1996

After going through years’ worth of redesigns, work officially begins on the Denis Sullivan in 1996 after the Menominee Nation donates six white pine trees from their forest.

Both professional shipwrights and a thousand volunteers donate a million hours of their time to complete her work. In the process, she is named Denis Sullivan after one of the most famous Great Lakes captains. Four years later, work is completed and she is able to set sail.