The December shipping season can not only be bitterly cold but most dangerous as the S/S Charles M. Beeghly's hatch covers, main deck and railings have become encased in ice after a furious battle with Lake Superior the previous day. Now on a much calmer Lake Huron, the 806' vessel is downbound with a cargo of taconite pellets loaded in Superior, WI and headed for Bethlehem Steel's plant in Burns Harbor, IN. This is the sailor's view from on the main deck looking aft toward the stern and the self unloading unit. 2nd IN A SERIES: A tribute to Great Lakes sailors past & present, saluting the mariners of the inland seas as they face the unrelenting forces of nature. See also Summer Lightning.