Every election year since the environmental movement gained traction in the late 20th century, political war dances have been held to drum up commitments for restoration and protection of the Great Lakes. The drums throb again.

As noted here previously, promises made have not been promises kept on either side of the aisle by governors or presidents.

Nonetheless, new rituals are underway in Washington and Lansing, including a commendable effort announced last week by the Granholm administration, the Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC), and others to craft a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to present to the next president.

It would include a pitch for federal bucks to fight pollution and invasive species that enter the lakes via ocean-going ships. (The invasive species issue was among those highlighted by Governor Jennifer Granholm in proclaiming June 7 to June 14 as Water Week in Michigan.)

Lieutenant Governor John Cherry, likely contender to be Michigan's next governor, said, "We want to make the White House a true partner."

It has not been such a partner - as underscored by a report released in February by the Great Lakes Commission and Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative that underscored how states and cities are carrying the burden in light of unfulfilled Bush administration pledges.

Important as the pitch to the incoming White House will be, the immediate need is to get commitments from the presumptive nominees, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.

In that pursuit, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition Friday in Buffalo launched a 13-city tour by Earth Voyager, a 60-foot sailboat, to highlight the need to get Obama and McCain to pledge "to fund the restoration of the largest freshwater resource in North America."

The tour includes participation in the July 12 to July 14 Port Huron-to-Mackinac Race, the July 19 to July 21 Chicago-to-Mackinac Race, and a July 24 to July 27 visit to Traverse City.

It's an interesting PR gig and a way to trumpet the issue. But the key thing is for Michigan voters to stress the issue as candidates campaign here.

Aging Queen of the Great Lakes

When I'm along shipping lanes of the lakes, I sometimes check out the passing parade with binoculars. One up-close treat has been watching ships pass from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan between Mackinac Island and Round Island, heading toward the Mackinac Bridge.

On Friday, I spotted the 102- year-old St. Marys Challenger, the oldest ship still in service on the Great Lakes (launched two years before Henry Ford launched the Model T and six years before the Titanic's doomed maiden voyage), which sought shelter in Sleeping Bear Bay off Glen Arbor.

It was carrying a $1 million load of cement from Charlevoix to Ferrysburg just north of Grand Haven.

(For early Great Lakes ships, the Sleeping Bear lakeshore was both a haven and a graveyard. The narrow Manitou Passage has protected harbors, but also treacherous shoals and some of the most storied wrecks of the Lakes.)

After several calls to the parent company, I got the cell phone number of Captain George Herdina, who has skippered the 551-foot vessel for a quarter century. It was answered by Second Mate John McNabb of Harrisville in Alcona County, who said Herdina, while his ship as at anchor, was having "an afternoon siesta" after extended duty.

McNabb, who in his 40 years on lakes ships has gone to such Michigan harbors as Marquette and Munising, said that Challenger is not only the oldest boat still trading on the Great Lakes but also the "oldest U.S. flag" ship in service.

Fully loaded and facing southerly winds, "with gusts up to 35 miles an hour, there is no way we could get into Ferrysburg," Mc- Nabb said Friday. And that was before a tornado watch was posted for the shoreline Challenger would travel.

Stan Brubaker of Glen Arbor, former member of the State Waterways Commission, said the Challenger, which logs about 6,000 miles per season and also delivers to Chicago, Milwaukee, and Manitowoc, is the most frequent ship to shelter in Sleeping Bear Bay.

McNabb said Suttons Bay is the most common refuge for the selfunloading cement carrier, which has had multiple owners and names since it was christened as the William P. Snyder when launched in Detroit.

Challenger is among a dwindling number of steam-powered freighters on the Great Lakes. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2007 called it one of only two remaining ships still active on the Great Lakes powered by the classic Skinner Marine Unaflow steam engine, the other being the Ludington based car ferry Badger, which is powered by two of them.

Challenger, while older than the Model T, bristles with modern technology, including satellite navigation system and weather radar.

If, on its July missions on Lake Michigan, the aging ship should spot Earth Voyager and its crew of environmentalists, it would be nice if it would sound its horn to thank those trying to restore the waters that have deteriorated greatly since Challenger first encountered its waves.

George Weeks retired in 2006 after 22 years as political columnist for The Detroit News. His weekly Michigan Politics column is syndicated by Superior Features.