visitor, Polsteam Rudno, which was pulling up to the anchorage area to wait until either Monday for cheaper dock operating rates or until the saltie Jessica B departs, depending on what dock she’s waiting for. The 82ft, 1967 built tug is rarely seen, primarily operating for Fraser Shipyard or within the inner harbor, but is currently acting as a pilot boat and light icebreaker since the normal pilot boat Sea Bear is out of the water due to the ice. She wasn’t gone for long, returning to the Canal around 10 minutes after the bridge lowered but I didn’t want to stick around too long! As the Sky passed under the bridge, a helicopter passed overhead going to one of the hospital landing pads, sounding very odd in the cold, which can be heard in the video. Possibly one of my favorite videos I’ve ever filmed, with so much to talk about I had a bit trouble with the title lol. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did, and without risking frostbite!