mts ARCADIA GREAT LAKES CRUISES
HENRY NOWICKI
4 AUGUST 2001
www.maxpages.com/glci
The mts Arcadia, having repositioned from Greece to Toronto, (Ref 1) and (Ref 2), now begins its Great Lakes cruises which continue until 9 July when bankruptcy abruptly ends the season for Great Lakes Cruises, Incorporated. But I am getting ahead of the story so be sure to see the comments at the end of the article.
This first segment, a four-day cruise, is from Toronto to Oswego, then through the Welland Canal to Erie and Detroit.
June 12 Toronto. Passengers embark by mid-afternoon for a four-day cruise to Detroit. The ship is perhaps one-third full and it promises to be a quiet journey.
13 June 0800-1330 Oswego, New York is located on the southeast side of Lake Ontario. It is one of the western terminals of the old Erie Canal which is now called the New York State Barge Canal. I participated in all the shore excursions and I must say that the city tour was rather weird as both the guide and bus driver were from elsewhere and they were both unfamiliar with Oswego. Just finding the nuclear plant was a bit of a problem and the tour inside the plant was rather humdrum. The next attraction was the cute little Fort Ontario but it was located only a block from where the ship was moored! A local candy factory turned out to be a tiny candy store and that was all there was to that excursion.
Jun 14 Welland Canal Transit. The Arcadia will pass through eight locks in order to rise over 300 feet from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie. It will bypass the Niagara River and its famous falls by using the thirty miles of canals and locks located to the west in Canadian territory. Port Weller is at the northern entrance to the canal. Each of the eight locks averages 45 feet of water level change except for the last guard lock which only accounts for about four feet of water. Locks three, four and five are called flight locks since they abut each other and when the uppermost level is reached it is quite a sight to look behind and see how far the ship has risen. Only ships of 750 feet in length or less can be accommodated. Port Colborne is located at the southernmost part of the canal where it meets Lake Erie.
June 15 Erie, Pennsylvania is a fine port city with a historically-significant naval heritage. The museum ship Niagara, a facsimile of Perry's flagship during the War of 1812, is a reminder of the Great Lakes' role in maritime affairs. But exploring Presque Isle, the large peninsular state park jutting northeast into Lake Erie, is the most pleasant way to spend the better part of a day in the area.
June 16 Detroit is the debarkation point for Great Lakes Cruises. The ship utilizes the Detroit Maritime Dock which is approximately one-mile from the center of town. Most passengers are headed by bus for the Detroit Metropolitan Airort (DTW) or by bus to Windsor, Canada. The ship will cross the Detroit River to take on fuel on the Canadian side and then proceed a few miles upstream to Windsor. The festive scene upon arrival is due in part to an annual tug race which is much fun and amusement. Overall, the four-day cruise was a short one but the passage through the Welland Canal by daylight made it memorable.
The mts Arcadia inaugurated its first seven-day cruise in the Great Lakes by leaving from Windsor, Canada bound for Lake Michigan. The Windsor departure is in the late evening so that the transit of the St. Clare Lake and River to Port Huron occurs at night. Still the lights of the nearby settlements are interesting as the ship passes nearby.
June 17 Port Huron is all alive when the ship arrives early in the morning. The city has imported a pipe band from Sarnia, Canada and the streamers are out and the townspeople are out to greet a cruise ship which has not docked there for at least thirty-five years! The city has much of interest starting with the double International Bluewater Bridge crossing over the St. Clare River near its origin at Lake Huron. The new Tom Edison museum in the old depot where he worked as a youngster is highly recommended. A novel trolley offered by the local merchants, complete with a narrated tour, charges ten cents! I found that the water was warm enough to swim so I made my way up to Lakeside Park and tried it out. Not bad at all.
June 18 Mackinaw City. A shuttle ferry was required to tender passengers from the ship to Mackinaw City. I explored the small port with its fort and marine facilities. The so-called Mighty Mac, the five-mile bridge over the Straits of Mackinac and connecting the southern and northern peninsulas of Michigan, was most impressive.
June 19 Sturgeon Bay was substituted for Green Bay inasmuch as the water level of Lake Michigan was at a low period and the pilot recommended that the ship not enter with tight clearances. Sturgeon Bay was a good substitute as the channel that provides a short cut from Green Bay to Lake Michigan proper was scenically pleasing.
June 20 Milwaukee. I had earlier attended Marquette University for a spell after World War II so I have been particularly interested in the growth and considerable modernization of the city over the years. Of course, one had to visit a brewery and enjoy a glass of beer for old times sake.
June 21 Charlevoix has an unusual location; that is, on a small round lake that is on an inlet from Lake Michigan and which is also connected to a much larger lake to the east. It certainly is easy to see why the boating public likes it.
June 22 Charlevoix departure was just after midnight so that meant the entire day was spend at sea which was a nice respite from all the port activity.
June 23 Detroit was visited first and then Windsor. Today provided an opportunity to explore the Canadian side of the Detroit River. The mooring site at Dieppe Park was delightful as the views of Detroit across the river were outstanding and the water traffic put an interesting touch to the ever-changing scene.
June 24 Tobermory is located at the northernmost tip of the Bruce Peninsula which helps to separate Lake Huron from Georgian Bay in Canada. The north-south trending peninsula's backbone is the Niagara Escarpment which is a dolomitic limestone ridge-builder. The islands north of the port have been designated a marine refuge, the Fathom Five National Marine Park. We arrived too late to catch the daily excursion boat to the islands so we visited an Indian cultural site a few miles south of town. The traditional meal served among the teepees was inviting and a number of dream stories narrated by a local writer was well received.
Collingwood arrival was at 2200. Few passengers ventured very far in the late evening.
