From there we cruised the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway to Apalachicola Florida stopping along the way to explore all of the interesting ports. Then in December we made a 188 mile over water crossing from Apalachicola to Tarpon Springs FL. This was followed by a stop in St Petersburg and a visit to Sarasota to see friends. We then explored the west coast of Florida including Captiva, again to visit friends, and then the Keys. We arrived in Key West on January 31st (2011).
From the Keys we ventured westward along the Hawk Channel to Miami where we met friends and did the Miami Boat Show. Then northward via the Intercoastal Waterway to Norfolk as the weather warmed exploring all of the major cities along the way. Then we cruised the Chesapeake Bay to Annapolis, where we left the boat for two weeks and returned to Chicago while in the process of closing on a 2011 63 Outer Reef CPMY. Unfortunately, the deal did not go through.
Returning to Annapolis we cruised eastward to Baltimore and then through the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and then south east down Delaware Bay arriving in Cape May in July. Then we cruised north along the Jersey Shore to New York City where we took a hard right up the East River and cruised north through Long Island Sound to the Cape Cod Canal. We spent the summer of 2011 cruising Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, reaching Gloucester Mass, our farthest point north. We visited extensively with Les' family while in New England.
We then decided to return to Florida rather than spend the winter in Chicago and ventured south stopping in Mystic Connecticut. On the morning of our departure we stopped to visit one of Kodi's friends, a 90lb Doberman named Wolfie. Wolfie chased Kodi and ran into Diana fracturing her tibial plateau (i.e., her knee). Following two surgeries at Yale New Haven Hospital, one lasting 5 1/2 hours, two weeks in hospital, three week in rehab in Mystic Connecticut, and a month at my oldest friend's home in Westerly, we had to decide where to spend the next four to five months of Diana's recovery.
Our 3 story Chicago townhouse was out of the question so we bought a car (Note: we had sold ours prior to leaving on our Great Loop Journey) and headed back to Sarasota where it's warm and where we had made friends. We spent December (2011) through early May (2012) in Sarasota, where Diana made a spectacular recovery, and May through late June in Chicago.
Note: After the accident I moved Guided Discovery to Branford Connecticut to be close to Diana at Yale New Haven. The boat then spent the winter on the hard in Branford
Returning in July of 2012 (to Branford), we launched Guided Discovery and cruised north along the Hudson to the Erie Canal. We took the Erie Canal west to the Oswego Canal, made a 90 mile crossing of Lake Ontario to Trenton Ontario where we connected with the Trent Severn Waterway. We traveled 240 spectacular miles through the Trent Severn, traversed 45 locks and arrived in the Georgian Bay in August. From there we cruised north west through the North Channel, checked in at US Customs on Drummond Island and then proceeded into Lake Huron and our home cruising ground of Lake Michigan.
Once in familiar waters we touched base at some of our favorite ports (Mackinac Island, Charlevoix, Leland, Sturgeon Bay, Fish Creek, Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Port Washington and Racine). We returned to Chicago and our slip in Belmont Harbor on September 6.
Late in November we sold the 48 Sundancer and contracted to build a 63 Outer Reef LRMY.
There are 167 articles containing full details of our Great Loop adventure on this blog. The last of those articles, entitled The Great Loop Adventure, is a comprehensive overview of our trip. It was published on the blog in March of 2013. Articles since then are about the building of the Outer Reef 63 LRMY.
Final Great Loop Statistics (Chicago to Chicago):
- Phase 1 - Chicago to Branford, CT: October 3, 2010 to October 10, 2011
- Phase 2 - Branford, CT to Chicago: July 1, 2012 to September 6, 2012
- 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
