We got to see a view of the eastern United States from the navigable waters that were central to our country's history. As we proceeded on our journey we touched the the Civil War, especially along the Mississippi, the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 along the east coast, World War II (in the Florida Keys, Norfolk and New England), the Space Program (at Cape Canaveral) and we witnessed the widespread loss of manufacturing jobs, which we saw in city after city. We visited cities along the rivers and canals that played a big part in our country's expansion and economic growth. These included the Mississippi, Illinois, Tennessee, Ohio, Black Warrior and Hudson Rivers along with the Tennessee Tom Bigby Waterway and the Erie Canal.
We got to know approximately 50 cities where we spent three days or more and had the opportunity to meet local people who helped us better understand the unique culture of each one.
We met lots of fellow boaters from all over the country (and, in fact, the world), who, like us, were doing the Great Loop. In the process made new and permanent friends, connected with old friends and visited with family and current friends. We also coped with Diana's accident in Mystic Connecticut that could well have been a life changing event and, most of all, got to spend quality time that has brought us even closer together.
The journey began with a going-away party thrown by our Belmont Harbor boat neighbors several days before departure. We gathered on Sea Rose (a 47 Sedan Bridge) and enjoyed a bottle of champagne and horderves. Present were Pam Rose, Dick and Cathy Hoffman, Brad Bush, Mike Patton and Mark and Wendy Fidan. Mike, a graphic artist, designed a board game in honor of our trip.
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| Guded Discovery; a game of skill luck and high seas adventure |
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| Guided Discovery departing Belmont Harbor on October 3, 2010 |
From there we headed down the Illinois River at a leisurely 9 MPH. Our goal was to make our way down the Western River system over a two month period, which would allow us to arrive in Mobile Bay after the hurricane season was officially over. Within days we ran into our first of two expensive problems. One caused by my impatience, when I attempted to speed up on the river and hit a submerged object, and the other caused by a loose wire that shut us down for a week in Alton Illinois. Note: The propeller was finally repaired when we reached Green Turtle Bay on the Tennessee River. Fortunately, since we were traveling a 9 MPH (i.e., not in a hurry), the damaged propeller did not affect our progress or enjoyment. While at Alton we connected with our friend Mike Maglione who lives in St Louis.
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| Visiting with Mike Maglione in St Louis |
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| Darryl & Sue on Present Moment |
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| Thanksgiving 2010 with fellow loopers in Fairhope, AL |
Leaving Fairhope on December 1st we traveled east along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, just months after the infamous BP Oil Spill that had almost caused us to delay our trip for a year. Lucky for us it turned out to be another nonevent (i.e., we saw NO OIL). We arrived in Apalachicola on December 9th just in time to take advantage of a weather window that allowed us to make a 188 mile non-stop crossing of the Gulf to Tarpon Springs, Florida.
The crossing is the longest overwater crossing on the Great Loop.. Even with favorable winds, we experienced 5 foot waves off the port quarter and a rough time for the first 3 hours of the trip. Then, as predicted, the seas gradually calmed and by the time we reached Tarpon Springs we were flying along at 28 MPH. We learned the next day that two gas powered unstabilized power boats that took 24 hours to cross experiened heavey seas overnight that emptied their cabinets and in one case caused a TV to breakloose from its cabinet. We were lucky.
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| 188 mile crossing from Appalachicola to Tarpon Springs |
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| Kodi considering how to get off the boat |
Sarasota turned out to be one of our favorite cities on the 6,150 mile journey. Sarasota has blend of sunny Florida weather plus culture and low density that is unlike the busier east coast where most of the water views are blocked by high rises.
We stayed in Sarasota for 19 days (12/22 to 1/10) the first time and, while there, made friends with Dick and Marjorie Singer. We met the Singers when Diana decided to "hug a puppy" at Southeastern Guide Dog's Sarasota Discovery Center. At least that's what the sign said. Turns out there were no puppies that day but Kodi stole the show with her wide range of behaviors (i.e., tricks). That's how we met Marjorie. When she learned that we were living on a boat she invited Kodi for a play date at her home with her two labs, Molly and Jake. Kodi has been friends with them every since and so have we with Marjorie and Dick.
