Since joining forces with James R. Barker to purchase and reinvigorate The Interlake Steamship Company in 1987, Mr. Tregurtha has actively served as Vice Chairman. It can slow you down quite a bit. They caught up on "Game of Thrones" episodes in his room when he wasn't working. A trip on a freighter will also be raffled off. It's truly a mountain of coal. Of all the duties of a Great Lakes captain, this is the one Thibaudeau likes most, gingerly driving a monster ship through a spider's web of tight, restricted areas on the Great Lakes. Fair winds and following seas Grammie Pat, Roberts, Wisconsin, Have a safe trip captin bob of MV paul r thergertha have a nice shipping seasen bye captin bob!!!. The boat runs 10 months out of the year, often going deep into January, as ice conditions allow. Bob Thibaudeau of the Paul R. Tregurtha freighter takes the largest freighter on the Great Lakes (at 1,013 feet long) through the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Prior to the purchase of Interlake, Mr. Barker was Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Moore McCormack Resources, a position he held since joining the company in 1971. The Paul R. Tregurtha is one of the most popular vessels on the Great Lakes. Westcott II, a boat that among other things, picks up and delivers mail to sailors. After Free Press journalists disembark his boat this weekend, Thibaudeau is due a long vacation. One of the most important parts of the ship is the galley. The shipping industry has a more than one billion dollar economic impact on the region. His wife, Kathleen (Sissy) Perkins jumped onto the boat this week at the Soo Locks to spend a week with him. After sailing with Interlake Steamship Company for over 40 years, Captain Bob Thibaudeau commands the Queen of the Lakes, the 1,013 foot long PAUL R. TREGURTHA, one last time down the St. Clair River for the DTE/St. Schedules vary, but many crew members work 60 days on, then take 30 days off. Phil joined Interlake in 2004 as a Fleet Engineer and was later promoted to Fleet Superintendent. After 42 years on the Great Lakes, Captain Robert Thibaudeau, or \"Captain Bob\" as we all call him, Captain of the Paul R Tregurtha from the Interlake Steamship Company, made his final transit down the St Clair River at Port Huron and beyond to St Clair where he spun the ship around one last time, docked at DTE Energy and then packed up and called it a careerI have had the pleasure of knowing Captain since 2016 as a result of my Photography and he was gracious enough to agree to do an Interview with me before he ended his career. It's minimum wage; $8 an hour is all you're gonna get," Perkins said. Paul R. Tregurtha Entering The Harbor #3 (With Captain's Salute) - YouTube The reigning "Queen of the Lakes" title holder as the longest vessel on the Great Lakes at 1,013' 06" (308.91m). Now, they don't just let anybody use a ship for their wedding. Search. Brendan also holds an MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. The space where the boat had to go is 110 feet wide. Staff writer Jim Schaefer and staff photographer Eric Seals invite you to share their journey aboard the Paul R. Tregurtha, the longest ship on the Great Lakes. Deckhands average about $55,000 to $65,000 a season, which usually equates to six or seven months of work. Follow her on Twitter @lvshepard. The coal gets there through gates that are opened at the bottom of the cargo hatches, which are above where he works. It's a story you'll only see here. There aren't too many waves, but come October and November then it gets nasty. "I grew up on a farm; I've always been dirty. Search. Deckhands pull heavy steel cables to tie up the boat to docks, sweep the decks, paint, and shovel excess coal into the cargo hold during the loading process. We had a trip earlier this month in zero visibility through a narrow river channel. A few days ago, on Monday morning, Thibaudeau executed a tight 180-degree turn in the St. Clair River while departing a dock at a DTE Energy power plant in East China Twp. He also thinks the work in the Great Lakes shipping industry is well worth it. The ships usually run from March into December or January. The guests have a private area on the ship that you might not expect to see on a freighter. The completed hull No. He is the Chairman of Lake Carriers Association Fleet Engineers Committee. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. 