Two Rivers shipwreck added to Wisconsin state register
9/6 - Two Rivers, Wis. – The Alaska, a shipwreck near Point Beach State Park, has been added to the Wisconsin Register of Historic Places. “It really adds another layer of excitement to the discovery of that shipwreck,” Two Rivers City Manager Greg Buckley said.
The Wisconsin State Historical Society accepted the nomination at its Aug. 19 meeting in La Crosse. More discussions need to take place before the shipwreck is placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“Our history isn’t simply static,” Buckley said. “There are always going to be more discoveries out there to be found.”
The shipwreck was found from the air May 2015 by ultralight pilot Suzze Johnson. Weather and current conditions in Lake Michigan at the time had shifted the sand so the shipwreck was visible. It lies about 5 feet under the water near Two Rivers.
“It (the shipwreck) adds to the already interesting history of shipping and shipwrecks on Lake Michigan,” Buckley said.
The Alaska is a 90-foot scow schooner that was built in 1869 by Smith Neville Sr., a master shipbuilder, in Sheboygan and was primarily used in Lake Michigan for the lumber trade, according to the registration form sent to the Wisconsin State Historical Society.
The document lists details of the schooner, including its history and what remains underwater. According to that document, the Alaska sank in 1879 after bad weather forced it to shore near Two Rivers and attempts to relaunch the ship failed. After the crew abandoned the vessel near Two Rivers, the ship sank, and over the years, became covered in sand.
In the registration form, it is written that the Alaska provides historians and archaeologist a rare chance to study scow schooner construction. It also mentions the wreck contains a number of artifacts not normally found with near-shore shipwrecks, and more may be uncovered under the sand.
Manitowoc Herald Times
9/6 - Detroit, Mich. – The state of Michigan has hit a roadblock in its efforts to cut down on air pollution in Wayne County. U.S. Steel is suing the state over a rule that requires the company to submit a plan for meeting sulfur dioxide standards at its Great Lakes Works plant in Ecorse.
Michigan has been trying get the Pittsburgh-based company and several others in the Detroit-area to scale back emissions since 2010, when a federal review found that levels were above standards. Michael Shore with the Department of Environmental Quality says U.S. Steel is the only company that hasn't complied.
"Instead, [U.S. Steel] is pursuing a legal strategy that puts them at a competitive advantage over other sources. Rather than pursue compliance in good faith, they've done everything possible to avoid making the needed changes to reduce their contribution to the region's SO2 impact," Shore said.
A spokesperson with U.S. Steel said the company had no comment on the matter.
Michigan Radio
9/6 - Lake Erie – Most tourists who take Miller Ferry to South Bass Island turn right as they huff and puff up the steep hill from the boat dock. From there, it’s a couple of miles in a taxicab, golf cart, or on bicycle to downtown Put-in-Bay.
Steps away to the left, though, is one of the island’s most peaceful and idyllic settings — one that will likely catch on with more people in the coming year.
The 119-year-old South Bass Island Lighthouse, which Ohio State University acquired from the federal government in 1967, has been restored and is being made available by the university for weddings and other special events starting in 2017, Chris Winslow, interim Ohio Sea Grant and OSU Stone Laboratory director, said.
The public has a chance to visit it and nearby Gibraltar Island at no charge from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday when the Friends of Stone Laboratory hosts its 18th annual open house.
Free transportation to Gibraltar will be provided from the Aquatic Visitors Center jointly operated by Ohio Sea Grant and Ohio State University on the opposite side of South Bass Island, just beyond downtown Put-in-Bay. Private water taxis also can be hired for a fee.
Ohio is one of 33 states with a college sea grant program operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The South Bass Island Lighthouse has been like a hidden gem out in plain sight for years now, prominently located near a busy dock but often restricted to the public.
That’s changing. The grounds — which include a butterfly garden installed a few years ago — are often open for picture-taking now, and the property’s shoreline offers one of Lake Erie’s most magnificent views.
Part of the adventure in visiting the lighthouse goes beyond its relaxing, screened-in porch and beautifully decorated living room, kitchen, and bedrooms.
