Starting Out

The Great Loop 2013

Our Great Loop adventure is a counterclockwise circumnavigation of the eastern US.  Our journey will take us from our home port of Madeira Beach, south to Ft Myers, east across the Okeechobee Waterway, north up the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, around New Jersey, up the Hudson River and the Champlain Canal into Lake Champlain, up the Chambly Canal to the St Lawrence River, down to the Ottawa River and Rideau Canal, north of Lake Ontario, through the 44 locks of the Trent-Severn Waterway, across Georgian Bay and the North Channel of Lake Huron, down Lake Michigan, the Illinois River to the Mississippi River, up a bit on the Ohio River, south on the Tennessee River, the Tenn-Tom Waterway, the Tombigbee River, the Black Warrior River, and the Mobile River into the Gulf of Mexico, returning home along the Gulf coast of Florida. We will travel approximately 5400 miles in about eight months.  Tentative timeline is Melbourne, FL by end of March, Norfolk, VA by early May (we plan to attend the Spring Rendezvous of the America’s Great Loop Cruisers Association 6-10 May), Lake Champlain by end of June, through Canada in July and early August, Lake Michigan in late August, the heartland river system in the Fall (attending the AGLCA Fall Rendezvous in Alabama in late October), returning home in time for the Festival of Lights Boat Parade in December

Our home for the next eight months

Our home will be a 2004 Mainship 400 Trawler we found in Connecticut. 

We hired a captain to bring her to Florida.  We hopped on board in Jekyl Island, GA, and, with the help of Captain Bob, got acquainted with her on the way home in October, 2012.

         
Originally the Carousel, we formally renamed her Always 5 O’Clock with generous champagne toasts to Neptune and the gods of the sea and winds. (We named our dinghy Four Thirty.)

                                                                                                                         

We have two bedrooms, one bath, a nice galley and salon area. And we really like the flybridge
upper party deck.

                                                           

Monday, 25 March – The Adventure Begins

We had a great plan to start today. Bob Dittmar and Joan Kelly are joining us for the first week across the Okeechobee Waterway.  Bob picked us up, along with last minute provisions, and parked for the week in Carlos’ old spot at the beach house (we sold Carlos – our motorhome - last week).  It was a beautiful day, except for the temperature – 50’s in March no less – and the wind – gusting to 30 mph. The seas were rough, there was a small craft advisory, and the Crow’s Nest Marina called to tell us they had no slips available, since all the transient boats were stacked up waiting for a low bridge to be repaired. The adventure started, since the plan failed.  After a few mimosas on the boat, we retreated back home to take care of other business, like filing our taxes.  But we did enjoy a great grilled salmon and a 3-D movie at Bob’s newly remodeled home.

Tuesday, 26 March – Madeira Beach to Venice – 64 mi

Winds were half the speed today.  Still small craft advisory in the Gulf, but not in Tampa Bay.  So we took the sheltered intracoastal waterway south to the Skyway Bridge and across Tampa Bay to Anna Maria Island.  It was a sunny 54-degree day. 

 The trip across the bay was indeed exciting, especially at the Gulf opening where the winds from the Gulf were in full strength. We had a strong tail wind all day, which probably was good for fuel efficiency, but not so good for trying to sit still waiting for bridges to open.  We saw lots of dolphin, some delightfully jumping our wake. And several ospreys were in their nests on the channel markers.  Docking at the Crow’s Nest Marina was a challenge, with 20 mph winds hitting us broadside. It took three attempts, but we managed to find their fuel dock and secure our lines with the help of three dock hands.  Other boats were also having fun entering the marina. We met another Captain Al and his family from Madeira Beach, nearly neighbors, struggling with their 37 ft SeaRay.  His sister and brother-in-law were from Vancouver, and she also spent time in Peru mountaineering.  Interesting family. After a few warmup drinks huddled around a ceramic heater, Al (an ER doctor) gave us a fireplace – actually a DVD of a crackling log fire.  



