Boat Watching - The Kaye E. Barker

Kaye E. Barker
August 17, 2007

Living on the Great Lakes waterway provides ample opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of sights aside of the amazing wildlife. The shipping industry is a large part of the economy in our area so each year we buy a copy of Know Your Ships, Guide to Boats & Boatwatching on the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway. This wonderful little book is always nearby at home and travels with us on the boat. We make a game of learning about the lake freighters and ships we see throughout the year. Each sighting is carefully ticked off as we see them. We can now identify several of the ships from a distance based on their colours or horn sounds.

The Kaye E. Barker was unloading gravel the afternoon we decided to spend on the boat last week so we took the opportunity to get a few close-up shots. We've seen a lot of smaller pleasure craft get quite close to the ships as they are moving but that can be dangerous because of the undercurrents these large vessels create so we keep our distance. The Kaye E. Barker is owned by Lakes Shipping Co., Inc.. of Richfield, Ohio. It is a division of The Interlake Steamship Co. also located in Richfield. This vessel was originally built by the American Ship Building Co. in Toledo, Ohio and christened the Edward B Green. From 1952 to 1985 she* was the flagship for Cleveland-Cliffs Steamship Company fleet. She was lengthened by 120 feet in 1976 by Fraser Shipyards in Superior, Wisconsin to an overall length is 767'00", breadth is 70'00" with a cargo capacity of 25,900 Gross Tons. There are larger ships in the fleet but she is still impressive especially up close when in a pleasure craft. In 1981 she was converted by American Ship Building Company of Toledo, Ohio to a self-unloader. She joined the Rouge Steel Company fleet in 1985 under the name Benson Ford. In 1989 she joined the Interlake fleet as was renamed Kaye E. Barker in honour of the Chairman of the Board and President's wife.

That's as much as I know about the Kaye E. Barker other than her crew are a very friendly bunch, always waving back at us. My husband jokes that they are likely muttering under their breath "dang tourists!" but I don't think so. We had a very enjoyable day on the water heightened by the news that our second grandbaby is on the way. Estimated arrival date is April 6, 2008. This is another one of our kids not the parents of the first grandbaby who is now crawling and chatting up a storm. Spending a bit of time with them on the water was wonderfully soothing. We took a lot of pictures (thank goodness for digital cameras), did a lot of laughing and enjoyed our family time together. It reminded me of the times we would take one kid out just for a bit of alone time as a special treat to all involved. It's evolved to a special couples time alone away from the hustle and bustle of a busy household and still growing family making each one of these times a true treasure.

*Boats are always referred to in the feminine.