American Spirit - A Crowded Breakwater at Two Harbors

Here is the American Spirit arriving in Two Harbors, Minnesota at noon on August 19, 2024. She was arriving empty under hazy skies to load taconite (iron ore) pellets from the Canadian National dock. The taconite was scheduled for delivery to Gary, Indiana. On her way into port, the Spirit gave onlookers a captain's salute of one long and two short blasts.

This was a busy day in Two Harbors, with a lot of tourists on the breakwater to see the American Spirit's arrival. The crowd resembled one you might see on a Sunday, not on a Monday. But August is a popular month for out-of-state tourists to visit the north shore of Lake Superior, getting one last family outing before school starts up again. No doubt the crowds will begin to thin a bit going into September, with one last surge of tourists in early October for the changing of the leaves before winter begins to set in.

The American Spirit is perhaps the 1000-footer I've seen the least in the decade I've been making these videos. And while I knew the lighting conditions wouldn't be great for this arrival in Two Harbors, I still wanted to make the drive to see her. I also try to feature Two Harbors traffic on this channel whenever I can, as she is an important part of the shipping economy of western Lake Superior, even if there is only one dock in use at most times.

The 1004-foot American Spirit was the seventh of thirteen 1000-footers built for Great Lakes services. She was launched as the George A. Stinson in 1978, eventually being renamed the American Spirit in 2004. According to the American Steamship Company website she is "powered by two Pielstick 16-cylinder, 8000 horsepower (each), four cycle, heavy fuel-burning diesel engines. The vessel uses a conveyor system below its cargo holds to transport cargo to a "loop conveyor" system that elevates the cargo to the massive deck-mounted boom conveyor. For maneuvering in port, the vessel is equipped with a 1,000 HP bow thruster." She has a mid-summer capacity of 62,400 tons. Her 260-foot self-unloading boom can discharge cargo at a rate of 10,000 tons per hour.
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