New Yacht Hosts Sightseeing Cruises

Calling all landlubbers…the gangway’s been put out for the new Harbor Lady Yacht and she’s ready for passengers.

Captain David Graves introduced the public to the 90-foot, dual deck yacht Memorial Day Weekend by offering $10 sightseeing cruises around Sturgeon Bay. In-season cruises will cost between $5 for children and up to $35 for adults. The 130 person capacity yacht has proven to be a popular attraction so far, Graves said.

“We bought a new vessel, built by Skipperliner of La Crosse, with an upgraded interior that tripled our capacity to sit people,” Graves said. “Door County can start out with a beautiful morning, but that can change quickly. In our old boat, we could only have 42 people inside the salon, now we can have 130 inside the climate controlled salon.”

Harbor Lady is docked at Stone Harbor Resort in Sturgeon Bay. The resort’s kitchens are catering all the meals and special events aboard the Harbor Lady. The new boat, which weighs in at 175,000 pounds, does have its own galley to aid in serving large parties.

Graves is a U.S. Coast Guard-licensed 100-ton master captain. He started giving tours around Sturgeon Bay late in the summer season of 2008. This year, the tours will range from one and a half to two hours and will either travel west to Sherwood Point lighthouse or east around the U.S.C.G light station and out about a mile from shore on Lake Michigan. Which direction the tour goes will depend on the wind, Graves said.

“Going that far out onto the lake really gives people a different perspective of Door County,” Graves said.

Regularly scheduled sightseeing tours will run from June to the end of August. Graves said he will host private parties until he takes the yacht out of the water in the beginning of November. He is in the process of installing big screen TVs for watching Packer games during parties, other sporting events and wedding videos. The advantage to having an upper deck, Graves said, is he is able to host two different parties at one time.

Unlike the Michigan Street Bridge, the Maple-Oregon Street Bridge is raised on demand for boats. Graves said he’s working to not abuse the system and is trying to coordinate his tours to have the bridge open for multiple boats.

Harbor Lady Tour Information

To book a sightseeing cruise or private event on the Harbor Lady Yacht, visit http://www.harborlady.com or call 920.882.7900.