Captain Sean: The Inevitable Captain

As a 6-year-old at the helm of the ferry to Beaver Island, a young Sean Whelan was hooked.

As hooked as any 6-year-old could be with driving a ferry for the few minutes the captain would allow.

But that feeling never left.

Growing up in the Chicago area, Sean’s family would make the journey to northern Michigan and take the ferry to Beaver Island.

That island would play a pivotal role in Sean’s growing interest and eventual passion for boats. But we’re not talking about small runabouts, sailboats or cabin-cruisers — what captured Sean’s attention were ferries, freighters and working Great Lakes boats.

You could say it was in his DNA.

His grandfather had worked on boats. His uncle was a freighter captain. He had cousins who worked on freighters. Another cousin is widely regarded as one of the most legendary ferry captains in the northern Great Lakes — he was at the helm of Arnold’s Mackinac Islander the day the Edmund Fitzgerald sank and later shared with Sean what he remembered about the volatile conditions on the Great Lakes that November day.

Tall tales from family members sailing the Great Lakes were plentiful, to say the least.

These weren’t simply stories about boats. They were stories about working boats — ferries and freighters, captains and crews, weather and water.

And all these years later, Sean finds himself part of that same story.

Back to that island in northern Lake Michigan.

During family trips to Beaver Island Sean was most fascinated with the South Shore.

Built in 1945 by Miller Boat Line to make a 30-minute run between Sandusky and Put-In-Bay, Ohio, South Shore was eventually sold and arrived at Beaver Island in 1973 where she served until 1997.

As a teenager Sean wrote to the owner of Miller Boat Line about his interest in the vessels — he was a genuine fan writing a letter to a boat builder like other kids might write letters to a celebrity. He did hear back from Miller and was excited to receive a collection of souvenirs, including a copy of the original COI (certificate of inspection).

Shortly after graduating high school it was time to start focusing on a career — in Sean’s case he was now juggling two very interesting paths — boat captain or church music director.

Sean started with Arnold in 2002 as a deckhand on the Ottawa — a working Great Lakes ferry built in 1959 and still carrying passengers across the Straits of Mackinac today.
In 2003 he had the opportunity to work on the Roger Blough, an 858-foot-long Great Lakes self-unloading iron ore freighter.

And in 2004 he became a U.S. Coast Guard licensed captain.

His first boat as captain — the Ottawa.

There’s something fitting about that.

The 6-year-old kid who once stood at the helm of a Beaver Island ferry now found himself in the captain’s chair of a working Great Lakes ferry — becoming part of the same maritime world that had captured his imagination all those years before.

He continued the captain and church music director juggling act for some time — but ultimately realized he would miss being a boat captain more than he would miss being the church music director.

In yet another full-circle moment, the South Shore that captured Sean’s imagination as a kid on Beaver Island had a sister ship — the West Shore.

Arnold eventually purchased the West Shore, now the oldest operating ferry in the region.

And at the helm — Captain Sean.

Sean didn’t really have a choice. He was meant to have Captain before his first name.

He feels honored to have learn from such seasoned and well respected captains as Paul, Ray Wilkins, Jimmy Brown, Lon Calloway, and most recently Mike North.

And when you have the chance to spend time in the wheelhouse with him, you’re transported into the history of Arnold and Mackinac Island ferries. He is a true steward of maritime history.

What else would one expect from a piano-and-organ-playing church music director ferry boat captain?!