Tall Ship in a Small Town

Marquette, Michigan had a surprise visitor this week.  Sails on the horizon are not unusual in this harbor city during the summer months, but this vessel looked taller than most—square-rigged, too.  As I watched from shore, it turned and tacked, but it was difficult to determine whether or not it was coming in. It seemed to be holding steady, so I went home and packed a picnic dinner to take to the lakefront, to where I’d last seen it while leaning on the Coast Guard fence.  It was gone.  I looked to the north, then drove to the south and, as I rounded the bend to the marina, gasped at what I saw below.

The Europa, docked in Marquette's Lower Harbor

This was no small schooner, a couple of which make their homes here.  Neither was it the Denis Sullivan, a teaching vessel which regularly makes the rounds of the Lakes and was scheduled to be in Houghton for the weekend.  The Sullivan is 137 feet in length while the Coaster II, based in Marquette and a common sight with its nightly cruises, is 58-feet long.  This ship was enormous and it was just pulling in.

The marina parking lot was full and onlookers lined the wharf, gawking and taking pictures.  There was excited speculation as her engines churned and she maneuvered into position, crew members tossing out huge buoys to cushion her landing.  The life rings read Europa and she flew a tricolor flag—three wide bars of red, white and blue, at her stern.  Close to the top, nearly 100 feet above the water, waved a United States flag and a blue flag with a circle of gold stars—the emblem of the European Union.

Smiling sailors in ordinary attire—both genders and a wide range of ages—busied themselves with mooring the vessel, while a few came to the side to chat.  “From the Netherlands!,” the buzz went up.  The gangplank went down and an attractive blonde woman, who looked the equal of most men in strength, strode out to talk with the crowd.  When asked if this was a planned visit, she replied, “We sort of made the decision on the way…we have to get to Duluth by the 29^th.”

The Europa, sailing into Marquette's Lower Harbor under calm skies

The Europa is participating in the Great Lakes United Tall Ships Challenge.  The American Sail Training Association (ASTA) Challenge is held every four years, with this years’ event, “The Race to Save the Lakes,” providing a special emphasis on the importance of protecting the waters that  40 million people depend on for drinking water, recreation, and their livelihoods.

The friendly sailor on the gangplank, who calls herself “Jay,” was born Irish but speaks with a Dutch accent.  Her “Ja” is not the same as our Yooper “Yah.”

One onlooker wanted to know if she went to school to be a crew member on the Europa.

“You do have to take sailing courses and you have to take medical, but basically it’s hands-on learning,” Jay said.  ”The way you start is you come on as a paid voyager, and then you meet somebody like me and I train you.”

She pointed to a guest who, she said, was showing off his “war wounds,” and joked, “Put that away, mine’s bigger!,” while displaying a sizable purple and pink bruise on her upper arm.

The Tall Ships Challenge has a dual mission—water conservation education and youth sail training—but the guest with the “war wounds,” gained by climbing the ropes, is a surprising 74 years old.  Or is it 74 years young?  Age doesn’t matter, according to Jay.  “You need to show an enthusiasm, an energy for learning,” she says.

More than 20 tall ships from as far away as Germany and the Netherlands have arrived in the Great Lakes region, visiting Toronto, Cleveland, Bay City, Duluth, Green Bay and Chicago as part of the Challenge.

And by the way, the Denis Sullivan and the Coaster II are part of the festivities, as well.

The Coaster II will be offering sailing adventures in Duluth, and the Denis Sullivan has the honor of being selected as the flagship for Great Lakes United Tall Ships Challenge 2010.

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