Boats of Every Description

A cruise through Norfolk is a boat-lover's dream. What a wonderland of ships! I think we saw everything except Noah's Ark! The day began as we left Atlantic Yacht Basin before sunrise and ended at Deltaville early in the afternoon.  It was an exciting ride!

Leaving the dock at Atlantic Yacht Basin

Larry and Elke on Bajan Speed pulling away from the dock as the sky picks up some color.

Waiting for the 0600 opening of the Great Bridge Bridge

Bajan Speed passing under the Great Bridge Bridge

That is not a typo- this bridge is actually called the Great Bridge Bridge. It carries Battlefield Boulevard across the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal in Chesapeake, VA. This was the scene of a battle between colonists and British soldiers in 1775. The British hoped to choke off supplies to Norfolk by capturing this strategic bridge, but the colonists drove the troops back and held the bridge. The original wooden bridge was 10 feet wide- the modern version is 4 lanes wide. Immediately after this bridge is the Great Bridge Lock- no photos since I have to hold a line while locking through.

A small tug passing our stern

These tow boats look a bit different than the ones we are used to on the Mississippi.

These are parts of a bridge being built

A railroad bridge opening to allow us to pass under it. There is a car bridge behind it.

So many bridges!

Aircraft carrier in Norfolk

Norfolk

Navy ship

Notice how tiny the man is just above the dome.

Red tugs- these help steer big ships in the harbor

Waterside in Norfolk

Bajan Speed in front of a carrier

Sailboats at anchor 

Really big guns

More of Norfolk 

Loading a container ship

Cargo ships

More Navy ships

Looking through our windows at a cargo ship- we gave him a wide berth!

We are out of the shipping channels and into the Chesapeake

We are docked in Deltaville, VA

Racine- America's Kringle Capital

We left Port Washington fairly early this morning, just as the sun was rising. We cruised right past Milwaukee, and saw the city skyline in the distance.

We arrived at Reefpoint Marina in Racine around noon. It is the largest marina we have been in so far.

Racine is billed as America's Kringle Capital--who knew? An authentic Danish kringle has 32 layers of flaky dough and a variety of fillings and takes 3 days to make. I know because I read this in the tourist brochure we picked up. Apparently kringle is Wisconsin's official state pastry-- I am not making this up. You can take a look at one of the kringle bakeries here,

Racine is also home of the SC Johnson company's global headquarters. Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Johnson company administration building and research tower. Even more exciting to us is the fact that the Twin Disc company is located here-- they make boat transmissions, including ours! Mark remembers Racine as the HQ of J. I. Case, the brand of farm machinery his dad used to sell at Mather Implement.

Racine is also the home port of Beth and Dean, and their African Gray Parrot Ziggy, Gold Loopers. (gold meaning that they completed the Great Loop) Their boat, Kismet, is a sister ship to Mara Beel. Both are Ocean Alexanders built the same year. Theirs is a slightly different model than ours, but they look very similar. We were assigned a slip two boats away from them, and discovered that we have friends in common-- it IS a small world.

Dean and Beth

We Made It!

We cruised across lake Michigan today, from Sturgeon Bay, WI, to Frankfort, MI. 60 miles, almost 7 hours, and 1 time zone. The weather conditions could not have been more ideal! It was incredibly beautiful all the way across! We had been dreading this crossing for months, but we were blessed with calm seas- waves less than 1 foot.That was an answer to prayer. We left Sturgeon Bay at 0-dark-30. The sunrise was spectacular.

Wait- what's that saying about "red sky in morning, sailor take warning?" Should we be worried?

The sunglasses are hiding the fact that Becky is sound asleep at the helm. No worries.

Love those sparkles!

Smooth sailing

We tied up at the Frankfort Municipal Marina and immediately met new friends and fellow Loopers Wayne and Rhonda on Help Me, Rhonda-  docked next to us. 

We went for a walk around town and the beach. So pretty.

Better than Florida- at least in the summer!

Guess these funny fish on a stick followed us across the Lake- or we followed them.

We ended the evening having dessert with Rhonda and Wayne, and touring each other's boats. More adventures tomorrow!

Menominee, MI

On Monday we finally made it to Menominee, MI, where we are docked at the Municipal Marina-- a beautiful facility. The crossing of Green Bay was uneventful- there was hardly a ripple in the water.

Aerial view of the Menominee Marina

Mara Beel in the foreground

The boaters lounge

Before we had even signed in with the harbormaster we met Stephen and Charlotte, Loopers from Florida on Jackets II. We later met for docktails and dinner at Table Six, just 2 blocks from the marina. You can follow their travels aboard "Jackets II", their Krogen Express 52 on their blog. We like it here so well we decided to stay another day.

On Tuesday I took advantage of the marina laundry facilities while Mark cleaned the outside of the boat. We did a little shopping and ordered screens for our flybridge from a local lady. Of course we met new friends- Larry and Caryl, who will be starting the Loop next month, their granddaughter Mille and friend Bruce. We all enjoyed docktails and a potluck dinner on their boat, another Ocean Alexander, "Prime Time".

Gorgeous sunrise

Remote controlled sailboat race

We were able to get tickets for the Packers' final exhibition game thanks to Larry and Caryl. Being at Lambeau was a thrill, even though it was 92 degrees at game time. And I thought it was always freezing cold at Packer games. ;-)

Boating = Friends

One meets the nicest people on boats! By most accounts, people are the best thing about "doing the Loop". We have barely begun our travels, and we have made many new friends and admired their boats.

Last week we were fortunate to have Ken and Pat for dinner at our house. They started the Loop from Red Wing, MN a year ago, and stopped overnight in Muscatine then. We ran into them again in Marathon, FL, last winter on board the 20Bucks$. They have a wonderful blog chronicling their adventures.

On Friday we met Joel and Debby as they stopped in Guttenberg to have lunch with us. They were then 6 days out on their adventure, on Water Music.

After a fun lunch we wistfully watched them sail off. One of these days it will be our turn!

Yesterday we drove up to Sturgeon Bay and the Mara Beel. We detoured to Manitowoc for a brief visit with Clay and Sally, and their friend Bob. They were our "dock neighbors" in Sturgeon, but they started out on their Loop last week. You can follow their trip on SaSea Sally via their blog.

So fun to talk with 3 other couples living the dream! Since the Upper Mississippi is not actually part of the Great Loop route, we don't see a lot of Loopers up here- but when we do, it is special!

It's not all fun and glamor! Today we scrubbed the entire boat and waxed one side. Ugh! We also raised our Great Loop burgee which signifies that we are "Loopers". Finally!!

What is the Great Loop??

This map shows the Great Loop routes.