A 72 Second Horn Salute to Start the Day! James R Barker Returns

No sleeping in! James R Barker delivering an early bird special for those waiting on the piers at 7am! The ship, which is usually a regular at Duluth Harbor, has been surprisingly elusive this season, only arriving through the canal twice! The rest of the time she’s been loading in Superior, Silver Bay or Two Harbors. Aside from occasionally at Two Harbors, she does not typically give her signature salute at any of the other locations, so “The Bark” has been mostly absent so far this year from Lake Superior. Her captain seems to be making up for lost time!
The Barker is my favorite vessel, the one that started my journey at 5 years old into ship watching and many of the other hobbies and even major aspects of my life. And she managed to accomplish that without her iconic horn that first time I saw her. So her absence has been felt this year. Was at work the first time she came and went this season, then went over to Superior a couple times to try and see her but never quite got there in time, always ended up having to stop and view from a distance. So when she finally headed for Duluth at an early but doable hour, I made sure to jump on it!
Built in 1976, the Barker was the largest ship on the Lakes at the time, measuring 1,004 ft long. Originally designed with a forward pilothouse (she would have been the very last one with that feature) her design was changed at the last second to move everything to the stern of the ship, a feature that all the other thousand footers built after her would be based on. She was also the first thousand footer built entirely within the Great Lakes.
Since her construction she’s had a basically unblemished career with no major incidents so far and only a few breakdowns. She’s also featured no name changes or sales to other companies (quite rare for a ship her age!). In 2016 she had her twin smokestacks removed and replaced with a single large one, which houses a diesel scrubber in addition to her exhaust system, removing toxins and other pollutants from her plume. In the late 2000s her stern horn was scheduled to be removed and replaced by a new bass horn. The new horn went in, but the old horn never got removed. The error was never fixed because the results were the now iconic two toned horn, which has since been heard by millions and made the ship famous across the globe, she even has her own cell phone ringtone. And her captain knows how to use that horn to maximum effect! Even though it’s worn out a little since its installment (last year it sounded pretty rough until late fall) it’s still quite an experience!
Glad to see you Barker! Come back more often!

[@rcdoodles6214]

Glorious sound. Thank you!

[@jonathanellsworth21]

Can’t beat it!

[@brettfavreify]

Wakey, wakey, Duluth.

[@jonathanellsworth21]

If the Captain’s not sleeping, nobody is 😂

[@kerrylee4633]

Best pipes on the Great Lakes.

[@dianebeier8379]

How I love to hear that BARK, makes me smile all day long!!❤❤❤❤❤

[@jonathanellsworth21]

Makes my day too 😃

[@Geraldasopko]

This was the first 1000ft. Ship built at Amship in Lorain Ohio and my first I helped build

[@danielmorris3687]

Gotta love that. Captain Newland has been generous with the 'barks' when there has been people at Rotary Park right past the locks at The Soo and along the St Mary's River at the Rock Cut shipping channel this year too. He seems like he is a good guy who likes to give us freighter freaks what we want to hear.

[@jonathanellsworth21]

I think he’s a fan too 😁

[@briansims4365]

"THE BARKER"! nothing like that sound on the water.!

[@guyordorff8355]

Now that should be the new standard ❤

[@jonathanellsworth21]

Barker’s famous for it 😁

[@jolew02]

There were people wearing Barker Bark t-shirts and waving BB flags!! She's got groupies!!

[@jonathanellsworth21]

Lol I didn’t notice that 😂 Not seeing anything here, were they on the north side? I might need to get one of those 🤔

[@jolew02]

@@jonathanellsworth21 Yeah they were on the North Side near the visitor center. I was 20-30 late for work cause I saw the Barker coming in!! Well worth it!!😁

[@jonathanellsworth21]

@@jolew02Always worth it! Wouldn’t work so well with my job though 😂😂 people don’t take it too well wjen a school bus is a half hour late 😂

[@ginnyanderson4892]

I want a shirt with the Barker bark or anything to do with the ship.

[@HistoryRocksMuse]

very well done; nice video. Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there.

[@pixie706]

She almost sounds like a didgeridoo😊😊 I'm wondering how many phones or cameras have dropped into the water 😮

[@jonathanellsworth21]

I’ve seen a few go in the water! Rarely with Barker (since her horn has a slight warning squeak before it starts). The one I’ve seen send the most phones in the drink is Great Republic. Small, quiet ship with a very loud and very abrupt horn lol. I stand back for her, I’ve almost done it myself twice with that ship 😂😂

[@karens1967]

The salutes remind me of the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind ❤

[@jonathanellsworth21]

I think the aliens in that movie would be jealous 😁

[@gregmctevia5087]

I suppose if you catch the Barker Bark, who cares what the video looks like. The video was great but just sayin’…..

[@jonathanellsworth21]

Huh, is there a quality issue when it uploaded? Looks fine on my end but since it came off my phone it might not be what everyone else sees 🤔 I know the lighting is different just because of the time of day, lots of glare off the lake that’s really difficult to avoid

[@gregmctevia5087]

@@jonathanellsworth21 No. the video quality is great. I was just making the observation that the Bark is the star of any video production. You almost don’t have to include a video presentation at all as most of the viewers tune in to hear the salute. You’re good 👍 I

[@jonathanellsworth21]

@@gregmctevia5087 Ah 😂😂 Makes sense lol. That one went over my head lol, you’re probably right!

[@Robbie1075]

Now that's how announce that you have returned!! That's the best Master Salute I've heard.