The spiral staircase to the light offers tight twists and turns. The payoff, though, is a panoramic view of Lake Erie at the top.
Built at a cost of only $8,000, the brick lighthouse was used to guide ships from July, 1897, to October, 1962. It accommodates about 10 people at a time, and — according to Ohio Sea Grant — it is somewhat unique in that respect.
Unlike most lighthouses with huge towers and small, detached quarters, the South Bass Island Lighthouse has 2½ stories of living space in a Queen Anne-style home, a full basement, and an attached 60-foot tower. It also has a laundry room, large kitchen, furnace, and other amenities not normally found in lighthouses.
Back in the 1960s, after it had been retired as a lighthouse, the home was rented out to the family of Harry R. Johnson of Williston, Ohio, for the grand total of $66.50 a month. Mr. Johnson, his wife, and their seven children lived there for five years, according to a Sea Grant brochure.
Ohio State bought it after that five-year rental agreement expired in 1967. In 1983, NOAA installed a $50,000 meteorological station to assist the National Weather Service. The lighthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on April 5, 1990.
Kelly Dress, Stone Laboratory business office manager, said those interested in renting South Bass Island Lighthouse in 2017 should contact Craig Genheimer via email at genheimer.6@osu.edu.
Toledo Blade
On September 6,1872, nine days after she set sail from Port Colborne for Detroit, the schooner J. W. SARGENT was listed as missing in the Detroit newspapers, probably a victim of a August 29 storm that struck Lake Erie. Later on the same day that the newspaper announcement was published, the SARGENT arrived in Detroit. Captain William Simms stated that the storm drove him south to Erie, Pennsylvania, where he sheltered for a few days. He sent a telegraph message to the ship's owner but the news was not relayed to Detroit. The SARGENT only lasted another three months. In November 1872, a storm got her on Lake Erie.
The BADGER was launched on September 6, 1952, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. A christening ceremony included the SPARTAN (launched earlier that year). The BADGER was named in honor of the University of Wisconsin. The BADGER was built by Christy Corporation, and is powered by two Skinner 4 cylinder Steeple Compound Uniflow Marine Steam engines, developing over 7,000 horsepower. She was the last of the large, coal-fired steamers to be built in the United States, and the only ship of her type still operating on the Great Lakes. The BADGER offers seasonal passenger service from Ludington, Michigan, to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, from mid May to early October.
BELLE RIVER began her maiden voyage when she loaded 56,073 long tons of western coal at Superior, Wisconsin, on August 31, 1977, and arrived at Detroit Edison Co.'s Belle River power plant at Recors Point on September 6, 1977. Renamed in 1990, she sails today as b.) WALTER J. McCARTHY, JR.
On September 6, 1992, H. LEE WHITE was in tow of the "G" tugs COLORADO and LOUISIANA entering the Trenton Channel when she struck a section of the toll bridge at Grosse Ile, Michigan, knocking down a 150 foot span immediately east of the main river channel. The WHITE was not damaged but a new section of the bridge had to be installed at a cost of $1.7 million. The bridge was back in service in late January 1993. The U.S. Coast Guard investigated this casualty and their report states that it was the failure of the bridge tender to operate and open the bridge that caused this casualty. The Coast Guard found that the master of the WHITE was operating his vessel in a prudent and lawful manner including the use of whistle signals.
CHARLES E. WILSON completed her sea trials in 1973. Renamed b.) JOHN J. BOLAND in 2000.
GEORGIAN BAY collided with the steamer CHARLES HUBBARD in the fog-covered lower St. Marys River September 6, 1955.
On September 6, 1989, the twin-screw rail car ferry GRAND RAPIDS left Muskegon, Michigan, in tow of the tugs ANGLIAN LADY and PRINCESS NO 1, and arrived at Port Maitland, Ontario, on September 11th. Scrapping was completed in the fall of 1994.
On September 6, 1887, BLUE BELL (2-mast wooden scow-schooner, 84 foot, 122 gross tons, built in 1867, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin) was carrying lumber from Wilt's Bay, Michigan, to Milwaukee when she missed the harbor entrance at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, in a storm. She was driven ashore where she broke up. Her crew made it to the beach with the aid of the local U.S. Life Saving crew. The total loss was valued at $5,000.
