The Loop

Our blog is lagging behind our actual travels, but we were busy enjoying things along the way! It might surprise you to know that when we are underway, there is lots of work to be done such as planning our route, planning for mooring locations, and familiarizing ourselves with the area and any hazards. We have completed our Loop so hopefully we'll have a bit more time to catch up on our blogs, even though we're still boating. Our blog postings are listed in the bottom section, but there are other loop related items that are linked below.

The Hudson River: West Point, Castle, and Lighthouses

Montrose, NY to Kingston, NY We waited for the tide to rise a bit before leaving Courtlandt Yacht Club, as the water in the marina was...

New York, New York!

Atlantic City, NJ to Staten Island, New York Our 16th and LAST State! We were up at 5:00 AM, checked the weather, and decided it was...

Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean!

Annapolis, MD to Chesapeak City, MD @ Chesapeake Inn, Restaurant & Marina We arrived at the fuel dock right before it opened at 8:00 AM...

Chesapeake Bay: Addicted to Crabs

Norfolk, VA to Dyer Creek We started our day at the pump out dock just before opening and the dock hand showed up right away. While we...

The Beautiful Dismal Swamp

Elizabeth City, NC to Dismal Swamp Canal Visitors Center We were excited to see the Dismal Swamp but the radar showed rain in the area,...

Crossing the Abermarle

Sneads Ferry, NC to Oriental, NC After our earlier false start today due to shredding our impeller, we were away by 11:40 AM. You can...

Wacca What? Sneeze Fairy?

We have gotten a kick out of some of the place names on our Great Loop. The first was one of Heather’s favourite stops at Paducah,...

Gone to Carolina in Our Boat

Kilkenny to Savannah, GA There are a lot of songs written about these areas where we were privileged to travel. Our last blog borrowed...

Georgia on our Minds

St Augustine, FL to Fernandina Beach, FL We were away from St Augustine around 7:00 AM as we were expecting a long day on the water. We...

Calmer Seas and Good Loop Friends

Titusville, FL to Hammock Beach Marina We were really looking forward to leaving our last marina in Titusville, with two sunken boats,...

SEALS, Rockets, and Sunken Boats

Stuart to Fort Pierce, Florida We took our time before leaving in the morning from Stuart. We were waiting for the tides to be in our...

Wild Wild West

A Posse from Nassau It was a one nautical mile ride today, officially our shortest travel day yet on our Great Loop! Our time at Atlantis...

Finding Atlantis

Nassau Our last blog ended in a rocky-rolly anchorage in Highbourne Cay. We were trying to decide if we could go deeper into the...

Retrieving Dory...the Sea Quell

Norman's Cay We had been in Shroud Cay for a couple of days in two different anchorages, the first of which had been quite rough. We had...

We Caught Our Dinner!

Staniel Cay In our last blog, we were anchored in Big Major and had been exploring Staniel Cay. There are a number of places to stay in...

We Meet Our Doppelganger!

Cambridge Cay We had an early start today thinking we were leaving Warderick Wells at 7:00 AM. Heather had based the departure time on...

Take Nothing but Pictures and Leave Nothing but Footprints

Shroud Cay We had a relaxed morning while we waited for high tide and we were away from Highborne Cay around 9:00 AM. Our run was mostly...

Counting Starfish!

We had a beautiful and comfortable night on anchor at Rose Island with a nice breeze blowing through the boat and a gentle roll. We were...

A Three Hour Tour ... Gilligan’s Island

We were up and underway from Chub Cay just after sunrise. The water conditions were not too bad and at speed, the waves were hitting us...

Chub Cay: Up the Creek without a Paddle

It was Monday morning and we had been in Bimini, Bahamas for six days due to weather. Several boats left in rather windy conditions the...

The Blue Waters of the Bahamas

When we woke in Miami that morning, we thought we were heading for an anchorage to wait for a possible crossing the next day. However, we...

Let's Go to the Bahamas

While the Bahamas is not officially part of the Great Loop, most Canadians end up going to the Bahamas because it's winter, so it's too...

Shortcut Through Florida

For this leg of our journey, we are accompanied by our friends, Catherine and Kirk. The plan for the next few days was to transit the...

