LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN!
Our goal since retiring was to travel the waters that make up The Great Loop. Although we have traveled over 4,000 NM on the East Coast segment of the Loop, we now are officially saying we are Loopers. Our year long continuous journey will start on the West Coast of Florida leaving Fort Myers. The Great Loop is a 6,000 mile counterclockwise, journey navigating waterways along much of the Eastern half of the USA along with a bit of Canada as we travel the northern segment.
The travel is done in mostly protected inland waters. The route includes part of the Atlantic and Gulf Intracoastal Waterways, the Great Lakes, Canadian Heritage Canals, and the inland rivers parallel to Mississippi River. The best part of the loop is that it’s not a race, nor is it the same for any two boaters. Schedule, speed, stops, and side trips vary wildly between boaters and their interpretation of a fun loop. We will continue our approach of minimal planning, lots of flexibility, and desire to leave the path most traveled.
Folks on this journey usually fly a white “Looper” AGLCA burgee. Once they “cross their wake,” end up back at the place they started, the white burgee is replaced with a gold one, signifying they have completed The Great Loop. About 150 boats complete this Loop each year and supposedly, more folks summit Mount Everest every year than complete the Loop. Since climbing any mountain is not our cup of tea, our white burgee is flying — here goes!
On average, The Great Loop takes about 12 months to complete. The route is seasonal because you actually follow the warm weather, Summer: The Great Lakes and Canadian Waters, Fall: The Mississippi/Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, Winter: The Gulf of Mexico and Florida and Spring: The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
Along the route of The Great Loop, there are many side trips boaters can take see and explore even more. After a month in Fort Myers, our plans are to cruise south spending some time in the Keys and then take our first side trip and head over to the Bahamas. Once the weather warms up we will move north up the East Coast, again.
