Shipyards Open Their Doors Sept. 11

Bay Shipbuilding. Photo by Jim Lundstrom.

Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, CenterPointe Yacht Services and the U.S. Coast Guard will open their doors for public tours this weekend – tours that were rescheduled from the first Saturday in May because of pandemic concerns. The tours benefit the Rotary Club of Sturgeon Bay and Rotary Youth Interact.

“This is the one time of year when Bay Ship opens its doors to the public,” said Erin Helgeson, a Breakfast Rotary Club board member. “The neatest part of this tour is that it consists of different stations,” with a retired Bay Ship employee staffing each one. “It’s a behind-the-scenes from the people who have worked there for years.”

The ticket purchase includes a 50% discount on admission to the Door County Maritime Museum and the new Jim Kress Maritime Lighthouse Tower on both Sept. 11 and 12. 

Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, the largest shipbuilder on the Great Lakes, celebrated its 50th anniversary in Sturgeon Bay in 2020. CenterPointe Yacht Services has built its reputation on its craftsmanship of pleasure craft. And for 135 years, the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Life-Saving Service have had a station in Sturgeon Bay, which the Coast Guard designated as an official Coast Guard City in 2014. 

Learn more at SturgeonBayRotaryClub.org, and purchase tickets at DoorCountyTickets.com.