The Hjördis, a 50-foot traditionally rigged steel schooner seen regularly on the Grand Marais harbor, was acquired by North House Folk School in 1998. At the time, the Folk School was in its early days, and the boat was owned by someone else and had been dry-docked in Grand Marais for a few years.
An energetic, idea-driven leader, North House founder Mark Hansen decided that acquiring the tattered boat, restoring it, and using it for tours and classes was a brilliant idea. His cash-strapped board of directors was skeptical. Mark accepted the board’s challenge to make a formal proposal at its next monthly meeting, which he did. The board accepted his proposal and acquired the boat.
Bill Hansen (no relation to Mark), currently the lead captain of the Hjördis, was the only board member at that first meeting who thought the acquisition was a good idea. At the time, he had little idea of his role with the Hjördis 20-some years later.
Kenneth Woodward built the Hjördis in the 1970s in his Detroit backyard. He used plans drafted by Thomas E. Colvin, a world-renowned designer and builder of junk-rigged sailboats. Colvin is said to have been a colorful, iconoclastic, and sometimes controversial nonconformist. The same has been said of North House founder Mark Hansen.
Woodward named the boat after his mother, who was named after a Norse goddess of war, Hjördis. In Norse mythology, Hjördis was a strong and independent woman, fitting for a boat that would sail the seas with determination and resilience. When he’d finished the boat, Woodward and his wife Katey moved aboard and sailed the junk-rigged boat around Florida and the Bahamas for over a decade.
By 1990, Randy Ellestad of Knife River had purchased the boat. He moved it overland from Detroit to Knife River and rigged it as a gaff-rigged schooner, a sailboat with two masts, typically with the foremast smaller than the mainmast.
Greg Wright, executive director of North House, said, “Of course, you’d want a boat that looks like a pirate ship named after a Scandinavian goddess.” He went on to say that Hjördis is likely the most photographed item in Minnesota, words echoed by Captain Bill.
Its deep green hull and a full complement of maroon sails attract the attention of many shorebound visitors, who can be seen lining the harbor with cameras and cellphones pointed her way.
North House offers six, one and three-quarter-hour tours on the Hjördis on weekdays and seven tours Friday through Sunday for up to six passengers at a time. The crew emphasizes safety and education during those tours. “We see so many different people, and they seem so happy to be there,” Bill said.
The sailing schedules include sunrise and sunset experiences.
“Our passengers are universally thrilled with the tours,” Captain Bill said. “They can participate as much as they want, from raising sails to taking the helm.” He added that passengers can also just sit back, enjoy the view, and appreciate a different perspective of the North Shore, all while learning about the rich maritime history of the area.
Captain Bill, 71, has lived on the North Shore his entire life. Born in Duluth, he moved to Tofte at the age of three when his parents, Frank and Mary Alice Hansen, started Sawbill Canoe Outfitters. He was raised in the hospitality industry and is committed to providing rewarding experiences to his passengers, a testament to his deep-rooted connection to the North Shore.
After college, Bill was a reporter and camera operator for Duluth television station KBJR. After working six days straight in November 1975, he looked forward to having Tuesday, November 11, off. When his shift ended on the 10th, he went to a neighborhood bar for a beer and Monday night football. That fateful night the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior. The journalist that he was, Bill returned to the station right away after seeing a news flash about a missing ore boat. He and reporter Ray Niekamp drove to the Duluth Coast Guard station to cover the beginning of rescue efforts. While there, they got permission from the television station to rent an airplane and visit the last known site of the Fitzgerald.
They arrived at the site as daylight broke, and from the airplane, Bill could see vessels responding to the distress call. While filming the scene, debris and oil from the Fitzgerald broke to the surface. The two young journalists flew on to Sault Ste. Marie, MI, where they interviewed officials of the shipping company and the Coast Guard.
The NBC network got wind of their efforts, flew reporters into Duluth, and used Bill’s film of the scene on the evening news the night of the 11th. Seeing the site of the sinking and meeting with the people most affected by it has profoundly affected Bill’s life. “It was a terrible tragedy, really grim,” he said.
After two years in television, Bill returned to Sawbill Outfitters to help his parents, eventually taking over the business. Today, Sawbill Outfitters is successfully operated by Bill’s daughter, Clare Shirley, and her husband, Dan. Bill and his wife, Cindy, retired and moved to Grand Marais in 2016. According to Bill, the third generation “is better at running it than we were.”
After retiring, Bill spent a year with the Peace Corps in Uganda.
Returning to Grand Marais, he earned a captain’s license from the Coast Guard and went to work on the Hjördis. He is the lead captain and recruits and schedules the crew and captains who operate the tours. Two full crews work each day, one in the mornings and one in the afternoon and evenings. Five captains are working with Bill this season. They are Adam Gallagher, Katy Indvik, Andrew Siess, David Swierenga, and Dave Cooper.
Bill can be seen riding around Grand Marais on his e-bike. He’s enamored with alternative energy and has put over 3,000 miles on his bike in the past few years.
When North House took over, the Hjördis was equipped with its original diesel engine. After piecing together repairs in the early years, the engine was soon replaced with a modern Westerbeke diesel that, after 20 years, was starting to get temperamental. One day in 2021, returning to the harbor under diesel power, Bill decided that he was piloting “an ideal application for an electric motor.”
Installing a marine-grade electric motor was looking quite expensive when he stumbled upon Electric Yacht company in Golden Valley, MN. They offered to design the power system and engines for a DIY installation along with a 25 percent discount.
North House quickly found donors for the conversion, and the order was placed with Electric Yacht. Bill picked up the system himself and brought it to Grand Marais. Local certified electricians Sam and Jonathan Hedstrom did all the wiring, and volunteers installed the motors and batteries. Hjördis had electric motors for the 2022 season.
“The Electric Yacht system is comforting and reliable,” Bill said. After a day of on-the-water tours, more than 50 percent of battery life remains. The batteries are charged each evening on the dock.
Greg Wright said, “Bill pushed for electric drive, and now we have a beautiful boat powered by sun and wind.”
Summing things up, Captain Bill said, “I tell people this is the most ideal retirement job.”
Tours are available seven days a week in season and people can visit northhouse.org for more information and to book a tour.