On September 6,1871, the wooden schooner ROSA STEARNS, loaded with coal, was battling a storm for hours off Cleveland, Ohio. The ship was driven on the stone breakwater about 1 a.m. and was pounded to pieces. The crew jumped onto the breakwater and crawled to safety as the waves crashed over them.
1908: The wooden steamer CHAUNCY HURLBUT began leaking and was beached at Whitefish Point, Lake Superior, along a rough and rocky shore. It became a total loss and the hull was removed in August 1910 and sunk in deep water.
2009: ALGOPORT ran into heavy weather from tropical storm DeJuan while under tow of the PACIFIC HICKORY, broke up and sank in the Philippine Sea about a week's tow from the destination of Jiangyin, China.
September 5, 1899, the DOUGLASS HOUGHTON grounded at Sailors Encampment and sank when rammed by her barge, JOHN FRITZ. The HOUGHTON completely blocked St. Marys River traffic for five days. More than 300 boats were delayed at an estimated loss of $600,000.
On 05 September 1898, the MONTGOMERY (wooden schooner-barge, 204 foot, 709 tons, built in 1856, at Newport [Marine City], Michigan as a passenger/package freight steamer) sank in 21 feet of water on Lake St. Clair after colliding with the whaleback barge 137 (steel barge, 345 foot, 2,480 gross tons, built in 1896, at W. Superior, Wisconsin) which was being towed by the ALEXANDER McDOUGALL (steel propeller semi-whaleback freighter, 413 foot, 3,686 gross tons, built in 1898, at West Superior, Wisconsin). The MONTGOMERY was raised and repaired. She lasted another two years before breaking up in a storm in 1901.
CHI-CHEEMAUN completed her sea trials on September 5, 1974, and then cleared the Collingwood shipyard on September 26th.
BENJAMIN F. FAIRLESS cleared Lorain on her maiden voyage September 5, 1942 for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.
J. P. MORGAN, JR. returned to service September 5, 1948, after repairs suffered in an accident in June.
NEW QUEDOC arrived at McLouth Steel, Trenton, Michigan, on her maiden voyage September 5, 1960, with a load of Labrador iron ore. Renamed b.) QUEDOC in 1963. QUEDOC was scrapped at Curacao Island, Lesser Antilles in 1985.
The WYANDOTTE of 1916, a.) CONNEAUT, was towed down the Welland Canal on September 5- 6, 1973, on her way to the cutter’s torch at Santander, Spain.
On 5 September 1905, ABERCORN (wooden propeller 'rabbit', 126 foot, 261 gross tons, built in 1873, at Marine City, Michigan) burned at the dock at Goderich, Ontario, while unloading coal. She reportedly caught fire from the explosion of a signal lamp.
The schooner CALEDONIA, wrecked the previous autumn near the Fishing Islands on Lake Huron, was raised and arrived in Port Huron, Michigan, on September 5, 1882, under tow to be rebuilt.
1896: The Canadian passenger ship BALTIC, built in 1867 as FRANCES SMITH, burned at the dock in Collingwood. The hull drifted to shallow water and remained there for several years.
1964: A. & J. MID-AMERICA, a Seaway caller in 1963, was driven ashore at Lantau Island near Hong Kong by typhoon Ruby. The vessel was refloated October 5 but came ashore again days later during typhoon Dot on October 13. Refloated October 21, the vessel returned to service and was scrapped as e) UNION TIGER at Inchon, South Korea, after arriving in April 1968.
1964: The former HEMSEFJELL, a pre-Seaway trader, was also blown aground at Hong Kong as d) PROSPERITY during typhoon Ruby but released on October 5. It was scrapped in Thailand during 1972.
1964: The three-year old bulk carrier LEECLIFFE HALL sank in the St. Lawrence, 65 miles below Quebec City, following a collision with the APOLLONIA. Efforts to beach the ship failed and three lives were lost. The hull was dynamited as a hazard to navigation in 1966. The latter, a Greek freighter, had been a Seaway trader in 1964 and was repaired at Levis, QC. The ship was scrapped at Shanghai, China, as c) MAYFAIR after arriving on May 3, 1985.
