Star Line Crew Pilots Marquette
1,000 Miles to Fire Island, New York
By David Latva

The motor vessel Marquette , one of the Star Line ferries to Mackinac Island, has left the Great Lakes and now resides at Fire Island, New York, following a 10-day, 1,000-mile voyage enjoyed by four Star Line pilots and two new owners. Mike North, Larry Spencer, Chuck Gibbons, and Ed Brown of Star Line, and brothers Charles and Matt Sherman, who purchased the Marquette for David Park Marine Company, left St. Ignace Tuesday, September 14, at 7 a.m.

They made their first stop at 8:30 p.m. at Harsens Island, north of Lake St. Clair, 280 miles from the Straits of Mackinac.

"Each day we wanted to be underway by 7 a.m.,” said Captain Mike North, “and during the first couple of days, we went more than 12 hours. We wanted to get as many miles behind us in the first two days because the locks that were ahead would delay us."

Day two ended at 9 p.m. at Dunkirk, New York, the southeast end of Lake Erie, while the third-day was slowed down by the Welland Canal locks. There, Marquette traveled 30 miles through eight locks in 10 hours to get to Youngstown, New York.

Traveling through the Erie and Oswego Canals took up the fifth day, and the crew spent two days on Lake Oneinda at Utica, New York, because the locks ahead were closed owing to hurricane Ivan. At Oswego, the boat took on fuel. It would use 2,500 gallons for the trip.

Once the locks were reopened, Marquette sailed to Little Falls, New York.

"Debris was a huge problem during the remainder of the trip through the locks and in the Hudson River,” said Mr. North, “and that meant that we needed to keep watch at all times.”

Alexander, in Upper New York, was the next port. Eleven more locks and the final overnight stop was in Shady Harbor Marina on the Hudson River, 50 miles south of Albany.

The Marquette arrived in Fire Island at 5 p.m. Thursday, September 23, and the next morning at 4 a.m. the Star Line crew left New York for a 15-hour car trip back to St. Ignace.

This was the second trip for Captain North and the first since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He noted the changed skyline as the boat moved past Manhattan Island.

"This was an excellent trip with no problems,” said Mr. North. “Ninety-five percent of our meals were prepared on board by Ed Brown. It was a joint effort by Star Line and Davis Park Marine Company."

The replacement vessel, Marquette II, will arrive in St. Ignace in early June after a seven-day trip up the Mississippi River from Morgan City, Louisiana, said Tom Pfeiffelmann, general manager of Star Line. He said it will be the largest ship in their fleet.