Last April, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal reported that the 137-foot Denis Sullivan — the world’s only replica of a 19th-century three-masted Great Lakes schooner — will remain docked at Discovery World again this year, according to museum President and CEO Bryan Wunar. And its future at the museum is being reevaluated as Discovery World begins the process of seeking ways to use and care for the ship.

In July, there were erroneous reports that the ship’s Certificate of Inspection (COI) was taken away by the Coast Guard. Recently, the Friends of the Denis Sullivan provided a clarification on their Facebook page:

Denis Sullivan’s Certificate of Inspection (COI) was voluntarily given up when the vessel was placed in “laid up” status in May 2020 as is the Coast Guard policy for non-seasonal lay-up.

This decision was made with full communication and consultation with the Coast Guard OCMI (Marine inspector) on these policies and the future needs to have the COI re-instated. Discovery World has been in frequent contact with the Coast Guard since then and has been informed by the CG inspector of the region that as long as the ship remains in the Great Lakes, it will be grandfathered in, and there will be no requirement to upgrade any systems to meet new maritime standards.

The decision to not sail this year was mostly a product of the Sullivan not having a captain. 

In February 2021, Capt. Tiffany Krihwan, who had been the ship’s captain since 2008 and Discovery World’s director of marine operations since 2014, accepted a new job as captain of the schooner Ernestina-Morrissey at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

The lay-up of the schooner is being used to continue maintenance and repairs.

Thanks to Robert Kennedy for contributing to this post.