On September 4,1889, the new steamer CHEROKEE (wooden propeller freighter, 209 foot, 1,002 gross tons) arrived in Port Huron, Michigan, from M. P. Lester's yard in Marine City, Michigan, for the Phoenix Iron Works in Port Huron to installed the engine and boiler. Her outfitting was completed by Carleton and Cole of Port Huron.
On September 4, 1876, CITY OF PORT HURON, a wooden steam barge, sank a few miles off shore near Lexington, Michigan, at about noon. She was heavily loaded with iron ore and sprang a leak at about 11 o'clock. Most of the crew managed to get on top of the cabin while two were in the forward rigging as she went down in 6 fathoms of water. The heavy seas washed over those on the cabin. Captain George Davis and two others floated ashore on wreckage while a fish boat picked up the five others. No lives were lost.
1921: The former laker RANDOLPH S. WARNER was cut in two to leave the Great Lakes during World War One. It was rebuilt with the pilothouse amidships and sank on this date about 40 miles off the Bosporus after reportedly striking an unrecovered mine.
1926: HARSEN, loaded with a cargo of sand, capsized and sank in a storm 3 miles northeast of the Pelee Passage Light in Lake Erie. The wooden-hulled vessel was a total loss.
1961: IMPERIAL HAMILTON caught fire while loading ethyl gasoline at Sarnia and sustained considerable damage. Six on board were injured.
1963: The Egyptian freighter SALAH ELDIN, a former Victory ship, caught fire in the crew quarters in Hamilton but the blaze was extinguished before it reached the cargo hold. The vessel almost capsized due to the weight of water but it remained upright. Two crew were injured and the Chief Steward died. The ship was towed out by GRAEME STEWART and JAMES BATTLE on November 22, 1963, for Quebec City and sold as is, where it became d) MERCANTILE VICTORY after a refit at Houston, Texas. Another fire on April 23, 1964, this time in the engine room on the Red Sea shortly after re-entering service in March 1964, led to an eventual resale to Spanish shipbreakers. The vessel arrived at Castellon for dismantling on May 10, 1965.
1967: The tugs MICHAEL McALLISTER and AMERICA towed the retired passenger ship NORTH AMERICAN through the Welland Canal enroute to a new career as a training ship for the S.I.U. at Piney Point, MD.
1972: NORSE CORAL was new when it entered the Seaway in 1962 and returned as b) TOTEM STAR in 1963. The ship opened the Seaway season on April 8, 1964, and returned to our shores as c) SILVERBEACH in 1965. It sustained heavy damage off Victoria, BC while inbound from Hong Kong to Vancouver on this date due to a collision with the C.E. DANT. The two ships were locked together. They were towed to Victoria the next day and then separated September 6. The damage was repaired and the former lakes trader survived until scrapping at Xingang, China, in 1986.
September 3, 1919, the WILLIAM A. McGONAGLE loaded a record 15,160 tons of soft coal at Toledo, Ohio for delivery to Gary, Indiana. The record lasted less than 24 hours as the D. G. KERR, Captain Harry Harbottle, loaded 15,532 tons of coal at the same Toledo dock for delivery to Gary.
September 3, 1942, the 250-foot STEEL VENDOR, Captain G. L. Kane, sank at 3:45 a.m. on Lake Superior with a cargo of 3,000 tons of iron ore. The lone casualty was Oiler John N. Sicken. Twenty-two survivors were rescued by the CHARLES M. SCHWAB, Captain Alfred Drouillard, and 2 survivors were rescued by the WILLIAM G. CLYDE, Captain David M. LeRoy. Other boats standing by were the B. F. AFFLECK, ELBERT H. GARY, JOLIET, and EUGENE P. THOMAS.
September 3, 1957, the HARRIS N. SNYDER of the Boland & Cornelius fleet, Captain Elmer Murray and Chief Engineer Frank Mc Cabe, rescued 2 from the waters of Lake Michigan. Not only did the crew rescue Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Colby, but the crew used the unloading boom to recover their sailboat and place it on the deck of the SNYDER. The entire maneuver only required 55 minutes.
