WASHINGTON ISLAND, WI (WTAQ) – Anchors aweigh…for a ferry ride on the Robert Noble. The nautical course is set and a jaunt from the tip of Door County to Washington Island is dead ahead.
2015 marks the 75th year of service for this maritime transportation, which is a lifeline for residents who consider the island home. 38-year island native and 2nd generation, Captain Joel Gunnlaugsson maneuvers the Robert Noble ferry inside the compact, captain’s headquarters.
“You know, without the ferry line there’s no Washington Island, and without the ferry line there’s no Washington Island,” says Captain Joel.
In the height of tourist season in the summer months, Gunnlaugsson says three to four ferries can make between 22 and 30 roundtrip crossings every day. A far cry from the 2 round trips they maneuver in the winter months of January, February and March.
“If we’re not running it’s bad. But we run in some pretty gnarly stuff, says Gunnlaugsson.”
The waters of “Death’s Door” passage were breezy and sometimes choppy, but once on the isle…a slower, more relaxed pace greeted you…there was also an undeniable trust of its people. Captain Joel even asked me if I wanted to use his truck, to navigate around the Island. Now that just doesn’t happen everywhere.
At the dock I spoke with Hoyt Purington, President of the Washington Island ferry line and family business.
“My grandfather and great grandfather actually bought the existing what was then the Washington Island Ferry line, in 1940,” says Purington.
An island native and captain for over 20 years, Purington spoke about the island culture.
“There may be a familiarity between people then in other places, by nature. We rely on each other throughout the year and have many generations.”
The close knit community was evident while checking out the local fare. Scandinavian heritage is prominent on the island, and obvious at a local favorite…a deli called the Danish Mill.
Owner Tom Nikolai says there’s a couple of things that keep people coming back.
“We bake fresh everyday…authentic stuff. You combine that Boar’s Head deli meat with fresh baked bread and it’s a great sandwich.”
Other island favorites include KK Fiske & The Granary’s “lawyers,” an eel like fish considered an island delicacy, Bloody Mary’s at Karly’s Bar and bitters at Nelson’s Hall Bitters Pub.
Down the road was the lone grocery store on the island, “Mann’s Store,” owned and operated by the Mann family since 1903. Jerry Mann is a 4th generation owner and says they receive two main shipments a week, although other merchandise comes on the ferry daily.
“People from the cities say they find stuff here that they can’t find in the cities,” says Mann.
The ferries run like clockwork and arrive every half hour. It was now time to batten down the hatches on the Arni J. Richter and journey back to the mainland where Tourism Ambassador at the Northpoint Visitor Center, Joan Hansen, and says the ferry is critical to the people of the island.
“It’s everything to us. Because it’s our way of getting back and forth. It brings our mail. It brings our groceries. It brings our fuel. It brings ourselves.”
The Washington Island ferry continues to celebrate 75 years of serving tourists and islanders with great pride and joy. It is the love of service for the island and its inhabitants that will keep the ferry service a necessity and unburied treasure for this popular Door County destination for decades to come.
