FENNVILLE, Mich. - When a Fennville man spotted a peculiar vessel the evening of Aug. 30, he pulled out his phone, recorded a video and posted it to Facebook.
13 ON YOUR SIDE took the story to the U.S. Coast Guard for answers.
Jeffrey Cipcic has lived in Fennville for six years. In that time, he has seen a thing or two.
“We walk our dogs a couple times a day down the lakeshore," Cipcic said. "So we see all kinds of vessels, mostly small, recreational boats, occasionally large freighters and things like that.”
He recently spotted something that caught his eye.
“About 7 o'clock last night we were driving up Lakeshore Drive, and there’s quite a few openings towards the lake,” Cipcic said.
What he saw made him do a double take.
“First we thought it was a freighter, then we thought it was a barge, and then we kind of followed it down the lakeshore and realized it was something we had never seen before.”
He couldn't figure out exactly what it was.
“It looked almost submarine-like. Although the very front was a little flat because it was hitting the waves, so I don't know,” Cipcic said.
Cipcic has been curious ever since.
"My main reason for posting it was hopefully finding somebody who knew what it was," Cipcic said.
After reviewing the footage, the U.S. Coast Guard thinks the video shows a towboat pushing a barge.
The towboat is in the back, and the barge is in the front. That's why it looks so long.
The U.S. Coast Guard said the telltale sign is the pilothouse on the top of the towboat in the back.
So there you have it. Mystery solved.
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