There are just under 700 people that live on Sugar Island and many more come to visit.
The primary way to get to and from Sugar Island is the Sugar Island ferry. Outside of mechanical issues, refueling and extreme weather events when the ferry does not run, the crew battles the extreme weather conditions to ensure people safely get to and from the Island.
The Sugar Island ferry service is operated by the Eastern Upper Peninsula Transportation Authority (EUPTA).
During the winter months, the crew sometimes has to deal with sub-zero temperatures and biting wind chills.
Through it all, though, the deckhands layer up and are there to keep the traffic going on and off the ferry safe and orderly.
However, Jena, an equipment operator at Sleep Bear Dunes before getting the part-time deckhand job a few months ago, doesn't mind the cold weather. She has a positive attitude about it.
"It's really nice to get fresh air all day. I do not like sitting at a desk looking at a computer. I prefer face-to-face interactions with people," she said.
Jena works a couple of days a week as a fill-in, but those days are 12-hour shifts can be long, especially in the brutally cold weather.
"It's a lot of being on your feet. I wear a lot of layers. But when the sun comes out, even in this cold, I take off a layer or two because I get warm. But sometimes those strong winds that blow square in your face. I am getting to know the people more and more. They tell me they don't want to go down lane four (because it's a tighter squeeze) so I try to remember that," she continued.
According to EUPTA, there are four full-time deckhands, three part-time deckhands, four full-time captains and one part-time captain with the Sugar Island ferry.
For more information on the Sugar Island ferry service, and all that the EUPTA has to offer, click here.
