Thinking Seriously About Doing the Great Loop

[Chinook]

Chinook is tucked snugly under her winter cover and snow is deep in the yard. Cruise planning season is at hand, and we're seriously considering doing the Great Loop. This trip is described as being the longest one way cruise possible in the US (and partly in Canada), involving 5 to 6 thousand miles of cruising on lakes, rivers, canals, sheltered coastal waterways, and some open ocean passages. Fast power boats have done it in just a few months. Some folks do it in stages, over several years. Others take their time and do it continuously, in a year's time, taking advantage of the seasons. It's been done in all sorts of boats, with large, comfy trawlers seeming to be the preferred mode. Sailors with masts that can be lowered have also done the Loop. I'm not aware of anyone having done the Loop in a 26X yet, so maybe we'll be first in that category. We'd opt for the slow approach. Start date would likely be mid September of this year. We would put in on Lake Michigan, since we have friends there who can store our truck and trailer there while we're on the water for a year. We'd cruise counterclockwise (the preferred direction), intending to reach the Gulf Coast by December. We'd target Chesapeake Bay by May, and then cross northern waters and back to our starting point in summer, 2014. Lots of things can trip up such an ambitious plan, but right now it's looking favorable. One big challenge in preparing for such a lengthy cruise is assembling charts and cruising guides for the route. Thanks to previous cruises, we do have charts and guides for the West Coast of Florida, the ICW from Miami to Norfolk VA, Chesapeake Bay, Lake Champlain, and part of the North Channel. This leaves us with many extensive gaps. If any of you out there happen to have charts, chartbooks, and/or cruising guides which you would be willing to sell or loan, I'd appreciate receiving personal messages regarding availability. Major areas of need include Lake Michigan, some of the Lake Huron/North Channel area, Illinois/Mississippi River to Ohio confluence, Ohio/Tennessee/Tombigbee Waterway, Gulf Coast, Florida north and west of Tampa, Delaware Bay and New Jersey coast to New York harbor, Hudson River to Lake Champlain, St. Lawrence River to Trent-Severn Canal, and Trent-Severn Waterway itself. It's a big list, and I'm hoping to control cost by picking up used charts whenever possible. Also, I'm interested in learning whether the inside route along the New Jersey coast is usable for shallow draft boats, post hurricane Sandy. If we can pull this off, this will be a big adventure, and will put us near many of you during the course of the trip. Hopefully we will realize this dream, and will be able to meet some of you along the way.

[Obelix]

Hi Chinook,
A very ambiguous plan but if any Mac-owner can pull it off, it would be you guys.
We wish you the best of luck for the planning and the execution of this enormous trip.

Obelix

[Sumner]

Well good on you guys for thinking about taking this on I've looked at it more than once, but the river parts just don't appeal to me even though I grew up just a few miles from the Missouri/Mississippi confluence. We did hope to do the Hudson/Erie Canal two years ago, but that fell through when we bought the Endeavour and hauled the Mac home.

I think the X would be a good boat for the trip and recently recommended exactly that to someone on another board that wanted to do the 'loop'.

Have you looked at OpenCPN yet? With it and the free NOOA charts you have the whole loop including the Erie. You could run it part of the trip or for sections in conjunction with your other charting software.

If you don't have it get a DSC radio with AIS and you will see the AIS targets on the chart also. I don't think I'd want to do the trip without AIS and the Standard Horizon radio we bought for under $250 had it with it and used the same antenna.

After running SeaClearII, now switching to OpenCPN, and getting use to a 16 inch screen aboard to see the chart detail I'd have a hard time going to only a smaller chartplotter. It is all free to use and only takes a couple nights at home to learn it. Even if you don't use it all the time it would be a great backup to what you have.

The other thing I'm using more and more is Active Captain. Lots and lots of info there that is easy to get to by just zooming in on any local on the map. Lots of good current local info. There again if you haven't used it try it.

To use it you need to be on the internet. We have our long distance WiFi, but now also have an android phone with a $45 a month unlimited (kind of) data plan with Virgin Mobile. With it tethered to the computer, easy to do, we are on the Internet any place there is a Sprint tower and have the full screen and keyboard. Will use it for weather and Active Captain about anyplace and of course to log-on here .

Anyway good luck with the trip and the planning and we for one would like to follow your progress. It still isn't out of the cards to take the Mac back east and do the Erie and down the Hudson to Long Island Sound where we have family.

One last thing. When I saw that Good Old Boat wanted X owners to get with them you guys were the first ones that I thought should for sure contact them,

Sum

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Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

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[fouz]

Good luck and keep us posted.

I really enjoyed your Bahamas report and hope you would do the same for this.

[Spector]

I followed this guys blog over the last year as he did the great loop

http://kenandpatsgreatloop.com/Welcome.html

[dlandersson]

Start in the Great Lakes in the Spring, and when Fall comes, just hop over to the rivers flowing into the Mississippi and sail/motor south for the winter.

[Johnacuda]

If you are planning on taking the Hudson River up through NY, make sure you look me up. even though I'm already jealous of yur cruise, I'd still be happy to escort you through n my 'Breaking Wind'. I'm sure i can get you a slip and a dinner in Kingston in exchange for stories and pictures.

[Chinook]

Hi Johnacuda,

Our route will definitely take us up the Hudson River. We'll be posting our trip on a blog, so you'll be able to track our progress. We'd love to meet up with you when we're in your neighborhood.

[Phil M]

Do you have a link to an online map that shows the loop?

[Johnacuda]

Hi Johnacuda,

Our route will definitely take us up the Hudson River. We'll be posting our trip on a blog, so you'll be able to track our progress. We'd love to meet up with you when we're in your neighborhood.

I'm looking forward to it.

[Obelix]

Chinook,

I just received my 'Southern 2013 Doziers Waterway Guide" covering the southern US in pretty good detail and is reasonably priced at Amazon. This guide is newly updated and includes all the new anchoring/mooring changes in FL and could be worth looking at, for your adventure.

Obelix

[parttimesailor]

Sounds like a great idea! I hope you have the time to plan and really pull it off! Seems like the shallow draft of the X would be a benefit in the US rivers, as I understand some areas are shallow due to lack of rain/snow.

One of your biggest challenges might be fuel. I remember listening to a presentation of a guy who did it and his comment was that he would greatly have preferred to have a diesel. His boat was probably a gas-hog as it had no sails...

[dlandersson]

The "danger spot" in the Mississippi is between St. Lous and Cairo and the ACoEng is trying to keep it at 8 feet depth.

Sounds like a great idea! I hope you have the time to plan and really pull it off! Seems like the shallow draft of the X would be a benefit in the US rivers, as I understand some areas are shallow due to lack of rain/snow.

[bwygirl]

Hi Mike and Sandy! The Great loop sounds fun! I will reserve several days at the rendezvous for the slide show! See you soon? Boat show starts January 25th.

[bscott]

Check out the Great Loop Cruisers Assoc., www.greatloop.org I planned to do the Loop many year ago but new grandkids and business got in the way--your is the perfect vessel to tackle the Loop

Bob