Ahoy!

I read Tom Groenfeldt’s article “Great Lakes Festival a Fit for Door County?” [volume 19, issue 2] with great interest. Good News! The Door County Maritime Museum already has some of his suggestions in place. A schedule of ship arrivals is posted on the museum website each “winter fleet” season. The schedule is updated as changes are known. A printed copy of the schedule is also posted in the Reddin Bridge Room at the museum on Sturgeon Bay’s working waterfront. Visitors can observe ship arrivals from the comfort of the Bridge Room or take in a truly unique view through the museum’s working submarine periscope. As Tom intimates, this schedule lists the projected date of ship arrival only. The exact time that a vessel will reach port is at the whim of wind, wave, ice and the good judgment of the ship’s master. Unfortunately, our tiny winter staff isn’t well equipped to handle the real-time updates that Tom suggests.

Many of Tom’s other suggestions also present some unique challenges. This winter, the favorable ice conditions in Green Bay and the low water levels in the Ship Canal combined to make transit from the west a more prudent option for the vessels arriving at Bay Ship Building for winter layup. And let’s face it, a thousand-footer sailing down the canal and through the bridges is much more interesting than watching one from a mile or so away as it makes the voyage down the channel from the west. Again, wind, wave and ice prove to be a spoiler.

Tom’s festival idea is indeed intriguing and the Door County Maritime Museum is always looking for willing partners, good opportunities and better ways to preserve and celebrate the area’s rich maritime heritage. As with most things, the devil is in the details. Onward and upward!

Bob Desh

Executive Director, Door County Maritime Museum & Lighthouse Preservation Society, Inc.