Purchase means glass-bottom-boat will remain at Alpena
ALPENA — The glass-bottom boat in Alpena has a new owner, and he intends to make sure it stays local for many years.
On Thursday, Alpena developer Jeff Konczak announced that he and his wife, Tina, purchased the Lady Michigan after he learned there was a chance the boat could be on its way out of town. They also purchased a second boat that is specially designed for kayak tours.
After years of leasing Lady Michigan to the Friends of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary for the shipwreck excursions, the owner of the boat decided not to lease it any longer and intended to move it to another location or sell it.
The friends group worked with the owner to try to find a way to keep the boat in Alpena and Konczak stepped up and purchased the boat, ensuring its long-term future in Alpena.
On Thursday, Konczak praised the friends group for the way it handled business for the shipwreck tours offered by the Lady Michigan, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when there were no tours. He said letting the boat slip through Alpena’s fingers was not an option, so he and his wife decided to invest in the boat.
“The friends group wasn’t in a position to react quickly, so Tina and I did,” Konczak said. “It was the right thing to do, and it would have been devastating if that boat were to leave. We weren’t going to let that happen.”
The Lady Michigan and the shipwreck tours are key to tourism, education, and the local economy.
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Superintendent Jeff Gray said the shipwreck tours are important to the area, and, in many ways, losing the boat would have a trickle-down effect on business and the number of people who visit the area, and it would hurt schools and students who learn about the wrecks and the Great Lakes from the tours.
“It has become an integral part of the community, and it doesn’t just help bring visitors here, but it has a huge economic impact,” Gray said.
When Konczak decided to purchase the boat, he learned there was another boat for sale, which he believed would fit in nicely in Alpena, so he bought it, too.
The boat is named Superior Paddler, and it is designed to transport kayakers and their equipment out into Lake Huron for a new adventure. The boat was delivered to Alpena on Thursday and Konczak said he hopes to have it taking people kayaking sometime in July. He said the new boat will add another item on visitors’ to-do list and a way for locals to get farther out into Thunder Bay to explore.
Konczak said having another attraction for people to enjoy will also help ensure the Viking Cruise ships, which have repeatedly visited Alpena the past couple years, keep making stops here.
“We decided, if we were going to be in with Lady Michigan, we might as well go all in with the Paddler, too,” Konczak said.
The boat has a bathroom on it and has a hoist that lowers a kayak launch to the water level for easy entry into the water. The system also makes it simple for people who have disabilities to get into a kayak and get in and out of the boat.
Gray said Viking will be pleased with the new activity option, and he said it might help draw more nautical traffic to Alpena, too.
“We hope it will lead to more stops by Viking and there are other cruise ships out there, as well,” Gray said.
Great Lakes shipping down slightly so far this year
Great Lakes shipping is down slightly through the end of May as compared to the same time last year.
Ships have hauled 7.97 million tons of cargo on the Great Lakes and through the St. Lawrence Seaway to ports like the Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor on Lake Michigan and the Port of Chicago on Lake Calumet so far this year, down slightly from the 8.2 million tons shipped during the same period last year, according to the Chamber of Marine Commerce.
“While the ebb and flow of economic fluctuations change the backdrop for trade over time, the constant is that Great Lakes/St. Lawrence shipping is always there to meet the needs of businesses and consumers,” said Bruce Burrows, president and CEO of the Chamber of Marine Commerce. “The enhancements at the Port of Cleveland are exemplary of the efforts of all chamber members to maintain a strong supply chain, and keep marine shipping foremost among all modes of cargo transit when it comes to capacity, reliability, efficiency, and sustainability.”
Iron ore shipments have risen by 9.93% to 1.6 million tons so far this year, according to the Chamber of Marine Commerce. Some ports have been especially busy this shipping season like The Port of Cleveland on Lake Erie, which has seen increased traffic to feed Cleveland-Cliffs.
“The Port of Cleveland has had an outstanding start to the year at our bulk terminal due to strong demand for iron ore from the Cleveland Cliffs steel mill. This again justifies the significant recent investment in the extension of our ore tunnel, which has allowed us to mix ore on demand for delivery to the mill and increased the efficiency of our operation,” said David Gutheil, the chief commercial officer for The Port of Cleveland. “At our general cargo terminal, we completed a two-year project in May, which rebuilt and modernized three of our most used docks and berths,” he added. “Also included in the project was the introduction of a below-ground system to filter and clean stormwater before it is introduced back into Lake Erie. We are now also in the design and planning phase of our next large project at the same terminal. This project will modernize our largest warehouse and introduce systems that will set up this warehouse as the electric hub of our port for the eventual transition from diesel to electric cargo handling equipment.”
The Times of Northwest Indiana
Glass-bottomed Lady Michigan in her days as a shipwreck tour boat. Alpena Shipwreck Tours image (Alpena, MI – Undated)
