Winter Fleet season begins in Sturgeon Bay
If the fall is for the leaves, then you know winter is for the boats in Sturgeon Bay.
Several different vessels will be coming into town for their winter lay-up at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding. At least four ships (Edwin H. Gott, Walter J. McCarthy, Indiana Harbor, and Mesabi Miner) are over 1,000 feet long, and five others are over 700 feet long. Workers at Bay Shipbuilding will spend the winter months making sure the vessels are ready to run for another nine months, hauling a variety of different materials.
The Winter Fleet is certainly a major draw for people in Sturgeon Bay. Door County Maritime Museum Deputy Director and Development Manager Sam Perlman says even their employees get excited when the ships come through the bridges.
You can find the list of the ships for this year’s Winter Fleet below. You should keep your eyes on websites and phone apps like BoatNerd and Marine Traffic to stay up-to-date on their location and when they might arrive.
Door County Daily
Great Lakes Iron Ore Trade Down in 2022
CLEVELAND – Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes totaled 3.99 million tons in December, a decrease of 11.9 percent compared to a year ago. Shipments were also below the 5-year average for the month by 19.8 percent.
The year-end total for the iron ore trade stands at 42.3 million tons, a decrease of 18 percent compared to 2021.
Compared to the trade’s 5-year average, 2022 iron ore loadings were down 17.9 percent.
LCA
Museum celebrates community with free admission
TOLEDO, Ohio – In the community improvement and service spirit of the Martin Luther King holiday, beginning Saturday, January 14, through Monday, January 16th, The National Museum of the Great Lakes will open their doors for FREE in recognition of the support visitors, members and community partners have shown over the years.
“We will be celebrating the re-opening after our annual cleaning shutdown as well as welcoming a new year with an extended weekend of FREE admission, ” shares National Museum of the Great Lakes Education and Visitor Experience Director Ellen Kennedy. “We love showing off our incredible facilities and couldn’t think of a better way to enter 2023 than offering this.”
The museum originally introduced Community Appreciation Days in 2021 after being inspired to give back to those who generously continued to support our mission with the onset of the pandemic. “We appreciate all the support our community provides and are always looking for ways to connect more people with Great Lakes history as well as say thank you,” adds Kate Fineske, the museum’s Senior Director of Institutional Advancement.
Museum admission is always free for members, with non-member museum-only admission ranging from $8 – 11. Over Martin Luther King Day weekend the museum will be open from 10 – 5 p.m. on Saturday and Monday and Noon to 5 p.m. Sunday with free admission for all visitors.
Although not required, individuals may reserve their free tickets by pre-ordering and scheduling their visit online at nmgl.org/events. For more information on visitation, visit us online or call 419-214-5000.
National Museum of the Great Lakes
Captains from across Great Lakes gather in Traverse City
Grand Traverse County, Mich., – Captains from across the Great Lakes area gathered in Traverse City for the annual Industry Days conference. The conference focuses on learning from each other and how to keep passengers on ferries, tour boats and other mid-sized boats safe while out on the water.
While GLCA’s president Robert Schallip said there haven’t been any major safety concerns recently, it’s important that captains from across the Great Lakes continue to show up and ask questions.
“There’s always the issue of safety, weather is important and vessel maintenance is important and the manning requirements, the hours of service is important, but what I always say is the people that are here are not the people that need to be here because these people are concerned about safety enough that they come to this thing,” Schallip said.
More snow on the way
Throughout the two days, captains will hear from the Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and others from the boating industry on promoting safety.
WPBN/WGTU
