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Other stories in "Frontier history"

• Scenes from the fur trade
  At re-created forts, meet the adventurers who shaped the Upper Midwest.
• The first American Girl
  Before Laura, before Kit, there was Caddie Woodlawn on the Wisconsin frontier.
• River with a past
  On the lush Minnesota, beautiful scenery comes with harsh history.
• Life on the Grand Portage
  Once, a corner of northeast Minnesota was the center of the fur-trade universe.
• Hayward's lumberjacks
  A northwest Wisconsin resort town keeps a frontier art alive.
• Still fighting the Civil War
  Summer and fall battle reenactments turn history into flesh and blood.
• Blasts from the past
  Every September, the Civil War comes to an old stagecoach inn in Wisconsin.
• On the Iron Trail
  In northern Minnesota, a rich deposit of ore brought the world running.
• Lumberjacks and legends
  Grand Rapids may not be the Emerald City, but its trees are green, and its lakes glitter.
• Scrappy Northfield
  As outlaws discovered, this Minnesota college town is small but rarely sleepy.
• Fight club
  Thanks to Civil War battle re-enactors, history shows up in the flesh and blood.
• Little sod house on the prairie
  Life on the frontier wasn't quite as romantic as we think it was.
• Posse on the prairie
  In Madelia, the Jesse James Gang met its match — again.

Following the tall ships

On the Great Lakes, historic schooners and sloops are welcome attractions at summer festivals.

On the Great Lakes, everyone loves to see a two-masted schooner, white sails flapping in the breeze.

When three tall ships sailed onto Lake Superior in August 2008 for a maritime festival in Duluth, more than 125,000 people turned out, nearly swamping the port town.

"I was on board the Pride of Baltimore when it sailed in, and one of the crew members looked at all the people lining the canal and said, 'Is this a holiday?' '' said Gene Shaw of Visit Duluth, which organized the festival and is hosting the only Lake Superior stop on the 2010 Great Lakes United Tall Ship Challenge.

On Lake Michigan, these magnificent replicas of 19th-century schooners and sloops are more common, often making appearances at festivals. On the Wisconsin side, Port Washington hosts tall ships at its festival in August, and Traverse City has several at its Michigan Schooner Festival in September.

Grand Traverse Bay in Traverse City is home to four tall ships, two of them owned by the non-profit Maritime Heritage Alliance. People are used to seeing them, says the alliance's Kelly Roberts-Curtis — although its new sloop, the Welcome, has been causing a stir.

"She looks like a pirate ship,'' she says. "The kids love her.''

The 55-foot Welcome, which carries four cannons, is a replica of a vessel that was built in 1774 by a merchant at Fort Michilimackinac, purchased by the British military in 1778 and lost in a 1781 storm.

MHA volunteers also sail the Madeline, a 92-foot twin-masted wooden replica of an 1840s commercial schooner. Both make frequent appearances at summer festivals.

The Madeline, one of the  tall ships that visited Duluth, was built to be authentic to the era, so she doesn't meet Coast Guard requirements to sell tours or cruises.

However, if she happens to be in port and tourists call the Maritime Heritage Alliance, says Roberts-Curtis, they may be invited to tour or even sail for free. The boats dock next to Elmwood Township Park, on the west edge of Traverse City.

A sure thing in Traverse City, however, is the 114-foot Manitou, a replica of a 19th-century cargo schooner that offers public sails and also is a floating bed-and-breakfast. It's operated by the Traverse Tall Ship Co., which gives two-hour day sails, $35, $18 for children, and evening sails with picnic, $45/$26.

It also offers ice-cream, wine-tasting and entertainment cruises and four-day theme sails. Overnight guests pay $220-$250 per couple, including a full breakfast and the evening sail. 800-678-0383.

On Lake Huron, the 85-foot, two-masted schooner Appledore IV, gives sails from its base in Bay City, Mich., but also in Tawas Bay, Mich., and Mackinac Island.

The 65-foot Appledore V give sails on Mackinac Island. Call 989-895-5193 to reserve.

In the southwest Michigan town of South Haven, the 101-foot Friends Good Will, a replica of an 1810 square-topsail sloop, sails Lake Michigan from the Michigan Maritime Museum. Tours are $5; sails are $30-$40.

In Chicago, the 148-foot four-masted topsail schooner Windy offers six or more sailings a day with themes, including pirates, maritime history and fireworks, $24-$30, $20-$25 for students and $10-$20 for children 3-12. 312-595-5555.

Also in Chicago, the 77-foot two-masted topsail schooner Red Witch is moored in Burnham Harbor, near Soldier Field, and gives three-hour fireworks cruises, $65, on Wednesday and Saturday nights, when Navy Pier gives fireworks shows. It offers charters and a few day sails, too. 312-404-5800.