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| Marjorie & Dick Singer with Diana at the Bird Key Yacht club |
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| Kodi with Molly and Jake |
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| Brittany & Scott in Chicago just prior to departure in September 2010 |
Our next connection was with Jerry and Cathy Swerdlick when we visited Captiva Island on January 18th (2011). I met Jerry, my oldest friend, in 1967 when I worked in Westerly Rhode Island for a small loan company. He applied for a loan., I turned him down and we've been friends ever since. Jerry is legally blind. Talk about making lemonade out of lemons. Today, Jerry is the CEO of EVAS, a company that provides computerized vision aids for the visually impaired. Captiva also allowed us to connect with our long time Chicago friends Steve and Becky Betts and their two wonderful kids, Dakota and Nathanial. They spent four wonderful days with us on Captiva. We also connected with Barry and Mary Ricketts (Proud Mary - 55 Fleming) and our friends George and Sue (another 55 Fleming) while at South Seas.
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| Les with Jerry & Cathy Swerdlick |
From Captiva we made our way south via Naples to Key West where we spent a week at the farest point south right at the "dead of winter" (January 31, 2011). Key West, a cruise ship destination, with its "tourist trappy" Duval Street is loaded with tourists and lots of history. A unique place to visit that is very different from other cities.
Then east to Marathon where we spent a fun week with fellow cruisers Darryl and Sue (who we originally met in Florance, Alabama). Side story: On our way south we were surprised at how few Loopers we encountered. All this changed at Marathon where we discovered hundreds wintering at anchor, on moorings and in slips in one of the warmest spots in the country ("snow boaters"). We found the rest of the keys rather uninteresting unless you were big into fishing, diving, beaching or water sports.
After the Keys and the Hawk Channel, we discovered Coconut Grove and the Grove Isle Marina. All told, we spent close to a month in Miami including moving the boat to South Beach for the Miami Boat Show, where we connected with our Belmont Harbor boat neighbors and good friends Pam Rose and her friend Scott, and Dick and Cathy Hoffman (Note: Cathy was tragically killed in a freak accident at a car wash just weeks later). We also connected with Jim and Heidi Kargman, who were instrumental in my meeting Diana, and their son Michael (who tragically died in early September 2012).
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| A lovely evening with Cathy and Dick Hoffman in South Beach |
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| With Ron and Linda Markovitz at the Miami Boat Show |
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| Heidi, Michael, Jim Diana and Lester in South Beach |
Along the way we contracted to purchase a 2010 Outer Reef 63 Cockpit Motor Yacht. The plan was to drop our boat in Annapolis, take delivery in Seattle in August, cruise the northwest and then transport the 63 by ship to Fort Lauderdale, Florida (with an arrival around mid November 2011). The grand plan was to spend the winters in Florida and then cruise north each year to summer in New England.
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| 63 Outer Reef - The one that got away |
So in mid July we returned to Annapolis to proceed with our Great Loop adventure. After refueling we departed for Baltimore and made an interesting discovery, the 48 had lost at least 8 MPH. Instead of cruising at 30, it now cruised at 22. Efficiency at full cruise had dropped form .7 to .5 MPG. Enroute we traversed the Chesapeake and Delaware Lock, proceeded to Baltimore, hauled the boat and discovered that the 30 day stay at the Petrini Shipyard in warm brackish water had allowed barnacles to form. $1,000 later with a power washed bottom and shinny propellers (which had to be sanded to remove the barnacles) we were on our way with our 30 MPH cruise speed restored.
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| Barnacles from a month in brackish Annapolis waters |
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| Passing the Statue of Liberty |
Following Newport, we headed east through Buzzards Bay, traversed the Cape Cod Canal and headed north along the Massachusetts coast stopping in Situate and then Hull where we docked at the Sunset Bay Marina next to the A-Street Pier.
For me Hull was one of the most memorable stops on our great adventure as it was here that I spent entire summers from age 5 to age 20. Hull is a beach town just south of Boston and the A Street Pier was where I hung out. I was fascinated with boats and during my time in Hull I "captained" my uncles 18 foot runabout and later worked as first mate on a 50 foot Wheeler (and then a 65 Wheeler when the owner upgraded). Lesley and Scott (my daughter and future son-in-law) visited us in Hull along with my sister, Myrna. I also visited with my 1st cousins Myrna and Kenny Elkins and their kids and their grand kids.
