REFLECTIONS ON THE LOOP

We have been collecting the most memorable places, people and experiences of our Great Loop.  These are highlights of our year and the voyage of Reunion – we are happy to share them and we will always enjoy remembering.

QUOTES  WORTH  QUOTING

“Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure”

“If its broke, how much more can I break it” (do it yourselfer)

“Patience is not a virtue – it’s a necessity”

“When the plan fails, the adventure begins” - Al and Charli on Always 5 O’Clock

“Don't take the boat where the birds are walking on the water”

 “Boat unit  =  $1000” – Bob on Field Trip

“The difference between boating and yachting -When you go from working on your boat to paying someone else to work on your boat “

“Time for docktails  - It's five o'clock somewhere “

“Better to watch the docking show than being the show”

“Never approach a dock faster than you want to hit it”

“If everyone on the dock is standing around looking bored while you land, you are doing it right”

“9:00 pm is "looper midnight"

“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.  (Mark Twain)

BEST OF REUNIONS VOYAGE

Best Marina on the entire loop – River Dunes at Oriental, NC

            Beautiful setting, every amenity, pool with cabanas, laundry, gym

            Individual showers, a clubhouse with white tablecloth dining upstairs

            And a great lounge and library downstairs.  A planned community of condo’s

            homes, even a chapel.  Shopping section being built.  First rate docks

            and a loaner vehicle available.  Plus its near a nice little town with a gallery 

            of local artists and some nice restaurants.  All at competitive rates.

Other best marinas – Heritage Harbor, Ottawa, IL; Green Turtle Bay, KY;  Grand Harbor, TN; Port Royal Landings, Beaufort SC; Spring Cove in Solomons, MD;  Montreal Yacht Club, Quebec;  Peterborough Marina, ON;  Port Orillia Marina, ON;  Straits State Harbor, Mackinaw City, MI;  Egg Harbor Marina, Door County WI;  Manitowoc City Marina, Manitowoc, WI

Unique marinas – Chipmans Point, Hudson River, a historic old marina;

            Logsdon Towhead, Beardstown IL; Wing Dam on the Ohio River

           

“No star marinas”

            Smithville and Pirates Cove on the TomBigbee

            Fairhope Eastern Shore Marina, AL

            Beaver Island marina – Lake Michigan

Memorable Fun times and Great dining experiences

            Grafton, Illinois – the pool party with Bill and Lori, and Al and Charlie

Nashville - Grand Ole Opry/Country music hall of fame

St. Petersburg FL.  Botanical garden at Christmas, hospitality and fun with

Al and Charlie; rooftop lounge with Alex and Andre,

Pool Time at Coral Lagoon in Marathon 

            Yacht Club Shrimp/crab boil at Green Turtle Bay

            Patty’s – town near Grand Harbor marina with the Flotilla

            The Hideaway Restaurant at Marathon, Keys

                        George and Mary, Bob and Martha, Carol and Bob

            River Dunes marina yacht club restaurant – Rich and Marcie

            Good times in Vermont – Al and Charlie

            Rawley’s resort dinner – Ontario

            Potlucks at Coral Lagoon/Boathouse – Marathon

            Favorite Lunch: Everglades Rod and Gun club, gator bites, Key lime pie

Favorite cities

            Fairhope, AL

            Sarasota, FL

            St. Augustine, FL

            St. Petersburg, FL

            Savannah, GA

            Charleston, SC

            Burlington, VT

            Montreal

            Ottawa

Favorite Sightseeing spots

            Statue of Liberty

            911 Memorial NYC

            Cumberland Island – wild horses

            Country Music Hall of Fame-Nashville

            Rocket and Space museum – Huntsville AL

            Chihuly Glass Museum – St. Pete’s

            Vermont touring

            History of Canada Museum-Ottawa

            Canadian Parliament

            Manitowoc Maritime Museum

            Rideau Canal and Trent Severn Locks

           

Wildlife

            Wild Horses – Cumberland Island

            Manatees – Coral Lagoon,Titusville, FL

            Alligators – Everglades

            Whale- off New Jersey

            Osprey- everywhere

            Dolphins

            Loons - Canada

           

Favorite Anchorages

            Three Rivers Lake, Alabama – foggy morning with 4 other boats

            Oleta State Park, Fort Lauderdale FL

            Liberty Landing NYC

            Kingsland Bay State Park, New York

            The Canadian lock walls

            Nicolet Bay, Door County

STATISTICS and EXPENSES

We traveled 5600 miles, and were gone 370 days.  144 days were travel days.

We (or the boat) spent 300 nights in Marinas and 70 nights at anchor or on a lock wall. This included several extended marina stays while we came home for 2 visits, stayed in Sarasota for 4 weeks, the Keys for 4 weeks and stayed at two Rendezvous for  6-10 days each + a ten day layover to get a new bimini top built.   We had anticipated spending a much higher percentage of our nights at anchor so our marina expenses did exceed our planned budget.

Fuel costs were somewhat less than we budgeted as our single engine trawler got about 2.7-3 miles per gallon on diesel fuel and only in Canada did we spend over $4 per gallon.

Reunion entering Racine Harbor

It's Official we crossed our wake

Exchanging Flags