7300 Engle Road [5], Last edited on 18 December 2022, at 12:01, "1,000-foot coal freighter stuck in St. Marys River", "Salvage Experts Refloat Grounded Vessel in St. Marys River", "1,000-foot Laker Stuck near Bayfront Park", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MV_Paul_R._Tregurtha&oldid=1128108016, August 7, 1982: 63,007 long tons (64,018t) load at. Paul R Tregurtha Downbound Lake Huron to Blue Water Bridge while Captain Dayton explains late fall and winter transits on Lake Superior He gets it on his clothing and in his eyes. AUTOS. His whole career has been with Interlake Steamship Co., which owns the Tregurtha and eight other working ships. Though they may be sporting suits and ties now, many have worked their way up the ships ladder so to speak, earning degrees from maritime colleges, U.S. Coast Guard licenses and sailing aboard vessels. ", People on board have invested their lives on the lakes, and while it's a different way of life, Denise says she wouldn't trade it for anything, "I figure these kids I am watching climb the ladder right now, one day some of them will be captains. Built by American Ship Building Company at Lorain, Ohio, in 1981, this vessel was first named William J. DeLancey. Contact Liz Shepard at (810) 989-6273 or lshepard@gannett.com. Before joining Moore McCormack, Mr. Barker was Executive Vice President of Temple, Barker & Sloane, Inc., a management consulting firm that he co-founded in 1969. Occasionally, a movie is shown in the crew dining room. In the winter, they live in Ocala, Fla. He called it a "lack of employment on the beach." She was married on her husband's ship, the Paul R. Tregurtha. During his six years at Cliffs, he was responsible for financial oversight of the North American Coal business unit as well as various non-business unit projects that included oil & gas, South American iron ore, Iron Nuggets, renewaFUEL, mergers & acquisitions, and union negotiations. Loading 43,000 net tons in Conneaut, Ohio, both United States and Canadian Coast Guard services provided ice breaking assistance so that the voyage was completed without any delays. "There's really nowhere to go, except your room," he said. wolverines. %PDF-1.3 % christian laettner first wife; leaf home water solutions vs culligan; conventions in las vegas 2022. sona jobarteh husband; houston crime rate by race Prior to his current position with Interlake, Bill was a Senior Director and Business Unit Controller at Cliffs Natural Resources, an international mining and minerals focused company. Of the 13 "footers" on the Great Lakes a nickname for the 1,000-foot boats the Paul R. Tregurtha is the longest. Follow Staff writer Jim Schaefer and staff photographer Eric Seals all week. With another 1000 footer, AMERICAN CENTURY, needing a little more time to finish her coal offload, PRT swung around downriver to wait in sequence. BULK SAO PAULO MSC SAO PAULO STAR PAULINE COSCO SAO PAULO PAUL OLDENDORFF Lee A Tregurtha SHIP PARTICULARS. He views the water from behind a bank of angled windows that curve around the front of the bridge. Freighter life does have challenges, though, and when there are normal, everyday disagreements, there is no escape. The ship and crew work around the clock, running day and night. Reporter Jim Schaefer and photographer Eric Seals sailed last week aboard the Paul R. Tregurtha, the longest ship on the Great Lakes. He's just 57, but Thibaudeau already has 36 years on these waters, evident in the silver hair that sweeps back from his face. On another boat, the cook who dubbed Perkins "El Dirty" would hand him garbage bags to line his chair before he sat down to eat. Or worse. He plans to join his wife in Muskegon, where they live on a houseboat. They'll be using the hashtag: #FreighterLife. And she can hit hard, with things like fog and thunder storms in the summer, and thick ice in the winter. (But) you gotta be very fair with people you're dealing with.". Anna Kolin from the museum says the trip is priceless,"I had a chance to spend a day on the Tregurtha with the 13abc crew and it was absolutely amazing. ", In addition to bad weather, the ship's can also be affected by what;s in the lake. One of my favorite things is to use the meat smoker we have on board. I'll be coming up to them on the gang way with a walker until you tell me I can't do it anymore.". In addition, he has been Chairman of Moran Towing Corp. since 1994 and Chief Executive Officer since 1998. She arrived back in Lorain on May 16, 1981. We're just like a big family on a boat.". He received a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He beams a little bit when talking about them. A week earlier, on May 3, 2002, Captain Mitch Hallin passed away on board his command, the M/V Paul R. Tregurtha. He also served on the Business Advisory Committee of the Transportation Center at Northwestern University, on the Board of Visitors of Columbia College, and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Harvard Business School from 1982 to 1992. The men and women can work 60 days on and then have 30 days off. This enabled salvage experts to successfully raise the ship's bow by filling stern voids which reduced the amount of forward weight on the rocks, and hence refloat the vessel. Last week, all but two were men the chief cook and an assistant. Real Estate. Y]T ZY:. Now in his 41st season sailing with Interlake, Captain Bob stands at the helm of the longest vessel to ever sail the Great Lakes. 0:04. M.L. ", The Second Cook is Denise Hanrahan. Coming up with new ideas, different things every day. This week, take a ride with freep.com on a real Great Lakes freighter. He has twin stepsons, who also work on Great Lakes freighters. 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