Lauren Olson made her self-proclaimed status as a “boat nerd” permanent with a tattoo on her leg.

It’s still a pretty fresh passion, born during a 2022 visit to Duluth from her home in Dawson, Minn. in southern Minnesota.

Her husband Joe died from cancer three years ago.

“A friend and I had come to Duluth. We were staying right there at the Lift Bridge Lodge,” Olson said. “And at 6:30 on a Saturday morning, I heard the bridge. So I went out. And it was what I now know as the Victory-Maumee.”

She took a video and was hooked. She started regularly watching the Duluth HarborCam.

“My first questions were, how do you pronounce the Michipicoten?” Olson said. “She’s one of my heart ships.”

YouTube led her to Vibe with Mike.

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“I’m an educator, a retired educator. So lifelong learning is – you know, when you quit learning, you die,” Olson said.

Along with the Michipicoten, her other favorites are the Paul R. Tregurtha, the Arthur M. Anderson, and the James R. Barker.

“If you call, my ringtone is the Barker,” she said.

If that’s not enough to prove her enthusiasm, she also keeps a spreadsheet of all the ships she’s seen in person and when.

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While the ships have come and gone with Olson on the pier, yelling out to the crew, they’ve carried more than cargo. They’ve also carried her through some tough stuff.

“I had a rough time. Joe dying was not good. I mean, that’s never good. This gave me something to look forward to and ships to look forward to and coming up here,” she said. “I feel him here. Just like my daddy loved lighthouses. So when I’m up at Split Rock, I feel my daddy there.”

Even when she’s landlocked hours away, she keeps a tab open to watch what’s happening in Duluth, connecting her to the Canal, the days gone by, and the ships still to come.

“I feel like maybe Joe’s along with me.”