Goodbye tugboat, hello Wilfred Sykes: High school graduate sails into adulthood
SUPERIOR, WI – Just days away from high school graduation, Ethan Rentschler already sounded like a veteran merchant mariner. “I’ve been chipping and painting on this boat for years,” Rentschler said aboard the Edward H. on Monday.
The Heritage Marine tugboat was docked on Connors Point, and the water lapped at its hull as Rentschler gave a tour and explained how he’ll go from Duluth East High School graduation Wednesday to working aboard the 678-foot Wilfred Sykes two days later. “I’ve known what I’ve wanted to do since I was in kindergarten,” Rentschler said. “The answer has never changed.”
A graduating senior, Rentschler plans to take the Edward H. under the Aerial Lift Bridge and dock it outside the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center prior to the ceremony. He’ll be joined by several members of the shipping community as they celebrate with a grad party on the deck of the boat.
“He’s going to walk off the boat in his gown and work boots right into the Amsoil Arena to graduate — and the next day he leaves to go on a laker,” said Edward H. Capt. Bryan Rydberg. “He’s the next generation.”
Rydberg alerted the News Tribune to Rentschler’s plans last week. A mentor and admirer of the young man, Rydberg has spent the past few years with Rentschler under wing — from 16-hour days breaking ice to letting Rentschler dock and run the tug. “He just loves the big boats,” Rydberg said. “He’s taken to it with an aptitude that he wants to learn. He’s so polite and personable, you just automatically like the kid.”
Rentschler speaks in “yes, sirs” and “no, sirs,” and is quick with a smile or a story. His parents, Dan and Sarah Rentschler, met aboard the Roger Blough in the late 1990s, when she was a passenger porter and he was second mate. Dan went on to captain the Edgar B. Speer for 10 years and is now a pilot who guides foreign vessels through the Great Lakes.
“It’s a tight-knit community around this harbor,” Rentschler said. “A lot of it’s built up on stories and tradition and passing it forward. Rentschler is already looking forward to the day when he’ll pass his knowledge forward. But, before then, he’s got a career to start.
After graduation, he’ll make his way to Port Inland, Michigan, where he’ll catch up with the Sykes — a boat he expects to sail through to the end of season in January. He’s starting out as an “ordinary seaman,” and wiper in the engine room.
It’s clear hearing Rentschler talk about his work that he’s learned a ton by working on the docks. He started at 15, earning his merchant marine credential and license to sail from the U.S. Coast Guard at 16. On busy days in which he was needed to help crew the tug, Rentschler would call the school for an excused absence. “The school was pretty understanding of that,” he said. “The high school and my mom pushed me to keep on task and stay on top of school. The way I saw it, I was never going to go to college ever.”
For Rentschler, the journey was never in doubt. He learned early that the wind is a sailor’s aid. And for now, it’s at his back — propelling him into adulthood. “When you run into a new situation, it’s always pretty nerve-wracking, but you’ve got to just trust the people around you,” Rentschler said about working a boat. “You’ve got to trust yourself, too, and let it happen.”
Duluth News Tribune
Marine Mart in Port Huron to resume in June
PORT HURON, MI – A long-standing tradition, sidelined by COVID, will make a return this year in a new location. The Summer Marine Mart, formerly the St. Clair Marine Mart, will be held Saturday, June 11, at the American Legion Post #8, 1026 Sixth St., in Port Huron, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
The Mart features nautical items, artifacts, photos, books, artwork, models, postcards and more. See the poster in the image gallery below for more information.
Second printing of 2022 Know Your Ships now available
For the second year in a row, Know Your Ships has had to do a second printing of the standard-bound edition. Replacing the Stewart J. Cort for the cover of the second printing is the Roger Blough. In the announcement post, author Roger LeLievre stated, “She is 50 years old this year, and since her future is uncertain, we felt she deserved the honor. Note the second printing is for the standard-bound book only… we have plenty of the spiral-bound book with the Cort on the cover and those will continue to be available.”
You can order a copy at http://www.knowyourships.com/catalog.html
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