STURGEON BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Large freighters were on the move in Door County Monday morning.
Vessels gathered for the Winter Fleet lay up at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay.
A few miles northwest of Sturgeon Bay, a team of tug boats helped the area’s latest maritime arrival, the 727-foot long freighter called American Mariner. Paul Klapatch and LuAnn Ferron of Sturgeon Bay say Bullhead Point across the channel from Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding is a popular spot to watch ships.
“My wife and I come down here twice a day, and she belongs to a site called Ship Watchers. And anytime these ships are coming in, we like to come down here and check them out, and watch them come up the bay,” said Klapatch.
“The American Mariner is coming in. She’s been kind of fun to watch on Ship Watchers, because she was trolling up and down the other coast in Lake Michigan for several days. And then she finally went over the top, and came back down,” said Ferron.
“All the Great Lakes ships need to find somewhere to go during what we call hard water season,” said Sam Perlman, Door County Maritime Museum deputy director.
Perlman says the Mariner is part of Sturgeon Bay’s Winter Fleet.
“We’ll have anywhere between 12 and 16 vessels parked at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding. They kind of Jenga them in, and it will be probably anywhere between two and three miles of boat,” he said.
Perlman says the repair and maintenance schedule makes it a busy time at the shipyard, and around town too. “There are folks who come in, want to spend time, want to see the vessels. They’ll come into the museum, they’ll eat at local restaurants,” he said.
Back at Bullhead Point, the American Mariner continues to creep.
“The ships have always been fascinating. I thought everybody knew about ships growing up, and it’s like no, it’s very unique to us,” Ferron said.
The Winter Fleet will remain in port typically until the Soo Locks on Lake Superior open again for the season. This year, that’s scheduled for April 24.
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