Great Lakes ships draw super-fans to Duluth for storm season

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."

How to plan a ship-watching trip to Duluth 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.

A spectator watches as the MV Paul R. Tregurtha, the longest ship on the Great Lakes at 1013.5 feet, passes under the iconic Aerial Lift Bridge as it arrives at Duluth Harbor. (Anthony Soufflé/The Minnesota Star Tribune) Gales of November remembered 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.