April 11-14; 2019 THE RUN DOWN THE LENGTH OF THE ALBEMARLE AND UP THE CUT TO COINJOCK, NC

When the following day showed a promise of smooth water, we quickly agreed that a run down the length of the Albemarle was in order. While on the Great Loop three years ago, we transited the Pasquotank River to Elizabeth City and on through the Great Dismal Swamp to the Portsmouth/Norfolk area. For a different experience, we chose to run the North Carolina/Virginia Cut to Coinjock… an 8-hour run… and then on to the twin cities… a 7-hour run. We were amazed at the beauty of the scenery along the Cut; not much has ever been mentioned about this route. Impressive also was the 1,050 foot face dock at the Coinjock Marina. The dock master reported to us that 35+ boats have been tied up on that face dock at the end of any given day. We are now tucked into the Tidewater Yacht Marina in Portsmouth, across the Elizabeth River from the Waterside Complex in Norfolk. We will call this our home for the next two weeks.

Coinjock Marina's 1050 ft  face dock

Aug. 26-27, 2016 Muskegon, MI Reunions with good friends, long-time and quite new

When we were making our way along the Erie Canal, we chanced to meet the folks on a boat with a gaelic name...Feath. Pronounced (fee-a), it means Tranquil. Lenny and Nancy had just bought a Jefferson 37 Motor Yacht on the East Coast and with friends on board they were making their way back to the Muskegon, Michigan area. They fit in with all of the Loopers just fine and we enjoyed visiting along the lock walls at the day’s end. As we approached their homeport here on the Michigan shore, we emailed them to see if we could re-connect. They invited us to their home in Grand Haven for a delicious cook-out and chat time on the night we arrived. We got a much-needed “fur-fix” with their dog Charlie, also known as Chuck. What a sweet couple!

Meanwhile, another couple we came to know about 10 years ago at the Saguaro Co-op RV Park in Benson, Arizona, live about one hour away from Muskhegon in the summer. Bob and Cheri had been following our progress through Facebook and agreed to drive over for a lunchtime visit on our second day. They got to see “Summertime” up close and personal and then we opted for a neighborhood pub meal. We had a lot of catching up to do since we haven’t seen each other in four years. These kind of reunions make this life of ours even more special.

Created by Darcy O Campbell

Aug. 25, 2016 Ludington, MI and The S.S. Badger... an historic car ferry

My blog post on Tues.-Wed. Aug. 16 & 17 included a piece on Trailer Sailers. It was recently highlighted on the AGLCA website as a blog entry worthy of note. What a nice surprise to find that it attracted that kind of response!

We have been hearing about a great car/passenger ferry based out of Ludington, Michigan. Entering service in 1953, The S.S. Badger is the only coal-fired cross-lake ship remaining on any of The Great Lakes today. She can carry 620 passengers and 180 cars. She cruises at 18mph, but can go as fast as 24 mph.  In “the day”, a fleet of 13 ferries called Ludington their home port!

The S.S. Badger has gained even more notoriety for her unorthodox docking style. Imagine a 410-foot ship approaching her dock at a healthy clip. Suddenly her starboard anchor is deployed and she begins to spin in a clock-wise direction. By the time The S.S. Badger’s stern is where her bow used to be, she is being secured to the dock and is ready for passengers and vehicles to off-load. Amazing!  We were treated to this display of ingenuity at 6:30 Thursday night and again at 6:30 Friday morning. (From our slip in the Luddington Municipal Marina, we could look out on her dock.) In the 12 hours that had past, she had crossed to Manitowac, Wisconsin and back again. What a grand old lady!

Created by Darcy O Campbell

Aug. 22-24, 2016 Frankfort, MI... a resort community and another Harbor of Refuge on Lake Michigan

It’s not easy to make progress down Lake Michigan. We have been in U.S. waters for 14 days and we are only 224.5 miles along out of the 530 miles to Chicago. There is a rule of thumb that we Loopers are all trying to follow... be out of Lake Michigan by Labor Day Weekend, September 5. That is only another 12 days away! The temperament of the lake becomes more blustery/wintery by then. Temperatures drop, the winds become more disagreeable as September approaches. Today six Looper boats are hunkered down here in Frankfort Harbor while a Mid-west storm passes through the region. Tomorrow looks promising for passage early in the day, so we will all be ready for a daybreak departure. One boat plans to make the 50-mile crossing to Sturgeon Bay, WI and then into Green Bay, Wisconsin through the ship canal on Lake Michigan’s western shore. The rest of us hope to push along 50 miles south on the eastern shore. In the meantime, we are enjoying each other’s company. Yesterday we gathered at 5pm in the park adjacent to the marina slips and shared munchies and stories. Wally and I have enjoyed strolling through the various neighborhoods. The Victorian homes here have such remarkable details of craftsmanship and fabulous gardens. We don’t miss “the joys of homeownership”, but we do take particular delight in all the efforts other people go through to make their property eye-catching. Frankfort’s sugar-fine sand beach with its pounding waves attracts young families, retired folks, sun bathers, kite surfers and surf boarders alike, so its not surprising to find that many of the fancy homes are available for weekly rentals. Michigan’s shoreline surely is a magnet for vacationers! 

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Park

At last! A black squirrel captured in a photo

It's 5:00 somewhere!

 Created  by Darcy O Campbell

July 2-5, 2016 We depart Trent Port Marina and begin The Trent-Severn Waterway

For the next 240 miles we will be making our way from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron. The 42 locks ahead of us will allow us to transit the natural rivers and lakes by completing the connections. We plan to lock through about 6 locks and then stop for a few days in a welcoming town along the way. So far we have enjoyed Frankford and Campbellford with Locks #13 through 18 coming up tomorrow. The last locks that brought us to Campbellford were a set of flight locks... when “Summertime” came out of Lock #11, she was actually going directly into Lock #12. That was a rise of 74 feet altogether!

Created by Darcy O Campbell