The Welcome is a replica of a sailing vessel built at Michilimackinac (now Mackinaw City) in 1774. The ship, now owned by Maritime Heritage Alliance of Traverse City, visited St. Ignace for the Fish Feast during its tour of northern Michigan ports this summer, returning to the Straits area for the first time in 20 years. Visitors to the Fish Feast in St. Ignace had the opportunity to tour an 18th century sailing vessel when a replica of the armed sloop Welcome returned to the Straits area after a 20-year absence.

Care of the boat, originally built by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission at Fort Michilimackinac in 1976, was undertaken by the Maritime Heritage Alliance of Traverse City in 1992. After years of work restoring the sloop, an effort that is still ongoing, the organization re-launched the Welcome in June 2005.

During the Fish Feast Saturday, July 25, volunteers from the Maritime Heritage Alliance took visitors on tours above and below decks aboard the boat. They told of the vessel's history as a trading vessel, an armed ship, and of its rebuilding and current purpose as a living museum of maritime history on the Great Lakes.

Theresa O'Byrne, one of the volunteer sailors from Maritime Heritage Alliance, takes a break from giving tours below deck of the Welcome to mend buttons on period clothing. "We put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into it, sometimes literally," said Theresa O'Byrne, one of the volunteers giving tours.

The original Welcome was also built at Michilimackinac. It was built in 1774 by John Askins and launched as a private trading vessel. The boat was used in the thriving Indian trade as a cargo vessel and was the first European boat to successfully navigate the passage from Lake Michigan into Lake Superior.

In 1778, the British military purchased the sloop, armed it, and was used as a war vessel during the Revolutionary War.

When British military forces moved from Fort Michilimackinac in the Lower Peninsula to the newly constructed Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island, the Welcome made several trips to help move people and goods from the mainland. The British held Fort Mackinac until long after the end of the Revolutionary War and relinquished it to the United States in 1796.

Below deck, James Graczyk talks to visitors touring the Welcome, explaining the differences between sailing aboard the ship in the 1700s and sailing with the creature comforts like a sink and real beds that the crew uses today. The ship visited St. Ignace for tours last weekend. The original Welcome was lost in a storm in 1781, likely in the Straits of Mackinac, and its exact final resting place remains a mystery today.

This summer's voyage to Mackinaw City and later to St. Ignace for the Fish Feast weekend marks the first time the replica Welcome has sailed outside Grand Traverse Bay since the Maritime Heritage Alliance began its reconstruction. The group plans to visit various other ports in the Straits and northern Michigan throughout the rest of the summer, giving tours and promoting the boat's rich history.

Bob Radzicki, another volunteer mate aboard the ship, said donations and tour revenue gained by this trip are essential for continual maintenance of the Welcome.

Randy McClure (from left), Bob Radzicki, James Graczyk, and Jim Humphrey pose in front of the 80-foot-tall mast of the armed sloop Welcome during the ship's visit to St. Ignace last weekend. They and other crew members led tours aboard the 18th century replica, which has a history in the Straits of Mackinac dating to 1774. "This trip is all about money for us," Mr. Radzicki said. "Otherwise, this boat would be lost."

The organization charged $3 for individuals and $5 for families for tours while in St. Ignace.

The group is also looking for additional volunteers to help sail the boat and give tours during the summers. Requirements for volunteers include paying a small yearly membership fee and the completion of lessons with the organization to learn the skills required to sail the historical boat. Membership is open to everyone.

The ship will be visiting several harbors for the remainder of the summer before berthing once again in Traverse City. Mackinaw City will serve as her harbor for the weekend of July 31 to August 2, again August 21 to August 23, and one final visit on Labor Day weekend, September 4 to September 7. The Welcome will visit Rogers City for its Nautical Festival August 7 to August 10, Cheboygan for its River Festival August 13 to August 17, Mackinac Island August 25 to August 30, and will return to Traverse City September 11 to September 13 for the Michigan Schooner Festival.

Theresa O'Byrne shows visitors to the Welcome some of the tools of the trade that sailors in the 1700s would have used, including swords, the precursor of a travel mug, a knife, and a marlin spike.