By Jim Bloch
There’s nothing cheap about entering the St. Clair Rotary Club’s annual contest to win a trip for six aboard a Great Lakes freighter.
One raffle ticket runs $600. But only 200 tickets will be sold.
“The St. Clair Rotary Club is currently rolling out its favorite longtime fund raiser,” announced Ralph Livingston III, president-elect of the club, on Feb. 6. “The raffle to win a trip for six adults on a Great Lakes freighter vessel is back. This has been a steady fund raiser for our club going back over 20 years. However, we could be nearing the end of this campaign, since the local power plants may not be coal-fired in the future.”
The trip is aboard one of nine self-unloading freighters owned by the Interlake Steamship Company, of Middleburg Heights, Ohio.
The company moves 20 million tons of raw materials every year on the Lakes, including coal for generating electricity. One of its stops was DTE’s St. Clair Power Plant in East China Township, which was retired in 2022 along with the Trenton Channel plant.
The company also transports iron ore and fluxstone for the steel industry and stone for the construction industry.
The winner and five companions will enjoy three staterooms, each designed for two people, on the multi-day journey. The winning passengers will feast on hearty freighter fare in the captain’s galley.
Four of the freighters in the Interlake fleet are 1,000 feet or longer, including the Paul R. Tregurtha, the longest freighter on the lakes at 1,013.5 feet – the Lakes’ so-called Queen; the Tregurtha has a cargo capacity of 68,000 gross tons and is powered by a 1,710-horsepower engine.
“We are taking this opportunity to generate capital for our newly established St Clair Rotary Club Endowment Fund,” said Livingston.
The Community Foundation of St. Clair County will manage the fund.
“The fund will help ensure the St Clair Rotary can continue to provide service projects well into the future,” he said.
The Interlake Steamship Company has been moving raw materials on the Lakes to fuel the Midwest’s industries for more than a century. It is the largest privately-owned U.S.-flagged fleet on the Lakes.
“Interlake employs about 400 men and women who live and work in the region and the cargoes they deliver help generate and sustain more than 103,000 jobs in the eight Great Lakes states,” according to the firm’s website.
The company touts its efficiency. A single thousand-foot freighter hauls as much cargo as 700 train cars or 2,800 trucks.
“This raffle is a great opportunity for anyone interested in a trip of a lifetime,” said Livingston. “These trips cannot be purchased and they are highly sought after by enthusiasts of the Great Lakes cargo vessels.”
Ticket purchases may be made online. “The Freighter Raffle is now live and ready for ticket sales,” said Livingston. “The link to the web page is very informative and provides direct access to the ticket sales: https://greatlakesfreighterraffle.com/. Your ticket will be generated from the site.”
Interlake’s nine freighters range in length from 639 feet – the Mark W. Barker – to the 1,013.5-foot Paul R. Tregurtha. All the freighters were built in the U.S. The oldest, the Lee M. Tregurtha at 826 feet, was built in 1942. The newest, the Mark Barker, was launched in 2022, the first new freighter on the Great Lakes in four decades.
The winner will be selected during the Rotary’s Gala at the Boardwalk Theatre in St. Clair on April 26, 2025, at 7:00 pm.
“You do not need to be present to win,” Livingston said. “You will receive an email confirmation with a unique ticket number for the drawing. The winner receives six passes (three staterooms) for a Great Lakes Freighter Trip on an Interlake Freighter between Memorial and Labor Day, 2025.
“Your odds of winning are great.”
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
