The Great Circle Loop - DONE!!

11/13   On this day, we began the final leg of the Loop.  We left Fort Myers, a bit inland from the Gulf Coast.  We turned east and headed directly across the state.

The trip down the river and canals has given us yet another glimpse into a different ecology.  For the first 10-20 miles, the banks were pretty well populated with houses, many of them quite nice.  But as we hit the canals, the banks are pretty stark – grasses, marshes, and occasional stands of cypress trees.  Very beautiful in a different way. 

We’ve also been through three locks today – the first of them raised us a whole foot and a half!  Not quite sure why that one wasn’t open.   The next two were still short by our standards, 8-10 feet. 

We got lucky for one span of the river, which was marked as a slow zone for manatees.  However, boats inside the channel (where we always stay) were allowed to go up to 25 mph during April 1 – November 15.  If we had left two days later, we would have been pretty slow for a good length of time.  I’m not sure where the manatees have been spending their summer, but apparently they are due back on Saturday. 

11/14  As you may recall, we shuttled our RV over to Clewiston last week.  This allowed us to pick up Emily and Drew at the Palm Beach airport today.  As we’ve mentioned, Emily was 9 when this journey began and she was there for a lot of the Great Unpleasantness - and Great Fun - associated with the first boat.  She did get to join us for a few segments on Sea Fever (Hampton, Va and New York in 2012 and Lake Michigan in 2013).  Drew was on Sea Fever, with Emily, in Hampton and also had early experiences on For Play - with his first of several visits in 2007 (yes, Emily and Drew have been together for 8 years!).  So we really wanted them to be with us for the big finish.





This marina had a nice Tiki Bar, so even though the marina is remote, it was a fun place for happy hour.

But, Charlie was not happy about us leaving him on board.

We decided to skip the local karaoke evening entertainment, in exchange for a nice dinner on board.

The marina also had a very useful weather forecasting system.


We were joined later this evening by Randy (see last blog entry) who picked up his friend Marlys in St. Petersburg.  Marlys used to live in Inman Park and she and Randy have remained friends over the years and miles.  It was great to get re-aquainted with her over a few days. 

11/15   On to Indiantown.  We crossed Lake Okeechobee – 25 miles of open water cutting the corner of the lake rim off.  It was windy, resulting in a bit of a choppy ride for the first half…but certainly did not compare to the rocking and rolling up near Mackinac.  Randy was a permanent pulpit ornament, keeping his eyes on the horizon for the ride.

We had a large flock of birds who followed us the whole way…maybe we just looked interesting.  And Emily and Drew kept their eyes on some hawks hovering overhead, just in case they were planning on grabbing Charlie!

Debi prepared and served a light lunch while underway - Sea Fever is a full-service cruise line, after all!

Indiantown was a nice little family marina.  Their cost was remarkably low, especially given that the marina and services were almost everything that we get when we pay much higher prices.  In fact, we were there for their weekly Saturday BBQ pot luck – marina provided burgers and chicken and boaters brought the sides.  

And all afternoon, we had this visitor beside our boat (maybe an adolescent - about 4 feet long) …just floating around, staring at us - maybe he had his eyes on Charlie, as well.

A good meal with old and new friends, along with a campfire with s’mores (provided by our friends Al and Charli, who had driven over in their RV - they will proceed to Stuart for tomorrow's festivities). And just a few steps away was a lounge where Drew and Emily (both UGA alums) and I enjoyed the Dawgs beating up Auburn in a pretty definitive manner.  What more could we ask for?

11/16 – THE BIG DAY!

Anticipation in the air from the moment we woke up.  Ty, our good friend from West Palm Beach, drove up to hop on board for the last segment, which brought our on-board passenger manifest to seven people.  Ty and Debi's shirts set the tone…

It was a  fairly uneventful 25 mile trip – we took it pretty slow to savor the moment.  We passed through our last lock – a 14 foot drop – and then it was just the final 8 miles. 

As we came around a curve at 11:30, we spotted our marina and shortly after that we saw a bunch of balloons and a receiving party waiting for us on the dock.  Our dress flags were up, a specially prepared boating soundtrack (thanks, Emily)  blaring, and Debi told Drew it was time to fire up the bubble machine….of course we had a bubble machine! 

So it was quite a scene as we crossed the finish line.  Six fellow Loopers were there (Al and Charli and their two friends Joe and Deb - all from two boats named Always Five O'Clock and Five O'Clock and Kent and Jane - formerly from Carina but now they have a new PDQ temporarily named Serenity), as were frequent Sea Fever participant Marcia and three of her friends (Mimi, Mary, and Colleen).  

We completed the momentous occasion of changing our white Looper flag to the GOLD LOOPER FLAG…perhaps the most expensive burgee in history!

We had our champagne on ice and fortunately our guests doubled the inventory – I believe 9 bottles (and assorted other beverages) were consumed.  

 














Al and Charli had a cake ordered.  

