Saturday, February 14, 2009

Saturday Photo Hunt: Nautical

Moonrise behind the Whitefish Point lighthouse in Chippewa County, MI



A gigantic iron ore freighter glides by...



Don't let her fool you: although beautiful, Lake Superior doesn't give up her dead...


Families left these memorials for their loved ones that went down with the Edmund Fitzgerald. Click on photo for a better view.



Whitefish Point lighthouse in silhouette at sunset


Photo Credits go to my daughter, Jamie....she's quite the budding photographer. My favorite is the one above: a silhouette of the Whitefish Point Lighthouse: the oldest active lighthouse on this lake, was shot at sunset on Whitefish Point on Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is also the location of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.

All the other photos were taken at the same location. The bittersweet homemade memorials are from their families to a few of the local sailors who perished on the "Edmund Fitzgerald" that went down in the gales of November in lake in 1975, before she could even send out a single distress signal. The legend of this lake is many lost sailors and buried ships. There's also an excellent museum in Sault Sainte Marie that you would enjoy and there are lighthouses and many historic markers all along Lake Superior. Even more eye-opening is to visit this lake in November when the winds or gales are blowing, sometimes you can hardly believe a sailor would be brave enough to be on the slippery cold deck of a ship, when you can hardly stand up on shore!

8 comments:

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

Great post! Very nautical.

Anonymous said...

The Edmund Fitzgerald memorials triggered memories of living in Green Bay, WI, which is where I was when it went down. The local media covered the story extensively because shipping was so important to that community.

All of your pictures this week are great examples of the PhotoHunt theme.

Anonymous said...

The Edmund Fitzgerald memorials triggered memories of living in Green Bay, WI, which is where I was when it went down. The local media covered the story extensively because shipping was so important to that community.

All of your pictures this week are great examples of the PhotoHunt theme.

The Raggedy Girl said...

As a girl who lives in the desert I just want to thank you for sharing these lovely water photos

Happy Valentine's Day
--from Roberta Anne

Old Centennial Farmhouse said...

Roberta Anne, it would be great if you could leave Arizona one summer and come and look at Michigan in all its green-ness and visit all of the great Lakes...I think you'd find the cooler summer weather heavenly. I remember our visit to Arizona one summer...whoooeee was it HOT! I remember flying back to Michigan and when we got off the plane, it had just rained buckets and everything to me seemed so moist and GREEN! I loved visiting Arizona, however! It's a great place and my aunt lived out there for most of her adult life!

Old Centennial Farmhouse said...

Tarheel...I remember when the Edmund F. sank and what a big deal it was. I think I was only a freshman in high school but it was a pretty big news story for quite some time. I can never hear the Gordon Lightfoot song without getting a big lump in my throat. All those boys lost in the violent, dark, cold water...

In Sault Ste. Marie, there's an iron ore carrier with a museum in the holding area. It has one of the buoys from the Lake when the Edmund sank, and that buoy was very thick steel and it was bent like a tin can. Unbelievable!

Old Centennial Farmhouse said...

Sandi, I enjoyed your photo today, too! It looks like a great place to visit! Why does the water always draw us to it?

Kathy said...

Love your nautical pics!
Kathy