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Presque Isle back in service after shipyard stay
After an extensive stay at Erie, PA, the ITB Presque Isle departed Donjon shipyard Monday morning heading to Superior, WI to load.
The 1,000-foot tug/barge, operated by Great Lakes Fleet, Duluth, MN, was heading upbound on the southeast side of Neebish Island on the St. Marys River on the evening of August 5 when it had maneuverability issues, likely caused by a dropped rudder on southern Lake Michigan, causing it to briefly run aground on the Canadian side of the river before freeing itself. Presque Isle lost four starboard propeller blades during the incident, all of which were recovered and reinstalled, as was the rudder.
144-year-old Door County shipwreck named a Wisconsin historic place
The wooden schooner was carrying lumber and bark when it capsized in Death’s Door in 1881, then sank in 105 feet of water near Chambers Island while being towed.
A 144-year-old shipwreck laying more than 100 feet under the bay of Green Bay near Chambers Island is Door County’s most recent addition to the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places.
The wreck of the cargo schooner Jennibel, about 9 miles west of Fish Creek, recently was named to the state historic place register, the Wisconsin Historical Society announced in a Dec. 11 news release. It’s the 33rd shipwreck in waters off Door County named to the state register but the first in about a year, since the Little Harbor Launch northeast of Sturgeon Bay joined the list in December 2024.
The shipwreck is historically significant because it’s an early wooden schooner that worked in Wisconsin waters, providing maritime historians and archaeologists an opportunity to study wooden schooner construction of the time and how such vessels were used in other bulk cargo trades, the historical society’s news release said. Much of the remains are intact, too.
The Jennibel was a two-masted, 95-foot-long wooden schooner built in 1863 at the Stoakes & Locklin shipyard in Sheboygan. Its 18-year career was spent mostly hauling lumber, as well as some bulk cargo, between ports in Door County and ports along the Lake Michigan shore. As with many other cargo ships of the era, the Jennibel experienced occasional groundings and collisions, but repairs didn’t alter the ship’s lines or dimensions, the historical society said in its news release.
The last voyage of the Jennibel began the morning of Sept. 17, 1881, when it departed Egg Harbor with a load of green lumber and tanning bark, bound for Milwaukee. It was sailing through the Death’s Door Passage off Washington Island when a sudden gale struck from the south and capsized the ship.
Fortunately for the crew of the Jennibel, the tug John Gregory, owned by George Spear of Sturgeon Bay, was working nearby. Its captain saw the Jennibel sinking and came to its aid, taking the crew aboard and then attempting to tow the vessel toward Sturgeon Bay.
But, according to the Wisconsin Shipwrecks website, the weather again turned bad as the ships were southwest of Chambers Island and the Jennibel sank. The Gregory marked the tow line with a buoy and sought shelter until the weather calmed, but when the tug returned to refloat the Jennibel, the line broke and the Jennibel settled to the bottom of the bay in about 100 feet of water. Further salvage attempts were made but proved unsuccessful, and eventually the vessel was abandoned. At the time of its loss it was valued at $2,500.
The remains of the Jennibel sit in about 105 feet of water southwest of Chambers Island, just on the Wisconsin side of the border with Michigan and halfway between Fish Creek on one side of the bay and Marinette on the other. The wreck sits upright with the hull intact except for the transom, which was broken in one of the salvage operations. Many of the ship’s hull components also remain intact, and many more remain hidden within the hull or are scattered about the site.
State and federal laws protect the wreck of the Jennibel. Divers may not remove artifacts or structure when visiting this site. Removing, defacing, displacing or destroying artifacts or sites is a crime. For more information on the Jennibel and other shipwrecks in Wisconsin waters, visit wisconsinshipwrecks.org. For more on State Register and National Register historic listings in Wisconsin, which are administered by the Wisconsin Historical Society, visit wisconsinhistory.org.
Read the complete story and Video at: https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/local/door-co/2025/12/13/144-year-old-door-county-shipwreck-off-chambers-island-named-a-wisconsin-historic-place/87743596007/?fbclid=IwY2xjawOttB1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEek-0m-L0xL-mKKMzEgPJA9N6FmPXnbu1CjS8u7Gyfsr_53SG4TSWFA05pkk8_aem_aMy5XKHtYp-q7mgvZHvU8w
