59 miles to Manitowac

The Cruise to Manitowoc was great, we were infant of about 6 other loop boats.  The weather was cloudy and cool.  Cruising the great lakes is a lot like cruising offshore back on the gulf coast, no intracoastal waters here.  Arriving in Manitowoc was like a mini looper rendezvous.  We had “Inspiration” “Avocet” “SummerTime” “Somewhere In Time” “Leap of Faith” “Still Waters” “Adventure Quest” and one other American Tug I never got the name of.  We all went to dinner and had a great time.

My friends the Coast Guard stopped me so they could do a safety inspection.  We rafted up in the lake.  They said they didn’t a chance to many inspections and appreciated us having them on board.  Pura Vida passed with flying colors and it was a pleasure having the Coast Guard on board.  I thank all of them for their service to the people and the country.

The Response Boat – Medium (RB-M) is a 45-foot (14 m) utility boat used by the United States Coast Guard.  The specs are below, very impressive and with the Detroit 60 Series 825hp.   I have driven a few trucks with the 60 series.  The Detroit Diesel Series 60 is an inline-6 4-stroke  diesel engine that was first produced in 1987. It departed from most on-highway engines.  It competed with the later Caterpillar C-series engines, it was cool to see them in their boat looking just like the truck engine.

We stayed at Manitowoc Marina, 920-682-5117.  This is a great spot to stop on your way north or south on the Wisconsin side.  They have a wonderful shop here and travel lift.  Heated inside and yard storage, fuel and ship/clothing store.  The Marina is located right inside the Manitowoc Harbor, and is conveniently located to many cool businesses.  They have a Maritime museum, art museum, zoo and submarine tour here.