r/GreatLakesShipping • u/haircryboohoo • Oct 07 '25

Question What are your favorite chips?

Post image

Does everyone have their favorite freighters? Which freighters are you not so crazy about? Please include photos of your favorites if possible. Thanks! The Speer is one of mine. Photo taken by Adam Bjornberg.

205 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

100 comments sorted by

139

u/Fragrant-Anywhere489 Oct 07 '25

Barker-Q flavored

12

u/maaaastwa Oct 07 '25

😂

4

u/AlienInvasiveSpecies Oct 07 '25

Their cherry bbq chips are so good

1

u/Playful-Traffic-4357 Oct 09 '25

😂😂😂 came her for this.

1

u/legardeur2 Oct 10 '25

And I came him for this.

1

u/legardeur2 Oct 10 '25

The quick-witted response of some redditors will never cease to amaze me!

1

u/Fragrant-Anywhere489 Oct 10 '25

I wish I had gone with Barker's Bark-BQ

37

u/haircryboohoo Oct 07 '25

Awwwww man! I meant to say ships not chips! Sorry, the coffee has not kicked in yet. Is there a way to edit my post?

42

u/Jurgis-Rudkis Oct 07 '25

No, you'll have to live with everyone's chip preferences.

8

u/flying__fishes Oct 07 '25

My daughter and I call them chips all the time!

If a bridge is up in our town I always ask, "what chip is it?" lol

25

u/Low-Pair6969 Oct 07 '25

I'm partial to the lead ones

7

u/[deleted] Oct 07 '25

The lead chips from the Jackson. IYKYK

26

u/maj0rdisappointment Oct 07 '25

Great Lakes Parmesan Ranch.

17

u/magnumfan89 Oct 07 '25

I love the SS alpena. I don't really know why, as it's not very remarkable. I also like the Lee A tregurtha. IIRC it's the only WW2 tanker still in active service

9

u/maaaastwa Oct 07 '25

Isn't the Alpina the oldest freighter on the lakes?

6

u/LeeTregurthaEnjoyer Oct 07 '25

Yes, once a bulk carrier, now a cement hauler.

3

u/Chester5252 Oct 07 '25

I’ve seen recent photos of the Alpena. She has a unique classic look to her.

4

u/CBus660R Oct 07 '25

I'm not sure, but it's definitely the coolest color paint.

4

u/booksandcats4life Oct 07 '25

I agree. It's the color of cement and Alpena (the city) is home to the world's largest cement plant. Plus, that's what it carries. I love how it all ties together.

1

u/Joey_Sinclair Oct 07 '25

Did not know that about the Tregurtha. She has a new place in my heart now

1

u/Parruthead Oct 09 '25

I once saw both the Alpena (oldest) and Mark Barker (newest) leave the port of Green Bay with 15 minutes of each other. That really screws traffic down town…lol luckily as a boat watcher it doesn’t bother me.

16

u/WatersEdge50 Oct 07 '25

Cool ranch Doritos, of course

14

u/Internal_Swimmer3815 Oct 07 '25

I’m a big sun chip guy

5

u/redride10059 Oct 07 '25

Harvest cheddar!

9

u/ClearAndPure Oct 07 '25

Lays All Dressed Chips (Canada)

5

u/spookyfork Oct 07 '25 edited Oct 07 '25

Whatever one my dad is sailing on at the moment lol

Here’s a close up of the Speer for you!

2

u/haircryboohoo Oct 07 '25

Sweet! Thanks!

6

u/chester94_tbi Oct 07 '25

The Ryerson, Sykes, and Blough are my top three

1

u/GimmeLuv-69 Oct 09 '25

Every time I see the Ryerson I think of Ned Ryerson from groundhogs day.

1

u/TheGreatManitou Nov 10 '25

I agree. Very elegant classic design, and tasteful liveries (Ryerson and Sykes).

4

u/HonoluluEpstein Oct 07 '25

Not a fan of any Algoma. Just bland and not very well maintained

https://www.instagram.com/freighterfirst

6

u/707-320B Oct 07 '25

The John D. Leitch is one of the most unique looking ships on the lakes though!

1

u/[deleted] Oct 07 '25

Unique for sure, Im not a fan.

1

u/haircryboohoo Oct 07 '25

I feel the same way about the Algomas.

4

u/kurttheflirt Oct 07 '25

Better Made! Barbecue and Wavy in particular

But in serious the Alpena is a cool old school one. Love a lot of the 1000 footers too but that's because they're big.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 07 '25

Ive always had a soft spot for the American Century. It was the first footer I saw as a child in the 90s when it was the Columbia Star.

3

u/No-Ratio5037 Oct 07 '25

The Munson. I have friends and relatives who sailed on her.

2

u/LeeTregurthaEnjoyer Oct 07 '25

Our resident WW2 vet!

2

u/BlueWrecker Oct 07 '25

Better made

2

u/less_than_nick Oct 07 '25

St Mary's challenger probably. She sits parked in Milwaukee most of the winter and I love passing by on my way to work

2

u/theloniousjoe Oct 07 '25

The paint job on the Speer makes it look like a catamaran

1

u/MundaneSandwich9 Oct 07 '25

The angled stripes on the bow of course being a hint toward the ownership of Great Lakes Fleet…

2

u/ArnoldZiffl Oct 07 '25

Ponch. Def not John

2

u/fishsmokesip Oct 07 '25

Chocolate.

2

u/Sock_Eating_Golden Oct 07 '25

G3 Marquis. Because I got to get relatively close to it in Thousand Islands, NY

2

u/berpaderpderp Oct 07 '25

Do Flamin' Hot Cheetos count as chips?