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| Diana with my cousins Myrna and Kenny |
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| Artist painting a Gloucester scene |
Life changed on October 10. Diana and I decided to say goodby to Dutcha and Wolfie before heading south for our next port. While visiting with them, we let Wolfie chase Kodi. Kodi ran by Diana followed by Wolfie who misjudged and slammed into Diana's right leg.
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| Kodi and Wolfie |
Meanwhlie back at the ranch (well OK the boat). Kodi stayed with Dutcha and Wolfi (which would be the case for the next 7 weeks) while I moved the boat from Mystic to Branford. This five hour cruise was the only time on the entire adventure that I cruised at night (which is not a great idea near-shore in unknown waters). Branford proved to be Guided Discovery's final stop in 2011. It would spend the winter on the hard and not see water again until late June 2012.
Following discharge from Apple rehab, we stayed in Westerly, Rhode Island for three more weeks as the guest of Jerry and Cathy Swerdlick who had moved to Florida for the winter. We had the pleasure of sharing their house with their daughter, Sarah, and their son-in-law, Patrick. We celebrated Thanksgiving with them, bought a used 2011 Ford Taurus (we had sold our Audi S4 prior to leaving Chicago) and then headed south to Sarasota.
Why a Ford Taurus (after driving Audi's for 24 years)? It was just what the "doctor" ordered. Big enough to transport Diana, who required a walker, our stuff and the Furry Kid who we retreived from Dutcha as we headed south (and in the process broke Wolfie's heart).
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| 2011 Ford Taurus parked at our Sarsota rented home |
Diana recovered in Sarasota and by April she was fully ambulatory and just slightly the worst for wear (having lost about 10 degrees of flexion in her right leg). While in Sarasota we were visted by all of our close Chicago friends along with Lesley, Scott, Laura, Jim, Heidi, Sophocles, Elena, Irene and my sister Myrna. It was a busy and fun time. We ended our Sarasota visit with the wedding of Marjorie's and Dick's daughter on April 1st at the beautiful Bird Key Yacht Club.
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| With our friend Soph, Elena, Irene in Naples |
Returning to Chicago, we enjoyed the next two months reconnecting with all of our friends as Diana continued to get stronger and stronger. We even spent time on the water as guests of our boat friends (Soph and Elena - Selene [510 Sundancer], Pam - Sea Rose [47 Sea Ray Sedan Bridge], David and Colleen - The Colesters [55 Sundancer])
Now back to the Great Loop and phase II. Guided Discovery spent a relatively warm winter shrinkwrapped on the hard in Branford, Connecticut. I visited the boat in early June with Lesley and contracted for recommissioning and launch at the end of June. On June 29 we sea trialed the boat confirming that everything was OK (well the dingy's steering arm had rusted shut - but the Brewer Bruce and Johnson Marina fixed it on the spot). Lesley, now slighly more pregnant, accompanied us on "shakedown" cruise to New Haven and back to Branford.
On July 2 (2012), we headed for Chicago, some 1600 miles to the west, with a short cruise to Stamford, CT (where the boat got waxed for $1,400 less than we were quoted elsewhere). Then we headed west down Long Island Sound, through Hells Gate with a hard right up the East River and then to the Hudson River stopping in a lovely town called Croton on Hudson where spent 4 days visiting histroric sights (including West Point and Franklin Roosevelt's home).
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| FDR's Hyde Park Home |
Note: A few weeks later, 1LT, now Captain, Stephen Tangen received the Nininger Award from West Point. The Nininger Award is named in honor of LT Alexander “Sandy” Nininger (Class of '41), the first West Point recipient of the Medal of Honor in World War II.
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| West Point as viewed from the Hudson |
The Trent Severn was a unique expeience. A series of rivers and lakes connected by 45 locks that winds through beautiful countryside. The locks proved easier then any that we had previously encountered. Why? The locks were smaller, there was no commercial traffic, there were cables to run lines around, which made the ride up or down easy, and the locks were staffed by friendly Canadians (who were also helpful as tour guides). We paid a $220 fee for the 45 locks (the US locks were free). The trip took 7 days. The stops included Campbellford, Hastings, Peterborough, Buckhorn, Fenelon, Orillia and, finally, Port Severn.