  Joan’s cousin, Bruce, and his lovely wife, Willie, joined us for happy hour and dinner at the Crow’s Nest restaurant.  The bouillabaisse was delicious.

Wednesday, 27 March – Venice to Ft Myers – 72 mi

MUCH less windy today. Leaving the dock was a breeze, literally.

Venice is a nice town. We explored by bicycle (free loaners from the marina) last time we were here. Nice bike paths line both sides of the ICW, and there is an old train station that is a relic from the last century.  Towns just look nicer from the water. No traffic, no red lights, and a more interesting perspective from a boat. More dolphin played with us on our way south, both in Lemon Bay and Boca Grande. As we approached Ft Myers from Cape Coral, the Caloosahachee River was very wide. We docked overnight at the City of Ft Myers Yacht Basin. Two mallard ducks greeted us right away. Someone must have fed them earlier. And we were greeted by a dock party. Turns out every Wednesday through the winter, they throw a “meet and greet” social at the dock. Lee and Deb grill hot dogs and cheeseburgers, folks bring a side and drinks. Nice touch, including the apple pie and whipped cream.

Thursday, 28 March – Ft Myers to Clewiston – 59 mi

We took a 5-min walk to the Thursday morning Farmer’s Market. Found crepes for breakfast, fresh baked garlic bread and fruit for lunch (a cross between a cantaloupe and a honeydew mellon), and a sunflower for the galley.

It was nice to get a little walk in as well, past the city’s park on the water, with a fountain commemorating Edison, Ford, and Firestone – all friends who vacationed in Ft Myers. A beautiful day at a balmy 62 degrees.  Continuing on the Okeechobee Waterway, we had fun going through the Franklin lock. This was a new experience for Bob and Joan. Only a 3-ft rise, so the concrete wall was not intimidatingly high. We shared the lock with two other boats, also traveling across Florida.

The western part of the Okeechobee Waterway is rather nice, with the raised banks of the Caloosahachee River and ranches along the way.  We saw an eagle in his nest on a telephone pole.

To get to the Roland Martin Marina, we had to turn into the Clewiston Lock off the canal, but it was open, so that was easy.  Our slip assignment was all the way at the end of the long dock. Little Man, a Clewiston legend, tied us up with his famous whip toss of the lines on the dock cleats. Only 10 ft of our 40 ft boat was at the dock, yet I had to pay for full dockage – imagine that.
We met a family trading boats with an elderly couple. The 29 ft Ranger Tug turned out to be too small for their family of five, so they traded for a much bigger power cat. When we got there, all of their belongings were on the dock for the swap.  We also met a couple that just bought a 2005 Mainship 400 trawler – a blue hulled beauty that they were especially proud to show off. They are planning to do the loop next year. Roland Martin was a famous fisherman who hosted many celebrities in bass fishing expeditions on the lake. Even
George Herbert Walker Bush was one of his customers. His former wife, Ann, now runs the marina, after a nasty divorce. We settled down to a Florida lobster boil (2 for 1 tails at Publix) and a game of cards.

Friday, 29 March – Clewiston to Pahokee – 25 mi

Another nice day, but still chilly. Rather than crossing the lake (did that last time in the other direction), we took the south rim of the lake, partly through a canal, partly through the markers at the south and east rims. We waved at bicyclists riding the bike path along the canal. We saw some alligators.

We dropped off Bob at the sailboat dock at Slim’s Fish Camp. Enterprise was delivering the car that would take Bob and Joan back home tomorrow.  Slim’s holds frequent fishing tournaments. Evidently there’s a lot of good bass fishing here. We called for an opening to a swing bridge which was hand

cranked with a pipe. Pahokee is a small agricultural community.  The marina at the Okeechobee Resort opened under new management in January. It used to be a Loggerhead, but was closed for a while. At $1 per foot, it was the least expensive marina we encountered. Only about a dozen of the 100 slips were occupied. Our Jamaican receptionist was very nice, and it looked like she was running the show single handedly. And yes, we could not resist doing the “hokey Pahokee” dance on the fly bridge while enjoying a beautiful sunset.