On the path of Hurricane Ian

We were finally leaving Sarasota, Florida and the Anna Maria Island area where Sea Clef had been for over a month! We did a water fill...

False Start in the New Year

Happy New Year! We had a wonderful time at home for the holidays with our family and friends. We brought lots of things back with us for...

Heading Home for Christmas

We felt very refreshed after a good and peaceful rest. It was restful just knowing that we had conquered the Gulf of Mexico. We spent the...

To Infinity and Beyond: Carrabelle and the Gulf Crossing

We woke in Apalachicola after a rough night, still struggling with COVID, but Karen and Rob said that it was a good day to head to...

Salt Water and Tides, Here We Come!

Travelling south from Demopolis, Alabama does not seem that different from our travels just before arriving in Demopolis, but there are...

Ten Locks Down on the Tenn-Tom

Safe Harbor Aqua Yacht in Iuka, Mississippi was our last marina stop before we ventured into the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, nicknamed...

Chattanooga Choo-Choo and More

We had a fabulous week in Chattanooga! We rented a car so we could make the most of our time. We stayed right downtown on the "Bluff"...

Up and Down on the Tennessee River

We decided to do the side trip to Chattanooga, Tennessee for a few reasons. It was the home port for our good Looper friends Maggie and...

Southern Hospitality, Downbound Tennessee

We have a few more stops before we are officially on our Chattanooga side trip. This blog takes us downbound on the Tennessee River from...

Lots to Celebrate at the Rendezvous

We were getting ready to leave Green Turtle Bay Marina in Grand Rivers, Kentucky, when we finally saw a green turtle in front of our...

A Little Bit Country

Paducah to Grand Rivers, Kentucky This blog covers our trip from Paducah to Grand Rivers. We also decided to do a quick side trip to...

Heading Upriver

Our last blog left us on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River, just below the Olmsted Lock. We were about 15 miles into our travels up the...

Rollin' on Down the Mississippi

This blog takes us down the Mississipi River from where it meets the Illinois to the Ohio River, where we turn up stream. It's funny how...

Illinois Meets Mississippi

This blog takes us from where we left off in Peoria Heights to Grafton, Illinois, which marks the end of the Illinois River and the start...

Bridges, Locks and Rivers - Chicago to Peoria

This blog marks a huge transition in our trip thus far. We have always boated in the Great Lakes but we said good bye to Lake Michigan...

Chicago, Chicago!

We had a great crossing of Lake Michigan (see our crossing video). There were some swells, but we only started seeing waves when we...

Beach Time on Lake Michigan

This blog documents the last of our time on the eastern shores of Lake Michigan including Saugatuck, South Haven, and Saint Joseph. At...

Subs and Light Shows

For our next chunk of Lake Michigan we stayed at Lake Muskegon for three days and Grand Haven for two days and there was lots to do at...

Conquering Lake Michigan

At this point in our travels, it is time to conquer Lake Michigan. Having spent most of our boating years on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay,...

Leland Rocked!

We didn't know much about Leland before we arrived. We knew there were historic fishing shanties and that it was hard to get a...

The Suspension was Exciting

In our last blog post, on our approach to Mackinac Island, and again on our horse drawn wagon ride on the island, we caught glimpses of...

Time Travel is Possible!

Have you seen the old movie, Somewhere in Time, with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour? The story is about a man who travels back in...

Trying to find the Border

We were up early and pulled away from the dock in Gore Bay just after 6 AM. Our friends on Currently were leaving as well and took this...

Last Stop in Canada!

We had two separate trips to Gore Bay, before and after our son and daughter-in-law's visit. When we first arrived in Gore Bay, we were...

Little Current and Louisa: Strangers and Friends

We had a great trip from the Pool through Baie Fine. Heather took over the helm to lead us through Fraser Bay and past the Strawberry...

Inside Okeechobee Lodge and More

For many years, we have boated past Okeechobee Lodge at the entrance to Baie Fine. This year we found out that you could book a slip at...

You Can't Beat Killarney

We've been coming up to the North Channel for almost 20 years. Killarney Mountain Lodge was our first ever stop in the North Channel so...