DOOR COUNTY - Wisconsin - page 225

SturgeonBaychartersoftenhavemorefishpertripthananyothernorthofMilwaukee,and
a record 44.92-pound chinook salmon was landed (by a 16-year-old) off Sturgeon Bay near
thelegendaryfishingspotcalledtheBank(asinbankreef);however,Algomawon'tletyou
forget that it was from an Algoma charter boat.
You can also contact the 24-hour fishing hotline [phone]).
Biking
Pick a direction and you'll find grand bike touring. I recommend heading up the lake side
in the morning, starting from the Coast Guard Lighthouse (but note that there can be lots
of traffic on Highway T) and then head back along the bay in the afternoon. The Ahnapee
State Trail— best suited for mountain bikes, but road bikes can handle it fine—starts just
south of town and runs to Algoma. For non-deadly off-road riding, simply head to Pot-
awatomi State park south of town.
SHIPBUILDING
Given its welcome promontory jutting into the waters, 425 miles of shoreline, the
safe haven of Green Bay, innumerable bights offering linked harbors, a plethora of
native oak and, most important, a channel toward the outside world, it's no surprise
that Door County became so important in shipbuilding.
As early as the 1830s, Manitowoc began to turn out oak sailing ships sturdy
enough for the travails of the Great Lakes on the way to the St. Lawrence Seaway:
the Wisconsin crowning achievement the Great Lakes schooner, a wooden ship with
tight ends front and back that met below the water, a shallow draft, and a raisable
centerboard, designed specifically to tackle Lake Michigan.
Door County to the north, meanwhile, had newer shipyards that didn't have to go
through later refitting pangs—converting facilities to turn out steamships instead of
clippers.
Sturgeon Bay churned out ships in amazing numbers. The first one left Sturgeon
Bayshipyardsinthemid-1850s,butitwasn'tuntiltheprimeoftheschoonerdays,in
themid-1860s,thatthetownreallyhitthebigtime.InthedecadefollowingtheCivil
War, perhaps two dozen famed ships were manufactured in the new shipyards.
The first major shipbuilder in Sturgeon Bay was Leathem and Smith, predomin-
antlyaship-repairfacilitythatopenedinthe1880s.ByWorldWarI,ithadexpanded