The number of shipwrecks in and around the passage have earned the name. That's why Door County has 11 lighthouses along its shoreline, a higher concentration of lights than anywhere else in U.S. Visibility was often poor, so mariners needed an accurate position fix at all times. Storms arise without warning, wind can be extreme, precipitation can be blinding and waves can equal those encountered on the high seas in a storm. The winds and currents can be so strong that sailing vessels cannot make headway against it, and vessels running up on the rock-bound coast can be stranded or torn apart. There is a strong current setting in and out according to the direction of the wind, although there is sometimes a counter-current running against the wind. Sailing vessels encountered strong currents that coming from a different direction than the wind, and ships under sail often could not make headway to steer clear of the rocky shoals on both sides of the channel. But in the days of sail there was significant waterborne commerce, and navigating the narrow passage around the Door Peninsula and into Green Bay was fraught with peril. There still is a significant amount of ship traffic coming in and out the port of Green Bay. With a land mass of approximately 35 square miles, Washington Island is the largest of 30 islands in Door County, and a self-contained community that is home to the smallest public school district in the state. The year-round population of Washington Island hovers around 700, and more than doubles in the summer and autumn. In the summer months and during peak foliage season the island (and all of Door County) swells with visitors. But the history of wrecks, groundings and collisions date back to the arrival of the voyageurs and missionaries, deserves some healthy respect. That's not to say that every crossing is sailing into danger. It's derived from the treacherous passage between the peninsula and Washington Island that mariners called Porte des Mortes, or Death's Door.Ī unique combination of environmental factors has conspired to place the course of the relatively short crossing from the island to the mainland across one of the most treacherous stretches of water in North America. Picturesque and peaceful Door County isn't named for some intrepid settlers named Door. Washington Island Ferry Line (WIFL) has been the essential link between the residents, business and visitors of Washington Island and Wisconsin's Door Peninsula for more than eight decades.
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