On September 3, 1899, the Great Lakes Towing Company's RED CLOUD (wooden propeller tug, 62 foot, 40 gross tons, built in 1883, at Buffalo, New York) was sailing on Lake Erie for Lorain, Ohio, when a storm forced her to head for port at Cedar Point, Ohio. However she was thrown on a reef and broke in two - a total loss. The crew made it to Sandusky, Ohio.
On September 3, the BELLE RIVER (now WALTER J. McCARTHY, JR.) set a then Great Lakes record for coal when it loaded 62,802 tons of coal at Superior Midwest Energy Terminal on its maiden voyage. This record has since been surpassed many times.
At Lorain, Ohio keel-laying ceremonies for the 437-foot bow section of the ROGER BLOUGH (Hull#900) took place on September 3, 1968, and was float-launched December 21, 1968, less ballast tanks because the existing dry dock wasn't wide enough to accommodate her 105-foot width.
SOODOC (Hull#210) of 1976, on her maiden voyage from Collingwood, Ontario, loaded salt at Goderich, Ontario, on September 3, 1976. Renamed b.) AMELIA DESGAGNES in 1990.
U.S. Steel's SEWELL AVERY was laid up for the last time September 3, 1981, at Superior, Wisconsin. She was towed to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in 1987, where the superstructure was removed and the hull was sunk for use as a dock.
THOMAS W. LAMONT was laid up for the last time at Duluth’s Hallett dock #6A on September 3, 1981. She was scrapped at Aliaga, Turkey, in 1987.
H. H. PORTER sailed on her maiden voyage for the Brier Hill Steamship Co. (Pickands Mather, mgr.) on September 3, 1920, light from Lorain, Ohio, to load iron ore at Two Harbors, Minnesota. Renamed b.) WALTER E. WATSON in 1957 and c.) NATIONAL TRADER in 1973. She was scrapped at Thunder Bay, Ontario, in 1978.
On September 3, 1985, PHILIP R. CLARKE plowed into the Drawbridge Cove Marina in Lorain's Black River, damaging 5-10 small craft and sinking one at the steel dock. CLARKE managed to stop before hitting the Route 6 drawbridge.
On September 3,1887, BULGARIA (wooden propeller, 280 foot, 1,888 gross tons) was launched at West Bay City, Michigan, by J. Davidson, as their hull number 16.
September 3, 1910 - The MARQUETTE & BESSEMER NO 2 (Hull#450) was launched in Cleveland, Ohio by the American Ship Building Co. for the Marquette & Bessemer Dock & Navigation Co. She was the replacement for MARQUETTE & BESSEMER NO 2 of 1905, (Hull#428), which foundered on Lake Erie, December 7, 1909.
On September 3, 1869, the 167-foot wooden propeller BOSCOBEL burned about two miles below St. Clair, Michigan. Three lives were lost. The ship was only about two years old and was in service of the New York Central Railroad, though owned by the Peshtigo Lumbering Co. of Chicago. The burned hulk was raised in 1876 and rebuilt as a schooner-barge at Algonac, Michigan. She lasted until 1909, when she sank on Lake Huron.
1905: The GEORGE STEPHENSON was blown aground at Pointe Aux Pins, Lake Superior and struck by her consort barge JOHN A. ROEBLING. Both were released and returned to service.
1942: DONALD STEWART, a canal trader for Canada Steamship Lines, was torpedoed by U-517 and sunk while in a convoy on the Gulf of St. Lawrence while carrying barrels of aviation fuel and bulk cement for the air base at Goose Bay, Labrador. Three members of the engine room crew were lost.
1944: LIVINGSTON, a former Great Lakes canal ship, was torpedoed and sunk by U-541 in the Atlantic about 80 miles east of Cape Breton Island. Fourteen lives were lost but another 14 were spared and rescued.
1965: The tanker EASTERN SHELL sank the small wooden goelette MONT BLANC in a collision blamed on fog about 20 miles from Trois Rivieres. All crewmembers of the pulpwood carrier were rescued.
