Port Huron Live Cam
Gino Giacumbo
General Manager, ASM Global | Blue Water Convention Center | Port Huron, Michigan
When you first enter the Blue Water Convention Center you come upon 22-foot-high, floor-to-ceiling windows that lead to the patio overlooking the St. Clair River. This ten second video illustrates just how amazing the sight of a passing freighter is when seen from inside the Blue Water Convention Center. The clip shows the tail end of a 1,013-foot-long?freighter, the Paul R. Tragurtha, as it was passing by. She is the current Queen of the Lakes, an unofficial title bestowed upon the longest vessel active on the Great Lakes and attendees at the center regularly take pictures on the patio with the Blue Water Bridge and passing freighters as their backdrop. The Blue Water Bridge connects Port Huron, Michigan (USA) and Point Edward, Ontario (Canada) and it was the frequency and popularity of the ships that brought about the installation of a live webcam last year on the Convention Center's International Deck (www.PortHuronCam.com).
The webcam captured all sorts of activities on the river and along the boardwalk including trains that pass by almost daily and a spectacular sunrise.
However, the main reason people tend to tune in is the passing freighters that traverse the 40.5-mile-long St. Clair River as one of their major thoroughfares. The river drains Lake Huron at the Blue Water Bridge down into Lake St. Clair, forming part of the international boundary between Canada and the United States, and even when there are no ships passing by the view can be amazing.
The webcam also has its own Port Huron Live Cam Facebook page for pictures and videos allowing us to share not only views from the camera but also different perspectives from different photographers and videographers in the Blue Water Area.
THE NEW CAMERA - A few months ago, we were on the roof when we spotted a freighter, Kaye E Barker, heading under the bridge as she came in from Lake Huron and into the St. Clair River (see video below).
The panoramic view from the roof that included seeing the ships coming in from Lake Huron and hearing the ships salute was so impressive that we decided to team up with StreamTimeLIVE to install a new 360-degree camera that included a microphone for sound up on the roof. The streaming video also includes a chat area when viewed on YouTube and on the first day the camera launched several hundred viewers from all over the world were tuning in to watch and interact with each other about the goings-on. Additionally, by partnering with StreamTimeLIVE came the benefit of having a slew of camera operators both day and night. The operators answer questions on the chat, and provide facts and history of the ships and the Blue Water area all while following the ships, zooming in on them and the crew as far as three miles away. There is so much other activity in the area that the camera operators can still pan around and entertain viewers even when there are no passing ships. A tugboat or jet ski, a train, or even a construction crane. From sailboats, yachts, and traffic on the bridge to fishermen, para surfers, and tourists along the boardwalk, the camera operators are keeping the viewers entertained. These are just some of the things this short video shows that were captured by the camera operator during the first three hours after the new cam went live.
You can watch either camera in real-time, anytime, day or night on the www.PortHuronCam.com page or you can check out the Port Huron Live Cam Facebook Page where we share pictures and videos from both cams as well as from local photographers and videographers that do spectacular work such as this drone video from above the bridge...
...and this photograph of the bridge and the young Thomas Edison statue on the boardwalk.
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There are also two great websites that track the boat traffic (via GPS) so you can see when a freighter is about to pass by the webcams. MARINE TRAFFIC and BOAT NERD.
Finally, the perfect compliment to watching the freighters on the webcam is Roger LeLievre's book, "Know Your Ships". Full of stats for hundreds of boats it also has information on the cargoes the big boats carry, where they load and unload, the locks, canals, and waterways they transit, what the boat whistles mean, and more. Attached to the Convention Center is the DoubleTree by Hilton and if you are in the area there are copies of the book available at the hotel gift shop, Lamplighter Gifts, a staple here since 1987.
Speaking of the hotel, we even share videos posted by visitors and guests of the DoubleTree on the Port Huron Live Cam Facebook Page. The video below was taken from the balcony of one of their guest rooms of the Queen of the Lakes. If you want to wake up to this view here is a LINK for the hotel.
So whether you are watching from anywhere in the world on your computer/phone or planning on visiting the area, we welcome you to Discover the Blue with our Amazing Views!
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