NEW FERRY PROJECT: MADONNA

Several winters ago, the approach to Northport Pier's south ramp was
extended.   Work is presently underway to install new ramp sections
to provide an easier grade for vehicles boarding and exiting ferries.

Detroit Harbor, Washington Island -

In addition to extensive pier modifications to meet the challenges of Lake Michigan's high water levels, on top of typical spring tasks of fitting out, painting and dressing up of each ferry before the summer season begins in earnest, Hoyt Purinton and Rich Ellefson, Ferry Line President and Vice President, respectively, have been busy pursuing a major Company goal:  planning a new ferry.

Monday morning, May 13, a contract agreement to build a new auto / passenger ferry was signed with officials of Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (formerly Manitowoc Bay Shipbuilding) in Sturgeon Bay.  This new ferry will be christened MADONNA and will measure 124 x 40 x 10-8.  With heavy structural members and shell plating, this ferry will be capable of winter ice work.  Its dimensions will provide a platform for up to 24 autos in the summer, when demand for capacity is greatest.   Upper deck, outdoor seating and a climate-controlled mezzanine deck cabin will provide accommodation for up to 150 passengers.  Restrooms will be located on both the Main Deck and the Mezzanine Deck.

The Sturgeon Bay shipyard, which also constructed the Eyrarbakki (1970) and the Arni J. Richter (2003) will place the order for steel, and the Ferry Line will finalize an order for a pair of (owner-furnished) CAT-C32 diesels with Twin Disc transmissions.   All vessel construction will take place indoors, within the yard's large fabrication shed.  A late-spring launch is anticipated, to be followed by finish work, fitting out, sea trials and U. S. Coast Guard approvals, with an estimated delivery date of the new ferry for late May 2020.

Profile drawing of ferry MADONNA by Seacraft Design, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

   

A vessel's name can be of lasting importance, and so the choice ought to be made with care!  Following is a brief background behind selection of the name MADONNA  for this newest ferry.

                   MADONNA - New Washington Island Ferry 

Schooner Madonna was owned and sailed by Ole Christiansen, and many
Island men, including Ole's sons, were crew, from 1895 through the 1914
season. It was then abandoned in Detroit Harbor.

A new ferry vessel will soon be added to the Washington Island Ferry Line fleet.   A contract has been signed with Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Inc. of Sturgeon Bay, with delivery scheduled for late May 2020.  When placed in service, this ferry at 124’ loa x 40’ beam x 10’-8” draft will become the largest, with the most deck capacity, of any vessel in the Ferry Line fleet.

Prior to being placed in service, she will be christened Madonna, a name taken from the schooner that frequently sailed from Washington Island harbors over 100 years ago.  The name has significant historical and cultural connections.  

“In choosing the name Madonna, Mary Jo and I wish to recognize the Island’s maritime ties with the schooner Madonna,” Richard Purinton, Ferry Line CEO, announced.  

Two views of Ole Christiansen's Madonna, aground 
and abandoned in Detroit Harbor.  Ole's home was 
nearby, at the south end of Main Road, today the 
Hanlin residence. 

Kirsten and Ole Christiansen and their 
horse "Frank." Photo from Over and Back (1990), 
furnished then by Esther Waal, Christensen daughter.

MADONNA, sailing career ended.  Taken by a Koken
family photographer from perspective of the
Kalmbach/Koken property (Circa 1915-1920).

     

“Madonna departs from past ferry christenings in that it is a feminine name.  Increased recognition and emphasis on respect for women makes this name—Italian for “my lady”—fitting and just.  It is impossible as well to consider the nameMadonna without its direct reference to the Mother of Jesus and her image as venerated by Christians, scholars and artists over the centuries.   She will become a great addition to the Ferry Line fleet.”  

The original schooner Madonna (76 GT) was built in 1871 by the Aylward shipyard of Milwaukee.  She measured nearly 80 feet length overall, with a 24-ft. beam and 6-ft. draft, centerboard up.  She was a frequent sight in Island harbors, loading sawn lumber, cordwood and Island agricultural products, such as potatoes.  Her cargoes were transported to major ports along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Her captain, and Madonna’s second owner, was Ole Christiansen (b.1861 - d.1937) who emigrated from Norway at the age of 20 with his wife and one child.  Ole became an Island resident and an entrepreneur.  

An example of the enterprise of Ole Christiansen and his schooner can be found in one Door County Advocate entry of 1895:

   The schooner Madonna just came off the stocks last July, after a thorough rebuild, but still Capt. Christianson (sp.) is finding something to do on her this spring in getting her ready to battle with the wind and waves.  The Madonna is the packet that was entitled to carry the broom last season out of this place.  From the first of August till the middle of November she made trips to Sheboygan, Milwaukee and Chicago, most of them during the heavy weather prevailing last fall and cleared for the owner about $300.  This is a grand record in comparison to the rest of the fleet, some making from eight to fifteen trips only during the whole season of ’94 and consequently coming out behind financially.  As the Capt. thinks of getting a square sail and raffle next season for his ship we would advise him to rub her bottom well before starting with some non-combustible stuff, as the terrific friction might ignite the planks, and—well—be careful, Ole. 

Christiansen built a pier on Jackson Harbor’s NE rim from which he shipped timber products.  Later, Ole maintained a small shipyard with marine railway where he hauled vessels.  He also repaired vessels and motors. His shipyard was adjacent to the structure known today as the “Standard Oil” pier.  Ole's family home was near the south end of Main Road where he established a sawmill and a machine shop.   A small rowboat moored to a nearby dock on Detroit Harbor provided him with access to his own Madonna, as well as other vessels requiring his services.

It was in Detroit Harbor’s shallows, late in the year 1914, that Madonna was abandoned and stripped of useful hardware, her sailing days over.   Over the subsequent 43 years the derelict Madonna deteriorated, until in1958 above-water remains were burned. 

This model was commissioned and then dedicated in Trinity Lutheran
Church during the tenure of Rev. James Reiff.

  

A six-foot long model of the Madonna by model maker Donald Gospodarek of Institute, commissioned for Trinity Lutheran Church, was dedicated in August of 1981 and then suspended from the church nave.  Such practice of displaying a vessel model was common in Scandinavian churches, for intercession and blessings on those who sail and those who depend on maritime commerce for trade and transportation.  It was also a memorial to Kelly Jess, young son of Karen and Butch Jess, who died of cancer a short time earlier.  The model continues to honor the Island’s maritime past.

A plaque mounted  on the north wall of the church reads:   

The schooner “Madonna” is dedicated to the glory of God; the memory of Kelly R. Jess, and in grateful appreciation for the lives of all Island seafarers, past, present and future.

   The “Madonna” was built by the Aylward Shipbuilding Company of Milwaukee in 1871. A sturdy vessel, “Madonna” was 72 feet long at the water line, and weighed 76 tons (gross).  Her beam was 24 feet, with a 6-foot draft (with the centerboard up).

   The “Madonna” was owned and operated by Norwegian immigrant Ole Christiansen and tramped around the Great Lakes carrying cargoes of opportunity such as fruit, pulp wood, fish, dry goods and salt.  Gallant to the end, “Madonna” finally sank in Detroit Harbor in 1915.

  The model of the “Madonna” was constructed by noted Great Lakes Model Ship Builder Donald Gospodarek of Door County. This splendid remembrance of God’s love for his people was generously donated by:

                                               The Orville Jess Family

                                           Dr. and Mrs. Joseph D. Weldon

                                           Professor and Mrs. Martin Marty

                 

 End -  Dick Purinton, ferrycabinnews blog