1970: KENNETH made a single trip to the Great Lakes in 1959. It caught fire in the engine room on this date off the coast of Israel while enroute from Alexandria, Egypt, to Tripoli, Libya, as h) CHRISTINA MARIA. The ship was abandoned by the crew, towed into Haifa, Israel, September 6 and sold to Israeli shipbreakers later in the year.
1998: ORKANGER, a chemical tanker that first came through the Seaway in 1977, began leaking while inbound at Rio Grande, Brazil, as e) BAHAMAS with 12,000 tons of sulphuric acid and sank in the harbor. The hull was eventually refloated but never repaired although it had subsequent renames and was reported as broken up in 2003 as h) ORIENT FLOWER.
Feds put old Michigan lighthouses up for auction
9/4 - Mackinaw City, Mich. – Nick Korstad was 7 when he first learned about lighthouses and dreamed of being a lightkeeper. Now, he’s a keeper for three lighthouses in three states.
His most recent acquisition is the Spectacle Reef Light in northern Lake Huron, northeast of Cheboygan. He won the bidding for the 142-year-old light in September 2015, paying $43,575 to the U.S. General Services Administration, which sells surplus government property.
“It’s a beautiful structure; I can’t wait to get to work on it,” Korstad said. “We have some work ahead of us.”
Some work is also needed on four other lighthouses in northern Lake Michigan that are being auctioned off as part of the efforts under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act to find new owners:
• The White Shoal Light, built in 1901, is 20 miles west of the Mackinac Bridge. Featured on a state of Michigan license plate, the red and white tower has a terra cotta, steel and brick interior. It was automated in 1976. As of Friday, there were two bids on the structure with the highest being $16,000.
• Grays Reef Light, built in 1936, is four miles west of Waugoshance Island. The historic 82-foot light has a square tower with steel plate construction on a concrete crib. It also was automated in 1976. Opening bid is $10,000 and there are no buyers yet.
• The North Manitou Shoal Light, built in 1935, is southeast of North Manitou Island, eight miles offshore from Leland. The light includes a two-story steel building that housed the living quarters with a 63-foot tall steel tower. The light was automated in 1979. It had one bid of $10,000 Friday.
• Minneapolis Shoal Light marks the entrance to Little Bay de Noc in Delta County. The 82-foot-high octagonal lighthouse sits on a 32-foot square metal structure that housed the keeper’s living quarters. The light was built in 1934 and was the last manned lighthouse to mark an isolated reef. It also was automated in 1979. Opening bid is $15,000 and no takers yet.
Bidders can be private individuals or nonprofits and must obtain a private use agreement from the state, which owns the bottomland on which the structures sit, and agree to maintain and operate the lights.
The GSA hopes to wrap up the bidding by mid-September. Bidders are required to complete an online application and offer a deposit of at least $10,000.
If any of the four lighthouses are sold, proceeds will go into the Coast Guard’s Aid to Navigation Fund for equipment, preservation and maintenance of lighthouses. If they don’t sell, the GSA will have to decide whether to keep the property or try again to sell them.
The lighthouses, while still active, are no longer needed by the U.S. Coast Guard, which has made advancements in navigation technology, said Catherine Langel, the GSA’s Great Lakes region public affairs officer.
Over the past two decades, nonprofit preservation groups interested in lighthouses have grown around the Great Lakes, with more than 50 organizations involved in the Michigan Lighthouse Alliance.
Two lighthouses that were listed for auction in 2015 have GSA sales pending: Gravelly Shoals and Isle Aux Galet.
“Lighthouses like these in Michigan have deep roots and sentimental value as local historic landmarks,” GSA Great Lakes Regional Administrator Ann Kalayil said in a statement.
Terry Pepper is the executive director of one of those groups, the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association. “There are 388 Great Lakes lights,” he said. “Michigan alone has 124 lights.”
The group has restored and maintains the St. Helena Light, west of Mackinaw City, on Lake Michigan and the Cheboygan River Front Range Light on Lake Huron in Cheboygan.
“We have undertaken our work with the help of volunteers, Boy Scouts and church groups, and we offer a volunteer keeper program at both lighthouses. It’s important to keep the stories of these places alive,” Pepper said.
