9/14 - 9/17 -Enjoying down time on Kentucky Lake after our first successful Loop Segment

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 to put together a gourmet meal with the provisions we had on our boats!

We were delighted to stay at Lighthouse Landing as Marty and Brenda's guests for two nights.

9/15/17:
Another routine morning of boat cleaning and a run.  We used the wonderful facilities at Lighthouse Landing to shower and headed out to the lake to enjoy another beautiful day.  Rafted with Ron and Libby again.  No sooner did they leave, Marty and Brenda came by in Snapshot, and we spent the remainder of the afternoon with them.  We stayed on the lake until the last peek of sunlight and made our way back to Lighthouse Landing for an on-board meal.

9/16/17 (Saturday)
Last boat cleaning/run for this trip.  Said good-bye Lighthouse Landing and spent a couple more hours on the lake before heading to our final destination of Kentucky Lock and Dam Marina.  The plan was to use their boat ramp first thing in the morning to pull Port-A-Gee out of the water for the last time this season.  Marty and Brenda gave the KL&DM ramp a high rating as the best in the area.  KL&DM's staff was very nice, and the marina was well-kept.  The facilities left something to be desired, as there was only one shower room for women and one for men.  No place to get dinner, so we finally cooked that frozen pizza that was in the freezer all summer!

9/17/18 (Sunday)
Up early to greet the fisherman at the ramp.  Our timing was perfect, right in between the tournament launchers and weekend warriors.  The advice we received was spot on - nice 3-lane ramp with a gradual grade.  Brian backed the trailer down and drove Port-A-Gee right on.  We spent a couple hours cleaning and securing everything for the trip back home.

Thanks to Captain Brian's careful planning, and the skill of Deckhand, Loral the first leg of the Loop went perfectly.  Could not have asked for better weather conditions.  Everyone me met along the way came with their own story, and we count each of them as friends.

Already planning for next year where we'll pick up where we left off, until then . . . .




First Loop Leg Stats:

8/17 - 9/17:
200 gallons of diesel fuel
Total mpg 3.63
99 hours of run time on D3 Volvo engine
Navigated 726 miles by water
Total average speed:  7.33 mph / 6.36 knots

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

8/25/23 - 9/10/23 - Detour Village, MI to Racine, WI (Lake Michigan) PORT-A-GEE IS GOLD!!!

Image
Fri - Sat 8/25-26/23 - Detour Village, MI to Mackinaw City, MI (Mackinaw Municipal Marina) (39.7NM) Our buddy boats agreed on an 8:00 a.m. departure. We enjoyed a gorgeous day on Lake Huron via St. Mary's River.  Calm seas and sunny skies!! It was very exciting to see the Mighty Mac Bridge and lighthouses coming into view.   Mackinac Suspension Bridge As we got closer, we were thrashed around by the huge wakes left by the speeding Island Ferries. Port-A-Gee secured a slip in the Municipal Marina while our buddy boats stayed at the adjacent Strait's State Harbor. The Municipal Marina is the aforementioned ferry boats' port, so we were alerted to all departures with the blast of their horn. We walked around town.  It was pretty touristy, and kind of tacky, with LOTS of tee-shirt, ice cream & fudge shops.  It was kind of hard to find a good place to dine.  Mackinaw City has really benefitted from being the source of transport to Mackinac Island. The crews of Summer Place,
Read more

Starting Over in 2022! (8/20/22)

Image
Port-A-Gee's quest to complete the Great Loop began in 2017, as documented on our blog.  Our last post indicated that we were considering a more livable boat that would accommodate our desire to stay at anchor more frequently.  All boaters know that once the words "SHOULD WE GET A BIGGER BOAT?" are expelled into the universe, there is no turning back!  We sold our beloved Cutwater-26 in June 2021.  We purchased our new-to-us 2002 Mainship Pilot-34 in September 2021 in Port Washington, WI.  This location not only erased all the Loop miles that we have logged, but it also put us negative 40 miles!!  Oh well, in the words of the great Cubs Hall of Famer, Ernie Banks, "Let's Play 2".  The Mainship Pilot checked a lot of the boxes, but not all of them. We ran out of time getting her ready to Loop by Fall 2021, so the new Port-A-Gee went into winter storage, and we rented a condo in Cape Coral for the winter.  We loved the "ground" activities of golf, pi
Read more

5/20 - 6/3/23 Troy, NY - Central Square, NY (Brewerton) (Erie Canal)

Image
Sat, 5/20/23 - Lock #2, Waterford, NY to Vischer Ferry, NY (Lock 7) (12.7nm) .  Moon Dance IV, was the first to leave and catch the first lock through.  We were monitoring channel 13, and discovered the Federal Lock was full, so we decided to wait for that batch to come through and then head over to Lock 2 and begin our Erie Canal adventure. The fork in the road forced a decision to go east on the Champlain Canal or West on the Erie Canal. We chose the Western route. The area around the Welcome Center was charming.  They were setting up for the annual Canal Festival. Erie Canal rises 566 feet from the Hudson River to Lake Erie through 35 locks, of which we will do 23. We already went through the first one in Troy on Thursday. Day 1 - Waterford Flight of 5 locks that are done sequentially + Lock 7 for another 11 miles: MM 0.63 - E2 Waterford, up 33.6 MM 1.09 - E3 Waterford, up 34.5' MM 1.60 - E4 Waterford, up 34.5' MM 1.87 - E5 Waterford, up 33.3' MM 2.15 - E6 Crescent, up 3
Read more