2020 Freighter Frenzy Final Four is Underway

While the March NCAA basketball tournaments may have been put on hold for this year, we have embraced tournament madness over on our Twitter account. We have ran a month long Freighter Frenzy bracket tourney to crown our inaugural champion.

On Wednesday our Final Four will square off and then Friday a winner be crowned. The remaining contestants are the Roger Blough, Lee A. Tregurtha, the Alpena, and the Wilfred Sykes. Votes are cast on Twitter polls. Give us a follow so you can participate! Voting is open for 24 hours with ties going to a one-hour runoff.

The winner will achieve the prestigious honor of being featured in our Twitter display picture for one year until the 2021 tournament. Let’s take a look at the paths our four finalist have taken to reach the Final Four, including the recently completed “Elite Freight” round.

Roger Blough

Placed in a division with five 1,000-footers, the Roger Blough proved a popular choice earning victories over the Mesabi Miner and Stewart J. Cort.

The Blough will be competing against the Lee A. Tregurtha for a chance to take on the winner of the Alpena and Wilfred Sykes matchup.

Lee A. Tregurtha

The Lee A. Tregurtha is the only remaining competitor to not have a Round 1 bye.

She has made steady work of the American Spirit, Paul R. Tregurtha, and Edwin H. Gott. But does she “gott” what it takes to win the 2020 Freighter Frenzy?

Alpena

The Alpena is the oldest freighter on the Great Lakes and in this tournament.

Will her veteran experience help her win the inaugural tournament? She has held steady in convincing victories over the Joseph L. Block and Philip R. Clarke.

Wilfred Sykes

If Las Vegas had odds on the Freighter Frenzy tournament, our bet would be the Sykes would be a favorite to win the tournament.

Fleet mate Edward L. Ryerson provided a close “Elite Freight” matchup for the Sykes. She also has a victory over the Kaye E. Barker.

When we began the tournament we had an unconventional 24 freighters pitted against one another with eight receiving a bye based on Twitter responses. The largest factor for the size of the tournament was based on photos we had easily available. We included the 13 1,000-footers, and then freighters we had photos readily available.

Our goal for the 2021 Freighter Frenzy tournament will be to have a full field of 64. If you have a favorite freighter that wasn’t included a photo you have taken of it, we would love to include in next year’s larger bracket.

Follow along with us on Twitter and share your favorite freighters with the hashtag #FreighterFrenzy and let us know which vessels you would like to see in 2021! Special thanks to all of our photographers who have contributed photos to us over the years.