Sep 23: Manitowoc, WI, to Ludington, MI

A day 'at sea'... bravely crossing the Lake Michigan ocean. Unlike other vehicle ferries we might be used to, one does not load their own vehicles onto the Badger... the crew take over and do this (except for heavy trucks and semi-trailers).

Many passengers have the 'ocean cruise' feeling as they wave excitedly to anyone wandering around ashore or walking their dog along the mole. They'll be doing the same in 4 hrs time as we nose into Ludington harbour, safe from storms and German U Boats.

The acclaimed S.S. Badger is the last large coal-burning steamship in the United States and the last such vessel in service on the Great Lakes. This wonderful old vessel is powered by two complex (to me) mechanisms called Skinner (after the manufacturer) Compound Unaflow 4-cylinder reciprocating marine steam engines, each producing 3,500 hp. The steam is created in four coal-fired marine boilers. Unlike the marine steamers that I'm a little bit used to and familiar with, these engines are not compound expansion engines where the steam is used successively in a series of single-acting cylinders. For my tech-head followers, I've included a couple of diagrams. The Skinner Unaflow (sometimes seen written as 'Uni-flow') engines are more enclosed and look like massive internal combustion engines.

Anyways, they work well because we arrived in Ludington on the advertised and, having retrieved my car from the 'drive-off' crew, I repaired to the Holiday Inn. Tomorrow, I head north and will probably make it back to Traverse City. I'm ahead of time, but that's OK.Meer informatie