1000 Islands Paintings: Parade Of Ships ST Lawrence River , 1000 Islands Region

Diamond Star, Volatile Cargo, since purchased by another line and renamed

My home view of the St Lawrence River includes that portion marked by buoys which is designated the "St Lawrence Seaway". I am on the portion called the "Narrows" in the 1000 Islands Region and just below the Interstate Highway #81 and it's span over the River to Wellesley Island on it way to Canada. In front of the house is Brown Bay and across the other side is Swan Bay. We are set back about 150 yards or so from the shipping channel. From March to almost Christmas there is a constant parade of ships up bound and outbound as well as barges pushed or towed by tugs, tall ships, and smaller passenger cruisers, and many day cruise vessels for tourists. Sometimes the cargo is visible like wind turbine parts, 5 or six large yachts, fabricated steel parts, and sometimes invisible in the holds like grains and ores. There is a "Know Your Ships" guide book with listings of the ships and fleet groups, flags of nations, and the colors of smoke stacks which are basically logos. We can feel the vibrations set up in the water and land of many ships long before they they appear in our view. I take many photos as they pass the house, also I venture out in the paddle boat near the edge of the channel and get photos from a low perspective. While out in the power boat a ship will often be encountered and offer a unique view for a photo. Finally, when walking along the Island road that parallels the River, often a passing ship will often appear. Then there is the endless patterns of weather, sunrises, cloud patterns, and setting sun. We don't see sunsets from our location but the setting sun illuminates passing ships and the far shoreline and creates inspiring light effects. At night the ships pass all lit up. With the movie feature on my digital camera I can capture the reflections in the water, pause the playback, and capture a view for a painting reference. Here are a few of the ship

BBC Chartering Cargo of Wind Turbine Blades

paintings I have done and I am sure there will be many more. It is not an infrequent occurrence to have two ships passing each other at our observation point. Just the other night this happened and I made a short video with my camera but it was taking two long to upload for this blog. It was cloudy and absent the usual moon lighting. Also, with a little fog, rain, or snow, we are at a spot that gets rattled by horn signals. With modern radar and communications I often wonder why this is necessary. Sometimes the tourist tour boat captains may request a toot for the entertainment of the tourists.