Sunday, August 29, 2021

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, last stop on the Door Peninsula

 August 12, 2021 Sturgeon Bay

All the towns we have visited so far in Wisconsin have been on Green Bay.  To get to the town of Sturgeon Bay, we had to leave Green Bay, enter Sturgeon Bay, go under two bridges.  The marina we picked is the same astounding price as all the other Wisconsin marinas so far.  This is a small marina that has very recently been bought by Bay Marine.  It is fairly small, but the dock is fine, the bathrooms and laundry are fine.  Very quiet here – no dock employees on site, but we have met some of the boat owners and everyone is friendly. 

We were excited that the Antique Boat Show was being held while we are here – just a few blocks away at the Maritime Museum.    What fun to see some beautiful old boats.  One event that spanned the two days was a contest, where participants are given 3 sheets of plywood and some marine sealant.  They are to build their boat on site.  They are timed.  On Sunday, each boat is launched with 2 people, with the goal to (1) stay afloat!, and (2) to paddle around two buoys.  So fun.  Some boats never made it away from the dock.  Some made it a little ways, then either broke apart or filled with water.  The Coast Guard had a boat entry, and the two Coasties came out wearing dinosaur costumes.  They finished the course.  An interesting entrant had built their “boat”, which was actually a box, in one hour.  They got lots of points for such a speedy construction.  But, their speed in completing the course was very slow.  These two women had actually won the contest in other years, as ungainly and ugly as their ‘boat’ was!  The winner, a carpenter and his wife, built a canoe with nice lines.  It took them 2.5 hours to build it, but their speed around the course was very fast. 

Some of these people compete every year.  The canoe won first place this year.

Sturgeon Bay has an active downtown, with a number of good restaurants.  We enjoyed putzing through some of the shops, had a couple of meals.  We had the best pizza in a while at Sonny’s, which is right by one of the bridges across the Bay.

Leaving Sturgeon Bay, the city, via Sturgeon Bay.  Years ago, a canal was dredged that connects Sturgeon Bay into Lake Michigan.  It makes a great shortcut from Green Bay into the big Lake. 

Next stop is Kewaunee, a small town on Lake Michigan.

 

 

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