In Milwaukee, the Denis Sullivan is part of Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin. It's a 137-foot replica of a three-masted 19th-century schooner, inspired by the Moonlight, a schooner that was known as the fastest 1874-1885, when under command of Capt. Denis Sullivan. Grandson Jere Sullivan sits on board of Pier Wisconsin, which built it for educational purposes.

Tours are $5. Two-hour day sails are given in summer and are $40, $20 for children 12 and younger on Monday through Friday noon sails and $50/$25 for Friday afternoon through Sunday sails. Reserve at 414-765-8625.

For the Sullivan's Homecoming Celebration in early June, tours are free, and there's a special 1-3 p.m. sail, $65 including box lunch and admission to Discovery World.

Trip Tips: 2010 maritime festivals on the western Great Lakes

This summer, the Denis Sullivan is leading an armada of international schooners, barks and sloops on the Great Lakes United Tall Ships Challenge 2010, which will promote freshwater conservation and youth sail training.

Its first shop is Toronto on June 30, and from there ships will go on to Cleveland on Lake Erie, Bay City on Lake Huron, Duluth on Lake Superior and Green Bay and Chicago on Lake Michigan.

Each city will welcome different ships, and sailing schedules will remain somewhat fluid until the last minute, since captains have final say over each vessel's course. For more, see A throng of tall ships.

June 4-6, Pirate Festival in Port Washington, Wis. Ships give cruises from this Lake Michigan town, including the Saturday Pirate Invasion cruise, on which an ensemble of costumed reenactor-pirates will attack the town, and a Saturday-evening fireworks cruise. The festival also features six pirate and weapons reenactor groups and a parade at noon Sunday.

July 15-18, Tall Ships Celebration in Bay City, Mich. A fleet of international sailing vessels will arrive on the only Michigan port of call on the Great Lakes United Tall Ships Challenge 2010. There will be tours and day sails; reserve early.

July 17, Inland Seas Summer Festival in Suttons Bay, Mich. Sail on the sloop Liberty during this music fest at the Inland Seas Education Center on Grand Traverse Bay.

The center's own 77-foot two-masted schooner Inland Seas is open for tours, and there will be music, displays and a sailboat race.  231-271-3077.

July 28-Aug. 2, Tall Ships Duluth 2010. A fleet of international sailing vessels will arrive in Minnesota on the only Lake Superior port of call on the Great Lakes United Tall Ships Challenge 2010.There will be a pirate school for kids, tours Friday-Sunday and day sails Friday-Monday; reserve early.

Aug. 3-8, Nautical Festival in Rogers City, Mich. In 2009, the festival in this Lake Huron town, not far from the Straits of Mackinac, featured tours and cruises on the armed sloop Welcome, a replica of a boat built in 1774 by a Fort Michilimackinac merchant. There's also a voyageur encampment, a Saturday powwow of the Mackinac Bands of Ottawa and Chippewa and a grand parade at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

Aug. 13-15, Tall Ship Festival in Green Bay, Wis. A fleet of international sailing vessels will arrive on the only Wisconsin port of call on the Great Lakes United Tall Ships Challenge 2010. Tickets go on sale May 10 for tours and day sails; reserve early.

Aug. 20-22, Maritime Heritage Festival in Port Washington, Wis. Tall ships hold a Parade of Sail to start this festival just north of Milwaukee. Then, they'll be open for tours and day sails. This year, they're the Unicorn, the Roseway, the Lynx, the Pride of Baltimore II and one ship to be announced. There's a fireworks show Saturday.

Aug. 24-29, Tall Ships Chicago. A fleet of international sailing vessels will arrive at Navy Pier for the only Illinois port of call on the Great Lakes United Tall Ships Challenge 2010. There will be tours and day sails; reserve early.

Sept. 10-12, Michigan Schooner Festival in Traverse City, Mich. The Maritime Heritage Festival hosts this festival, which in 2009 included its own Madeline and Welcome plus the Inland Seas, Appledore IV and Denis Sullivan. It starts with a grand parade of sail and includes tours, cannon-shooting, competitions and entertainment. Tickets for sailings go on sale June 1.

Summer, tours of the Welcome in Mackinaw City, Mich. The armed sloop is  docked at its namesake's original home near Fort Michilimackinac, on the south end of the Mackinac Bridge. 800-750-0160.

Be sure to catch a festival if you're planning a Circle Tour of Lake Michigan; for more, see Navigating Lake Michigan.

For a Circle Tour of Lake Superior, see Circling Superior.

Last updated on September 2, 2010