Paddling in the Shadow of Behemoths

By Tim Sweet

On the morning of Sunday, Sept. 6, my brother- and sister-in-law joined me on a paddle around Sturgeon Bay. We launched our kayaks at Bullhead Point, which is directly across from Bay Shipbuilding. Cruising by the huge vessels in our tiny kayaks really made us feel small.

The Mississippi is an oil barge that is under construction and looks to be finished soon. The Arthur M. Anderson has been in Sturgeon Bay since last March when it finally arrived after being stuck in the ice on Lake Erie. The legendary Anderson was out on Lake Superior with the Edmund Fitzgerald when it sank on Nov. 10, 1975. A thousand-footer, the James R. Barker, limped into the shipyard about a month ago after experience engine problems.

Photo by Tim Sweet.