“Right. Now, you take us. We’re going downlake. So, once we’ve entered Lake Huron from Lake Superior, we can keep on going down Huron and through the Detroit River into Lake Erie, past Detroit and Cleveland and on to Buffalo. Or else, we can sort of double back, head west, that is, and sail through the Straits of Mackinac into Lake Michigan and hit Milwaukee and Chicago.”
Both Sandy and Jerry shook their heads in wonder.
“You know, Cookie,” Sandy said, “it’s hard for us to get used to the idea of Chicago and Milwaukee and Detroit and Cleveland as port cities. We’re from the West, and when we think of a port we think of San Francisco or Los Angeles. Or, if it’s in the East, we think of Boston or New York.”
“Well, that’s only natural. You think of the ocean. But let me tell you, boys, some of these Great Lakes ports are among the biggest in the world! Ocean or no ocean.”
Cookie removed his pipe from his mouth and pointed with the stem at the boat that trailed the James Kennedy about a half mile to port. It was not quite half as long as the Kennedy, though it seemed to be about as wide. Its decks were loaded with railroad cars.
“See that?” Cookie said. “That’s a car ferry. You won’t see ships like that hardly anywhere else in the world. It’s even a bit out of place on Lake Superior. Usually, they use ’em more on Lake Michigan to carry the new cars from the factories in Detroit. And this,” Cookie went on, pointing his pipe at the long row of hatches separating the Kennedy’s stern and bow superstructures, “this is something you’ll never see outside of the Lakes. Put these long boats on the ocean, boys, and those deep ocean swells would break them in two.
“But they’re just right for the Lakes. It’s what your biology teacher might call a perfect example of adaptation. Lake freighters are built for just two reasons, boys—to carry bulk cargoes like ore or coal or grain and to fit through the narrow locks at the Soo. They can build them as long as a city block, but they can’t be too wide or too deep.”
“Do they have storms on the Lakes, Cookie?” Jerry asked.
Cookie’s eyes danced merrily and he jabbed his pipe at Jerry as he said, “Storms, hey! Let me tell you, boy, there’s plenty of rough weather around the Great Lakes. Four months out of the year they’re empty, the weather’s so bad. That’s why the boats are built to load and unload so fast. Sometimes you don’t get more than seven months in a season. Rest of the time, the boats stay in port.”
Cookie puffed thoughtfully in his pipe. He glanced downward. Below them, the dark lake water flowed swiftly past the James Kennedy’s hull.