June 25 Collingwood was an interesting resort town. We drove east along the shore to the Wasaga Beach area which is much frequented by Toronto area residents. The beach area looked attractive but for me it was still a little too early in the season. Departure was at 1200.
Midland was achieved at 1600 and departure was at 2200. Midland is an attractive waterside resort town that caters heavily to inhabitants of Toronto and nearby urban areas. Beaches are most popular and water sports are abundant.
June 26 Little Current is situated on Manitoulin Island which helps divide Lake Huron from Georgian Bay. The island is a continuation of the Niagara Escarpment and is reputed to be the largest island in the world located in a fresh water lake. Because of low water levels, the decision was made to moor at Fisher Dock on Little La Cloche Island which is connected to Great La Cloche Island by a swing bridge. After an eleven mile drive to the west, another swing bridge connects with Manitoulin Island and Little Current. It is a very small town and one of the big attractions is at Wikemikong which requires another thirty-two miles along a scenic shoreline. The first nation village of Wikemikong is the center of native dances and we witnessed a variety of them before having moose, cedar tea and other delicacies for lunch in the village. It was all we could do to get back to the ship by the sailing time of 1400.
June 27 Sault Ste. Marie is really two cities. The Canadian city has about 80,000 inhabitants while the American city has only 15,000. However, there are four American locks to only one Canadian and it is the American Poe Lock which is used for the largest ships of up to slightly more than 1,000 feet in length. Incidentally, the largest of these ships cannot negotiate the smaller locks in the Welland and St. Lawrence canal systems which limit ships to 750 feet in length. A cruise through the lock systems is a highly recommended activity.
June 28 Mackinaw City. Inasmuch as the Arcadia cannot tie up at any of the local piers, a shuttle boat is used to ferry passengers to the city docks. If one wants to visit Mackinac (also pronounced Mack'-in-naaw) Island then another similar boat must be employed. The ship could well save a lot of time for all by anchoring near Mackinac Island in the lee of Round Island and use its own tenders.
June 29 ¸Port Huron was as nice as usual. The town was celebrating their Freedom Festival and a fair had been set up very near the ship and we enjoyed some of the country entertainment.
June 30 Detroit. Early debarkation was achieved and the ship eventually crossed the Detroit River to Windsor. A rather late departure from that city precluded seeing too much of the St.Clare region while Port Huron and the Blue Water International Bridge were passed at midnight.
July 1 was spent at sea heading north to upper Georgian Bay. The weather was fine and the seas extremely calm.
July 2 Little Current. The relatively distant location of the ship from the town, some eleven miles, required a vehicle to make the round trip. Fortunately, a shuttle bus was available into town; however, the arrangements were far from satisfactory. Ultimately, the ship would be better anchored off Wikemikong or nearby Manitowaning and the tenders used directly to the destination area.
July 3 Mackinaw City. I took the 20-minute ferry ride from Mackinaw City to Mackinac Island to stroll around with seemingly thousands of others doing the very same thing. I did spend some time at Meridian Point, a very nice hotel resort a bit north of town.
July 4 Detroit. The ship canceled its July 4th sailing to Niagara Falls as the CDC and Coast Guard required improvements, especially in the food storage areas, before sailing could resume. While the crew worked to install new equipment, I flew to Chicago for a few days to see friends and returned to Windsor in time for the next sailing.
July 7 Windsor. Departure was in the late afternoon with good weather conditions.
July 8 Tobermory. Our early arrival permitted boarding the local glass-bottomed boat for an extended visit to Fathom Five National Marine Park that incorporated about a half dozen islands just north of Tobermory. It was quite a large vessel and the glass viewing pannels were at the very bottom of the boat so that it looked likely that the ship might scrape the rocks below. It was possible at times to see the old ice sheet striations in the level rock surfaces below the vessel.
July 9 Sault Ste. Marie. We moored on the Canadian side which made a shore excursion to Lake Superior much easier. The drive to the north revealed many interesting road cuts where the geological structure could be seen. The transition from the sedimentary rocks of the lakes area to the beginning of the very old Laurentian Shield metamorphic rocks was indeed revealing. Good views of the lake and waterfalls also made the journey worthwhile. A good picnic lunch helped as well.
Then, upon returning to the ship, the announcement was made that Great Lakes Cruises, Incorporated had gone out of business and into bankruptcy and the cruise was to end right there in Sault Ste. Marie. The passengers were to be brought to Detroit/Windsor by bus the following day but a friend and I rented a car and started the trip south even before the sun had set. And so ended what I thought was a marvelous voyage from Greece to the Great Lakes.
RISE AND FALL OF GREAT LAKES CRUISES (GLCI)
On balance, I would say that Attika Shipping, the owner and operator of the mts Arcadia, was the villain in this episode. They initially sent a vessel to North America knowing full well that there were unresolved problems in both their ship and food handling operations. Apparently the stabilizer was broken and one of the two engines was not up to full power so that speeds never exceeded fourteen knots and they could not meet their contractual requirements in keeping a schedule that they agreed to in writing. This, in effect, preempted some ports and generally caused passenger confusion and dissatisfaction. GLCI was never apprised of this information and was put in an untenable situation especially in the repositioning during the North Atlantic crossing. Secondly, it now appears that the CDC (US Center for Disease Control) had inspected the Arcadia starting in Greece and had warned Attika of needed food handling improvements. Again, little was done to rectify these problems and it resulted in a freeze on operations and ultimately cancellation of the July 4th voyage. Once word of this unusual no-sail restriction was made in the print media, so many cancellations resulted in a financial breakdown for GLCI and hence the move to bankruptcy. All of the major problems resulted from Attika's failure to meet its contractual obligations. This controversial case has now gone to arbitration and one can only speculate as to how the findings and what sort of possible restitutions will result.
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