While most locks were of the classic style, (i.e., enter, doors close, water rises, doors open), several of the Trent Severn locks are unique. The lift lock at Peterborough is one. You enter the upriver lock and it then lock rises while the down river lock decends. The other unique lock is the Big Chute just before Port Severn where Guided Discovery was transported over land for about 1/th of a mile from one pool to another by a marine railway.
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| Lift Lock at Peterborough, Ontarion, CN |
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| The Big Chute Marine Railway Lock |
The southern most segment of the Georgian Bay is called the 10,000 islands and the bottom in this segment is granite. There is no such thing as a soft grounding. Every rock that breaks the surface is considered an island. This is an area with narrow channels and lots of bouys. A young pretty female captain we met in Honey Harbor summed up the navigation challenge when she said "there are two kinds of boaters in this neck of the woods (an accuate decription of the landscape), those who have hit a rock and those that will." We are still in the former category.
We had always heard from boaters on Lake Michigan that the Georgian Bay and North Channel were the prime cruising grounds on the Great Lakes. They did not exagerate. This is beautiful country with great achorages and lovely small towns with friendly people. Special towns included Penetanguishine, where we met Bob and Jan Kossman who cruised with us on and off 20 days, Honey Harbor, with its lovely South Bay Cove Marina, Killarney and Little Current. The charming city of Little Current was memorable in that we met a couple who had raised a dog for Southeastern Guide Dogs (with whom we became acquainted with in Sarasota). The meeting occured in a book store where Kodi was entertaining the patrons with here wide range of behavoirs (which as March 2013 exceeded 110 command and a 150 word vocabulary).
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| A chance meeting with Southeastern Guide Dogspuppy raiseers at Little Current |
We then cruised to Cheboygan Michigan, a port that we had not previously visited, and then to Michigan City, which for us put us back into familiar waters. We were in "home waters" so to speak (although still over 300 miles from Chicago). From there we headed for St Ignace, one of the few ports on Lake Michigan that we had not previously visited, and then on to the most unique port on the Great Lakes, Mackinac Island (and maybe even on the whole trip).
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| The Grand Hotel on Mackinac as viewed from the water. |
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| The Grand Hotel as on land - from a big distance to get it in the photo |
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| Diana and Jan Kossman next to a Mackinac fudge shop |
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| Guided Discovery in Charlevoix |
From Fish Creek we headed south returning to Sturgeon Bay for two more days. Then we headed south along the Wisconsin shore stopping at Manitowoc and then Sheboygan, where we learned of our friend's son's tragic death. From their we headed to Port Washington (for the cheapest fuel on the lake) and then to Racine where we planned to leave the boat and drive to Chicago for the funeral. A weather window with flat water on the next day changed our plan. We decided to enjoy a peaceful day on the water and to cover the last final 60 miles of the great adventure. At around 2:00 PM on September 6 we crossed our wake and finished the Great Loop.
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| Crossing our wake at Belmont Harbor as The "Great Adventure" came to an end |
Now on to new adventures. In the next series of articles I will be describing the experience of building a 63 Outer Reef Long Rang Motor Yacht and, hopefully, as time passes the joy of cruising the new yacht with Diana and, of course, the Furry Kid. Stay tuned.
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| 63 Outer Reef LRMY - Under construction |
Final Phase II Statistics (Branford CT to Chicago IL):
- 1,580 Miles Traveled - July 2 to September 6, 2012
- 953 Total Gallons Used
- 1.66 MPG Fuel Efficiency
- 74 Locks
- 45 Cities Visited
- 6,151 Total Miles - October 3, 2010 to September 6, 2012
- 5,792 Total Gallons of Diesel Used
- 102 Total Locks
- $3.72 Average Cost of Fuel
- 1.06 MPG Fuel Efficiency
- 442 Days on the Great Loop
- $212 Average Cost Per Day
- 135 Cities Visited
- 11 States and Provinces Visited
