You will be able to see a National Historic Landmark floating past Sturgeon Bay’s three bridges on Thursday. The S.S. Badger is scheduled to depart Ludington at 7 p.m. on Wednesday for its quinquennial, or once every five years, journey to Sturgeon Bay. In an interview with 102.7 WMOM-FM in Ludington, Interlake Steamship Company President Mark Barker said tugboats from Sarter Marine Towing in Sturgeon Bay will hook up to the S.S. Badger and tow it across the lake to where it will dry dock, a process that is expected to take approximately 12 hours. Once it arrives in Sturgeon Bay, it will receive an inspection, have some minor repairs and get a new paint job. Barker believes it will be the first time the S.S. Badger has been blasted and painted since it was a railroad car ferry. The S.S. Badger could return to Ludington in as soon as a month, well ahead of when its season is expected to start on May 12th. The S.S. Badger transports thousands of passengers between Ludington, Mich. and Manitowoc, Wis. every year. As the last coal-fired passenger steamship in operation in the country, it landed on the National Historic Register in 2016.
