Photographer and historian Patrick Lapinski has been photographing and writing about the Great Lakes maritime industry for over thirty years. Pat is a regular contributor to Great Lakes related maritime publications such as The Nor’Easter, the journal of the Lake Superior Marine Museum Association; Seaway Review / Great Laker; The Inland Seas, the journal of the Great Lakes Historical Society; the Duluth Seaway Port Authority’s North Star Port, and Lake Superior Magazine.

Is working on ships, sailing or tugging through the sea-like waters of the Great Lakes something you’ve imagined yourself doing? Whether it’s your dream job or an area of interest, it is no easy task and takes a full crew to power the 1000-footers, steamers, tugs, Seaway and river class vessels. Lapinski gets close and personal with ship-life, from the captain to the cook, from the inner workings of the engine department to the intricacies of navigation, from the work it takes to load and unload large masses of material. A huge variety of ships, a huge variety of jobs, and an even bigger cross section of people, all have helped make the lives of Americans a little easier by bringing in or out the goods through the Great Lakes.