“Not a Cruise Ship”— an audio slideshow I produced for WBEZ’s Front and Center
“Not a Cruise Ship”— an audio slideshow I produced for WBEZ’s Front and Center
WBEZ Feature goes on the air!
I produced a documentary feature about life on board the Calumet for WBEZ’s Front and Center series on the Great Lakes. Listen here.
We backed two miles down the Calumet River in South Chicago to load coal at KCBX Terminals, Co.
Here’s a map of the Great Lakes and the load/unload schedule while I was on board.
I joined the Calumet crew in Ohio, west of Cleveland, and got off nine days later in South Chicago. Here’s the schedule with stops we made while I was on board. This route took us from Lake Erie up the Detroit River, across Lake Huron, through the Straits of Mackinac, and all over Lake Michigan.
- Marblehead, OH— load limestone/dirt mix (“work dirt”)
- Marine City, MI— unload half the dirt
- Marysville, MI— unload the other half
- Sarnia, Ontario—stop for fuel
- Meldrum Bay, Ontario— load limestone
- Grand Haven, MI— unload
- S. Chicago, IL— load coal
- Green Bay, WI— unload
- Port Inland, MI— load limestone
- Grand Haven, MI— unload
- S. Chicago, IL— load coal
Loading work dirt at Marblehead, OH. This is where I got on board.
This silent video is really a montage of over 500 photos taken in Lake Michigan, Green Bay, Port Inland, and the Calumet river in South Chicago. I put them in order using iMovie and varied the speed of frame playback. Stop motion photography is a new medium for me, and I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Counting down the days til crew change.
Somewhere in Lake Michigan.
Captain Jeff gets back on board after checking in with customs in Grand Haven, MI. We loaded limestone in Ontario the day before and this is our first stop back in the U.S.
Dom at work, coffee in hand. We’re pulling up to the fuel dock at Sarnia, Ontario.
“The money’s nice, don’t get me wrong, but it can’t be the only reason you’re out here…”
…I think the money’s why a lot of people do it in the first place but… How do I put it? Sailing just becomes a part of you. Without it, you feel like you’re missing out on somethin’. You go on vacation, you know sure it’s fun for the first week or so, but then you start missing it. You wanna be back on the water. Least I do. I just love being on the water. You have your bad days when you wonder why you’re out here but… if you didnt have it, I guarantee ya… 16 out of these 17 guys, they’d really miss it and want to come back.”
-Sam, on why he sails
