Ahoy, friends!
Summer 2025 is just around the bend, and the Discovery crew is counting down the days until we welcome you back aboard for another unforgettable season on the bay. While winter still lingers, The Discovery is on dry land up in St. Ignace, resting and getting ready for the trip south. Soon, we’ll make our 12-hour journey by water to Traverse City, where upgrades and final touches will set the stage for another summer of adventure, learning, and laughter.
Each season is a fresh page in a long, rich story. Did you know that human history here dates back more than 13,000 years? Glaciers once stood a mile high, shaping the bay and surrounding landscape as they slowly melted and receded. Archaeological evidence tells us that native people lived here long before the bay existed as we know it today—right where the water now flows.
As we sail into a new season, we continue our tradition of acknowledging that the lands and waters we enjoy are the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary homelands of the Anishinaabeg—the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Bodawadami peoples. We offer gratitude to the Grand Traverse Band of Odawa and Chippewa Indians for their continued care and stewardship.
Here’s to a summer of connection, joy, and discovery—on the water, in the stories we share, and in the beauty that surrounds us.
Miigwech (Thank you), Captain Tawny