Detroit News
9/3 - Detroit, Mich. – Since November, the steamer Ste. Claire has been safely docked on the Rouge River, as a team steadily worked to bring the ship back to its former glory.
But just one year after moving to great fanfare, the former Boblo boat faces its latest hurdle: It will have to move once more. The dock along the Rouge River needs to be clear by the second week of October to make way for a new, paying client, said its owner, Paul Russo. And while the team has enough money to finish replacing much of the boat's inner workings, it is still hundreds of thousands of dollars short of what's needed to finish the final stages.
“My heart sank,” upon learning of the move, said Ron Kattoo, the ship’s co-owner who has led restoration efforts since he bought the boat in 2007. He got the bad news last month.
9/3 - Sturgeon Bay, Wis. – Reacting to the popularity of the Door County Lighthouse Festival each June and a positive response to last October’s first installment of an abbreviated Autumn Door County Lighthouse Festival, the Door County Maritime Museum is again offering some of its most popular tours Columbus Day weekend. Reservations are now being taken for these nautical adventures that will take place October 8-9, with discounts being offered for Door County Maritime Museum members.
The Chambers Island tour and the Sail Door County Schooner Cruise will again be a part of this abbreviated offering. New this fall is the first land-based tour offered by Door County Nature & Travel as well as a couple different boat excursions by Shoreline Charters.
A pair of schooner tours out of the Sister Bay Marina are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 8, leaving at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The cruises offer a sail into yesteryear on a 19th century tall ship. The 2.5-hour cruise is longer and more historically themed than regular schooner trips. It visits the scenic waters adjacent to the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse to present the opportunity for views and photos of the light perched on the bluff. Participants are invited to hoist the sails on the 65-foot schooner Edith M. Becker. As tradition requires, the cannon will be fired to signal the end of the cruise. Cost of the tour is $62 for Door County Maritime Museum members and $65 for non-members. Only 22 tickets will be sold per tour.
Also on Saturday, Shoreline Charters will offer its Death’s Door cruise. It’s a 90-minute excursion into the legendary strait from which Door County got its name. Tours will leave from the Gills Rock dock at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Highlights include water views of the Baileys Harbor Range Lights and abandoned Coast Guard Station on Plum Island and then on to eerie Pilot Island with its bare trees and lighthouse. Cost is $49 per person and capacity is limited to 14 people.
The Door County Nature & Travel land-based tour will include lighthouses in the Baileys Harbor and Fish Creek areas. The four-hour tour includes stops at the Ridges Range Lights, Cana Island Lighthouse and Eagle Bluff Lighthouse. The tour, which will leave from the Baileys Harbor Town Hall, will be capped with a stop at one of the peninsula’s premier wineries. The cost is $49 and includes admission to the lighthouses.
On Sunday, the Chambers Island boat excursion and walking tour will be offered. Departures will take place at the Fish Creek Dock aboard the Quo Vadis at 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
A journey to Chambers Island is a one of the Door County Lighthouse Festival’s enduring offerings and will be presented in the same format as in June. Access to the historic lighthouse requires a three-mile round trip docent-led hike. Lighthouse caretakers will meet the tours and provide a remarkable account of both the history of the island and its lighthouse. There you will be able to soak up the amazing view and climb to the lantern room platform. Note: Good hiking shoes are recommended and participants should be in good enough shape to handle the hike. Time on the island will be approximately 2 hours. The cost of the tour is $65 for Door County Maritime Museum members and $69 for non-members. Space is limited.
Shoreline Charters will be offering a tour from the Sister Bay Marina on Sunday with departures at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. The tour will last between 90 minutes and two hours as it passes the scenic coastline to Eagle Bluff Lighthouse. Along the way you will see spectacular homes and be amazed by the large caves. Continuing on to the lighthouse enjoy the views of the Strawberry Islands and other islands in the distance. The cost is $49 per person.
Tickets are now on sale for the Door County Autumn Lighthouse Festival. To reserve your spot on one of these limited tours, please contact the Door County Maritime Museum at (920) 743-5958. For additional information, visit
www.dcmm.org.
DCMM
