Lake Michigan is without a ripple, its glasslike surface flawed only by the frothy wake of the S.S. Badger as it slices effortlessly through the blue-green water at a leisurely 15 nautical miles an hour (roughly 18 mph to landlubbers).
The Badger, 4,244 tons of nostalgia, is the last passenger steamship on the Great Lakes, ferrying people, bicycles, cars, campers and buses on the four-hour trip between Manitowoc, Wis., and Ludington, Mich.
The 410-foot ship, which makes four crossings daily, is literally an old man’s dream come true.
As a young man in the 1930s, Charles Conrad eked out a living scraping rust off car ferries that sailed Lake Michigan. Four years ago, at the age of 73, he discovered-to his dismay-that a tradition that began with the 175-foot John Sherman, ferrying railroad cars across the lake in 1875, had quietly ended.
There were no more great ferries plying the Great Lakes.
Conrad could not let history end this way. A self-made millionaire who had amassed his fortune in air conditioning and refrigeration, he paid $500,000 for a bankrupt shipping line with three rusting ferries destined for the scrap heap-the S.S. City of Midland, the S.S. Spartan and the S.S. Badger.
Leaving the other two moored in his hometown of Ludington for future consideration, Conrad set to work immediately on the Badger.
The steel-hulled ship, built in Sturgeon Bay at a cost of $5 million, had been launched in 1952 as a railroad car ferry. Ironically, that was the peak year for Great Lakes ferries, which hauled some 200,000 freight cars, 71,000 automobiles and 205,000 passengers.
From then on, with the advent of the diesel locomotive, it was all down hill. While a ferry-with a crew of 50 or 60-could carry 20 railroad cars, a diesel-with a five- or six-man crew-could pull 150 freight cars down around Lake Michigan and through Chicago at 50 miles an hour.
It was only a matter of time before the ferries discontinued operation, one by one, until the fall of 1990, when the last one went into mothballs.
That’s when Charles Conrad came on the scene.
“The ferries are a part of Ludington,” he told his neighbors. “They’ve been on the lake for a hundred years, and I want to do whatever I can to make sure they’ll be running for the next hundred.”
After saving the Badger from the junk pile, he spent another $500,000 to bring the ship up to modern standards.
The railroad tracks were paved over to make a parking lot for cars and buses on the lower deck; a family-style deli buffet was built on the passenger deck; and an indoor lounge and restaurant were installed on the main deck.
Forty-two staterooms were remodeled for passengers who might want to sleep on late-night crossings, and a retail shop, maritime museum, video arcade and movie theater were carved out below deck.
The Badger, with accommodations for 620 passengers, 120 automobiles and 40 tour buses or recreation vehicles, returned to service on Lake Michigan in May of 1992. The city of Manitowoc, the western terminus of the lake crossing, welcomed the Badger with a gala civic celebration complete with jugglers, clowns and a polka band.
By the end of the season, the ship had ferried 115,000 passengers and 34,000 vehicles across the lake.
Once he was satisfied that Great Lakes ferry service was back where it belonged, Conrad stepped down as head of the Lake Michigan Carferry Service last fall at the age of 76. He sold his stock in the line to three area businessmen who had been associated with him in the ship’s operation.
Now in its third year of renewed service, the Badger departs Ludington each morning, and heads back from Manitowoc every afternoon, a schedule that will be maintained through Oct. 10. There also will be evening trips from Ludington, returning overnight, through Aug. 28.
Manitowoc, the nearest port for Illinois residents, is a 3 1/2-hour drive from Chicago.
Manitowoc is also the home of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum of History, located by the Manitowoc River and within sight of the Badger docks. Moored alongside the museum is the U.S.S. Cobia, a World War II submarine.
The first thing one sees while waiting to board the Badger is a string of semitrailer trucks, hauling coal on board. The ship’s hungry furnaces consume about 71 tons of coal a day during the lake crossings.
Once the coal bins are full, cars and passengers stream aboard. Their vehicles parked snugly below, travelers line the railings, stroll the decks or tumble into comfortable deck chairs. Then, with a throaty blast of its whistle, the Badger eases out of port under its own power and is on its way to meet the horizon.
Neither shore is visible from midlake, but there are plenty of on-board activities to keep passengers occupied, from bingo to floor shows.
Four hours after leaving Manitowoc, the Badger docks at Ludington.
From there it’s just a 4 1/2-hour drive to Mackinac Island, two hours to Grand Rapids, or four hours to Detroit.
No need to worry about overnight accommodations. The Badger boasts an on-board travel information center, providing travelers with maps and brochures. Lodging reservations also can be made during the cruise for the road ahead.
For passengers crossing from Ludington to Manitowoc, it’s just 130 miles along the shore of Lake Michigan and Green Bay to Door County.
Both the Manitowoc and Ludington areas have an abundance of motels, B&Bs and campgrounds.
Fares and museum details
Passenger fares for the Badger are $33 one way and $55 round trip. Senior citizens pay $30 one way, $50 round trip. Children 15 and under are $15 one way, $25 round trip. Autos, vans and pickup trucks are $45 (one way). Trailers, RVs and motorhomes pay $3 a foot. For those wanting to take a round-trip cruise without a vehicle, returning no later than the following day, the fare is $40 for adults, $20 for children. Motorcyclists can take the lake crossing for $25 for the cycle, plus the regular passenger rate. Bicyclists can bring their bikes aboard for $5.
Cost of an Aug. 28 shoreline cruise is $25. Passengers board at 8 p.m. for a 9 p.m. departure, returning at 11 p.m.
For information about the S.S. Badger, call 800-841-4243, or write: Lake Michigan Carferry, P.O. Box 708, Ludington, Mich. 49431.
For information about the Maritime Museum or submarine Cobia in Manitowoc, call 414-684-0218. For details on what else to see in and around Manitowoc, contact: Manitowoc-Two Rivers Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 903, Manitowoc, Wis. 54221; 800-262-7892.
For information about Ludington, contact: Ludington Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 160, Ludington, Mich. 49431; 800-542-4600.
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The lower deck of the S.S. Badger is wheelchair accessible, and both the Maritime Museum and the Cobia are wheelchair accessible.