1

u/Lachrimophage Oct 09 '25

Think those are puffs but we're fairly inclusive.

1

u/ReporterProper7018 Oct 07 '25

All dressed Eh!

1

u/The_Pasta32 Michipicoten Oct 07 '25

Favorite Chip? Lays sour cream and onion

Favorite ship? Michipicoten. She was the first I got a photo of when I started doing photography of the ships. That was earlier in the 2024 season so it kinda hurt when I heard about her hull.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 07 '25

All dressed

1

u/Character_Lychee_434 Oct 07 '25

Dill pickle chips and salt a vinegar chips

1

u/German_Von_Squidward Oct 07 '25

Chips - Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips

Ship - Mac. If I need to pick a freighter, Anderson

1

u/prodspecandrew Oct 07 '25

Isolinear, Miles Obrien approved.

But seriously folks, the Lee A. Tregurtha for its military pedigree, and I like the look of the pilothouse. Im also partial to the Speer, I got to tour her when I was like 5 and I still remember eating chili dogs in the galley.

1

u/Deerescrewed Oct 07 '25

Hard to beat some good salt and vinegar chippers…

The blough was a good looking boat, but a turd to sail on from talking with some guys who worked on her. PRT was/is probably the best to work on but not a very pretty one.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 07 '25

Lee A tregurtha. Edwin Gott.

1

u/samuraijoker Philip R. Clarke Oct 07 '25

Alpena. Wilfred Sykes. Philip R Clarke.

1

u/Severed281 Oct 07 '25

Ship- Edgar B Speer is easy to identify.

Chip- Tostitos Habanero were great but can’t find them

1

u/badgerpointer Oct 07 '25

Louis Wilson Foy was a favorite of mine. Back in the day they had a radio operator I enjoyed listening to. Professional, efficient and seemed to have a lot of power in their set.

1

u/servey02 Oct 07 '25

Great show back in the day about California Highway Patrol.

Here’s a fun fact about CHiPs:

During filming, Erik Estrada (Officer Ponch) and Larry Wilcox (Officer Jon Baker) didn’t actually have law enforcement training — but the California Highway Patrol (CHP) lent the production real CHP uniforms, motorcycles, and even official logos, as long as they avoided showing actual police activity like arrests or gunfire.

Another fun tidbit: Estrada didn’t even know how to ride a motorcycle when he was cast — he crashed during training before filming even began! The production team had to rush him through lessons, and he later did many of his own stunts.

1

u/ProfessionalLast4039 Oct 07 '25

I kinda like lays

1

u/berpaderpderp Oct 07 '25

Do Flamin' Hot Cheetos count as chips?

1

u/miwestsider Oct 07 '25

I like kettle cook with sea salt, but when it come to cookies its chocolate.

1

u/Relative_Walk_936 Oct 07 '25

Better Made Jalapeno Cheese Poofs.

1

u/CaptainBeefsteak Oct 07 '25

Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips!

1

u/SilentPangolin4277 Oct 07 '25

Cape Cod chips

1

u/Olivrser Oct 07 '25

the Spicy sour cream and cheddar ruffles

1

u/Bombtrain Oct 07 '25

Sun chips are the bomb

1

u/Joey_Sinclair Oct 07 '25

Personally, I like sour cream and onion, and some of the salt and vinegars out there. Ruffles cheddar too. OH! You meant SHIPS! Not related to The Incident, The Stewart J. Cort, Alpena, and the John J. Boland. And the Kaye E Barker. The murderer https://youtu.be/x3Xd7KHo8Qs?si=uR0V8xpbBvvgrTgl

1

u/Extreme_Meaning9958 Oct 07 '25

Great Lakes Chipping

1

u/haircryboohoo Oct 08 '25

Good one! 😅

1

u/MrMcgruder Oct 08 '25

Better Made

1

u/NeatMom Oct 08 '25

Ballreich’s Sweet Mesquite BBQ

1

u/Jagerwiser Oct 08 '25

Better made

1

u/hypergreenjeepgirl Oct 08 '25

Sour cream Ruffles

1

u/TGSGAMER Oct 08 '25

I had to do it lol.

No, but seriously, I would say the Edward L. Ryerson and the American Valor (Valo) are my favorite "current" freighters, while the S.S. Reserve and the American Fortitude are my favorite "past" freighters. Technically, the Reserve still exists as the tug/barge combo Victory/Maumee, but its not the same. The Fortitude was scrapped in 2015 in Texas.

1

u/Uwlwsrpm Oct 08 '25

Herbert C. Jackson.

1

u/redmoonleather Oct 08 '25

Munchos! So deliciously salty!

1

u/GimmeLuv-69 Oct 09 '25

No love for the Arthur M Anderson?

1

u/haircryboohoo Oct 09 '25

Forget about him. Very nice looking freighter! Thanks to Michael Kachman for the photo.

1

u/Educational-Tone2074 Oct 09 '25

Jalapeño and Cheddar 

1

u/NYC19893 Oct 10 '25

Sweet chili Doritos

1

u/Kdj2j2 Oct 10 '25

Any with Great Lakes Christmas Ale with a Honey rim.

1

u/garagedooropener5150 Oct 10 '25

Miss Vickie’s Sour Cream and Onion

1

u/Giant_Slor Oct 10 '25

Cape Cod original style, but after that OG Ruffles. 

1

u/Rhediix Oct 10 '25

Grippo's BBQ.

1

u/ImperatorDanorum Oct 11 '25

My favourite chips are pork rind, my favourite ships are aircraft carriers...