Distinctive Nordic Tugs Sail Into St. Ignace Marina
2010 Nordic Tug Rendezvous
By Karen Gould
A 54-foot Nordic Tug sails into the St. Ignace Marina Friday evening. The vessel is part of the fourth annual Great Lakes rendezvous for Nordic Tug owners. The vessel, O My Papa, is owned by Jack and Kay Oates of St. Louis, Missouri. A boat reminiscent of the childhood storybook “Little Toot” cruised into the St. Ignace Marina Thursday, June 24, and a day later, 20 similar vessels followed. The Nordic Tugs look like working tug boats, sort of -- yet on second glance the vessel that tops out at about 20 knots also looks like a traditional recreational fishing or sailing yacht.
“Wherever these boats go, they're a big attraction to people just because they look unique,” said event organizer Dave Jones. “These look like a tug boat. They look like a boat should look.”
Mr. Jones and his wife, Judy, originally are from London, England, and now hold a duel citizenship and live in Kalamazoo. They own a 32-foot Nordic Tug, Sir Tugley Green, that they moor in Ludington. Mr. Jones organized the fourth annual Great Lakes rendezvous for Nordic Tug owners, which brought the unusual boats to St. Ignace. The boats are made by the Nordic Tug Company.
A few of the 21 Nordic Tugs that sailed into St. Ignace boat slips this past weekend.
Tugs docked at the St. Ignace City Marina last weekend came from Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota, Indiana, Missouri, and Canada.
“They really liked St. Ignace,” said Marina Director Gene Elmer. “I apologized for the weather and they said they were sailors and used to it, and this is Michigan.”
The group now plans to return in 2011. Members said they appreciated the marina design, the friendliness of the community, nearby shops, the boardwalk, and views of Mackinac Island. Previous rendezvous for the group have been in Charlevoix and Traverse City, said Mr. Jones.
Judy and Dave Jones of Kalamazoo own this 32-foot Nordic Tug, which is one of 21 such vessels that sailed into the St. Ignace City Marina over the weekend. The group like the area so much they already have reserved marina slips for next year. They were in town during the 35th annual St. Ignace Car Show and took advantage of the parade, downtown car display, and Saturday night fireworks.
The location, car show, fireworks, and sailing scenery at St. Ignace added to this year's event, said Mr. Jones.
The Mackinac Bridge seems high when driving across it, but when sailing under it, he said, “That's when you appreciate how big that bridge is. You're looking up and you can see the two main supports and this bridge just towering above you. That was amazing. That was the highlight of our trip.”
Sharing sailing stories is a big part of the tug owners' camaraderie, said Mr. Jones. Recently, he recalled, a new owner of a vessel sailed it to Michigan. The 32-foot boat was picked up from the Washington factory, sailed up the coast of Alaska, back down and through the Panama Canal to Florida, up the eastern seaboard, through the St. Lawrence, and home to Michigan. “That's a 32-foot boat in big seas,” Mr. Jones said with admiration in his voice.
Other boaters have vacationed in the North Channel along the Georgian Islands in Canada, said 37-foot tug owner Ben Kraft, and told of wildlife encounters. With a draft of a mere four feet of water, boats can get into really shallow water and can be docked along the shoreline. Several tug owners have been visited by curious bear and moose making unexpected appearances.
One of his favorite sailing experiences, said Mr. Jones, was being in the middle of Lake Michigan and watching the depth finder.
“Seeing the depth finder of the boat read 500 feet and seeing it flashing because there are no more numbers left,” he said laughing. “A kind of strange feeling.”
About 85 Nordic Tugs sail in the Great Lakes and about 800 can be found around the country, with the majority in the Northwest, said Mr. Jones.
During the weekend event, the group holds seminars on boating designs, how to make the vessel more like a home, engine information, and demonstrations. Bay Breeze Yacht Sales of Traverse City, the mid-American dealer for the vessels, sponsored the gathering. Also, the boat owners conduct tours of their vessels to see what other owners are doing, said Mr. Jones.
Owners are fanatical about their boats, he said. They each customize the interior of their boat in different ways. Price of the vessels depends on the interior design and materials. “They're not cheap boats,” said Mr. Jones. A new 32-foot Nordic Tug starts at around $340,000. They are the premier cruising boat.”
The tugs are made in Burlington, Washington, and range in length from 26 feet to 54 feet. The boats are designed for stability and are completely self-contained with a generator, large water and fuel tanks, heat, and air conditioning. A 32-foot boat can travel about 700 miles before refueling, holding 200 gallons of fuel. They run about 3.5 miles using a gallon of diesel with a Cummins 220 horsepower engine. The boat hulls are a thick fiberglass. A typical 32-foot boat weighs about 10,000 pounds. A 32-foot Nordic Tug, however, weighs 20,000 pounds.
The vessels have a pilothouse with a helm and an upper level. Down three steps from the helm is the main salon area, and going forward from the helm and down three steps are the sleeping berth and bath.
Mr. Jones said he and his wife often are in six- or seven-foot seas when sailing on the Great Lakes.
“On a 32 [foot boat] it's kind of like being in a washing machine in a way because you take a lot of spray over the bow,” he said. "We've been in ours where the spray is not landing until somewhere behind the boat. But you feel perfectly safe in it.”