Recently Retired Ship Captain Recalls Time Out on the Great Lakes

DULUTH, MN – With the new shipping season now getting back underway, we caught up with a recently retired captain who spent nearly 45 years out on the Great Lakes.  Raymond Sheldon was captain of the Joseph L. Block for nearly three decades shipping raw materials such as iron ore and limestone between the Twin Ports and the North Shore.  He has seen many changes in the industry over the years such as reduced manning, ship designs for more efficient loading and unloading, and the improvement of electronics for navigation. Additionally, he says he always enjoyed coming into the Duluth Port.

“I’ve always enjoyed coming up here. It’s a wonderful port, it’s exciting. Spending time in Duluth was always nice. In the nice weather I would have a bicycle on board to be able to bicycle around and I don’t know how many times I’ve rode my bike down here to Canal Park and just venture around,” said Raymond Sheldon.

His most memorable experience as Captain was being able to marry his wife aboard his ship 3 years ago with whom he will be doing the Soo Lock Boat Tours with during the summer.