Port-A-Gee

9/14/17: A beautiful day on Kentucky Lake!  Pumped out at GTB, untied the lines and went for a nice cruise on the lake.  We met up with Ron and Libby in a quiet anchorage near the dam.  Rafted for the afternoon, then pulled anchor and headed to Lighthouse Landing Marina, where we met the VERY HOSPITABLE owners, Marty & Brenda Colburn.  http://www.lighthouselanding.com/   Marty and Brenda are 28' Cutwater owners (Snapshot).  Their marina is home to 99% sailboats, but on this day, it boasted (2) Ranger Tugs, and (2) Cutwaters:  Tug O' My Heart, Vicki Lynn, Port-A-Gee & Snapshot. Reflecting back on this post after completing our Loop in 2023, we feel blessed for our continued friendship with Ron & Libby and Marty & Brenda. Lighthouse Landing also has 20 beautiful cottages that have spectacular views of the lake.  Marty & Brenda entertained us in a cottage where we enjoyed a potluck dinner.  It's amazing that we were able...

9/9/17: Kevil, KY to Green Turtle Bay, KY (50.7 miles) We both slept great on the Ohio River!  Pulled the anchor, and off we went!  15 miles upstream, our first stop was Lock 52.  Our lock good fortune continued, as the water was too low for barge traffic, so it's a pleasure boat holiday.  We when right in, and floated up approx. 12 feet, and back out to the Ohio for 6 more miles to Paducah, KY. At MM933 we had the choice to continue on the Ohio to the Cumberland or divert to the Kentucky Lock & Dam on Tennessee/Kentucky Lake.  The Cumberland is a little longer, but the KY lock has a reputation for loooong waits as barges have preferential treatment. We rejoiced at our good fortune when our call to the KY Dam lock master gave us to OK to come on up.  It took up about 2 hours to get to KY Lock and Dam where we checked in on Channel 14 to confirm our approach.  WHAT DO YOU KNOW - THINGS HAVE CHANGED!!! Lock Master notified us that there will be an ...

9/4/17 (Labor Day): Pearl, IL to Grafton, IL (39.3 miles) We weighed anchor after a quiet and restful night at Wing Island and continued 40 miles to Grafton Marina. It was windy coming in, so we were grateful to be assisted by capable deck hands.  We were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by AGLCA Gold Loopers, Larry & Cindy Kreissler.  We enjoyed dinner at the highly recommended Oyster Bar, and it did not disappoint. 9/5/17 Grafton Marina After a great night's sleep, Brian got to work cleaning Port-A-Gee, while I went for an unintentional 5-mile run.  It was a run/scouting expedition for afternoon activities. As we headed out for a walk to town, we noticed a couple of AGLCA burgees in the harbor.  We were delighted to encounter Kent and Jan Syverson - they just finished hanging their Gold AGLA Burgee after crossing their wake aboard Follow That Dream! We met Kent at the rendezvous at Joe Wheeler State Park last October.  Kent and Jan introduced us to...

Fri, 9/1/17 : Springbrook Marina, Seneca, IL to Ivy Club, Peoria, IL (75.1 miles) The day had finally arrived!  We're finally took a big bite out of the Loop.  Albeit in segments for a couple of years until we fully retire.  Nothing wrong with getting a head start! Continuing down the Illinois River on a beautiful Labor Day weekend, our first stop was at Starved Rock Lock.  After about a 2-hour wait, we locked through without incident, and continued our 75-mile trip @ 11 knots.  It was an 8-hour day before arriving at our destination, The Ivy Club, Peoria, IL.  It was a nice marina with a well-equipped shower.  We've spied a handful of Loopers along the way.  We loved seeing the AGLCA Burgee proudly flying on the Illinois River. Sat, 9/2 : Peoria, IL to Havana, IL (48.8 miles) We began with a short trip down stream to Peoria lock, followed by 48 miles at 7 knots, arriving at Tall Timber Marina, Havana, IL in 7 hours. The proprietor of Tal...

We're getting a late start posting to our blog.  Now that we've got our sea legs firmly below us, we can take a breath and document our experience.  Our collection of Boat Cards already consumes 6 pages in our binder, and we're hoping to meet up with some of our fellow loopers along the way. We intended to begin on Thurs, August 17, 2017, but Lake Michigan was angry that day, so we enjoyed the pool at our home port of Reef Point Marina in Racine, WI for one more day. Fri, 8/18/17: Racine, WI to Chicago, IL (68.5 miles) The lake was a little choppy, but Port-A-Gee could handle the 1 - 2 ft. seas with relative comfort.  We were escorted into Chicago by the US Navy's Blue Angels.  They were practicing for the Air and Water show that weekend.  I could almost touch of bottom of the jets as they buzzed us on the lake - so cool!!  Our first night on the Loop was at 31st St, Marina in Chicago.  It's a beautiful marina, and we wouldn't have minded staying ...