Wilfred Sykes T-Shirt

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In 1949 Inland Steel Company received their new bulk freighter, the Wilfred Sykes. She was the first American built Great lakes ship built after World War II and as was fitting, was the largest ship plying the Lakes. She was also the first new ship to use bunker fuel instead of coal. She was designed so that the crew could go anywhere onboard without having to go outside.

She was sold to a Netherlands based company in 1998 who then sold them to Central Marine Logistics.

She is 671 feet long , has a beam of 70 feet and has a cargo capacity of 21,500 tons of cargo.

As of 2016 she has been sailing for 67 years and is one of the few remaining classic lakers left sailing. Throughout it all, she has retained her name.

Here the Wilfred Sykes prepares to enter the Grand Haven River on a July evening.

I developed an interest in photography at a young age, often following my father around while he took pictures. From that I learned the basics and purchased my first camera while still in high school. I learned more through reading and trial and error. My first formal training came in 2013 when I took a basic photography class at a community college. During high school I became fascinated with the freighters that sailed on the lakes. The boats intrigued me and for a time I wanted to work on them. My career took me down a different path, but I never lost my interest in the boats. In 2011 I combined my two interests, loading my camera in my car and chasing the boats around the lakes. I hope to highlight the hardworking ships and...