When we first saw it, we saw our names (cool)…...then saw there was a picture of a boat (very cool)…... then we realized it was Sea Fever with us waving from the flybridge …..  (are you kidding me??).

Balloons and silliness galore….





And then there was the sea chanty that Al wrote for the occasion and had the group sing to us – very creative.  So, the party was on – and on – concluding with dinner at the marina bar. 

A side joy of the day was watching and listening to Randy and Mimi, who met for the first time…. but looked and sounded as if they had been lifetime soul mates!  Debi had previously told each of them that
they were cut from the same mold….


We are so thankful to those who took the time to join us for all of this.  

Emily and Drew for the long trip from L.A. and their help with celebration logistics.

Randy and Marlys who helped in shuttling vehicles.

Al and Charli for crossing the state in their RV with champagne and cake.

Marcia for driving from Jupiter and bringing Mimi, Mary, and Colleen, champagne, flowers and balloons.

Kent and Jane for bringing more balloons and bubbly and for taking really great photos.  

And for Ty who drove up from Palm Beach after he put up this wonderful tribute on the marquee at his amazing Ragtops classic car showroom.

So that’s it…. The Great Circle Loop.  What a long strange trip it’s been.  And a great one. 

Here is part of how a fellow Looper, David Grill, summed it up.  “It was a long ride through areas as different as the 30,000 island region of Canada's Lake Huron and the rivers of the very rural south of Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama.  We were in the sweet water of the Great Lakes, the brown waters of the inland rivers, the turquoise salt water of southern Florida, and the green northern ocean water of the Atlantic.  We heard every regional accent imaginable.  We had radio conversations with lock masters, bridge tenders, dock masters, sail boaters, power boaters, lake freighters, tug boats, tow boats, ferries, container ships, tankers, you name it.”


Another Looper, Larry Landgraff recently posted the following tidbits about the small club we just joined (we are just a little proud of the accomplishment part of this).  On an annual basis:

-  35,000+ people run the Boston Marathon
-  25,000+ climb Mount Kilimanjaro
-  3,000+ hike the Appalachian Trail
-  658 climbed Mount Everest in 2013
-  208 people swam the English Channel in 2013
-  150+ boats completed the Great Loop in 2013.

People keep asking “what’s next”   We don’t have a specific answer, but know that we want to do a lot more in our RV (possibly a long trip next year) – which can be used for multiple versions of a land loop, right?  Also a lot more international travel.  There is no shortage of adventures ahead – just a matter of picking, scheduling, and doing while we have the ability to do so. 

Before leaving, we want to thank the many people who made this possible:

- Starting with the home front, Debi’s mom Josie (all 14 years) and
  our innkeeper Kathryn (last two years) kept the fires burning
  (literally and figuratively) at Sugar Magnolia all through this
  venture. 

 

 

 -  Our employees at EMSTAR Research showed
    great patience, tolerance, and support for their
    bosses who were working from afar some of
    the time – requiring extensive use of every form
    of electronic communications. 

 - The many friends who traveled by planes, trains
    and automobiles to connect with us and spend
    time aboard made the journey a whole different
    adventure.  Debi and I love each other and we like the time we have alone on the boat.  But just
    when we had had about enough of that, someone showed up to change the vibe and energy level.
    Thanks to all of you for taking the time and going through the trouble to get here (see crazy stat
    about this below).  

   

- We’ve met and used so many (too many) mechanics who have
  often worked under tough conditions, late hours, weekends, and
  have often been willing to continue to give advice and support long
  after leaving their port. 

- Finally, I can’t imagine we would have made it through the journey
  without the incredible support of fellow boaters – who gave us
  advice, tools, demonstrations of skills, navigational suggestions, tips
  for great stops, meals on board, and MOSTLY great comradeship.
One former Looper expressed her sorrow that when she returned home and went outside at 5:00, no one was lined up ready for happy hour Docktails. 

And being the scientists we are, we have compiled a few stats – we won’t attempt to guess the number of places we ate and drank, but let’s just guess an average of 1.5 to 2 establishments per port.  We would like to know the ratio between gallons of fuel and gallons of beer consumed?  

A few other stats….
     - 165 ports

     - 212 actual cruising days
     - 101 weeks on board (full or partial)
     - 7319 miles
     - _______ gallons of fuel (this really should not be put in writing :(
     - 140 locks
     - 162 friends and family members on board (many more than once) - this is the most fun stat
     - 110 of above spent at least one night

One last thank you.  That would be thank YOU for taking the time to process this blog – whether you read it, skim it, just look at the pictures, or whatever.  Many of you have sent us nice feedback for our work on this – helps to keep us going.   If you haven’t had quite enough of it, you can look at the coffee table book version of the blog – soon to be printed and displayed in our living room. 

Some wise person said something like, the value of travel is not in what you see while you are there, but in how you see things differently when you return.  I’m sure there was value in the former, but I know there will be additional value in the latter.  

We’ve crossed our wake.  Now we look forward to crossing paths with you – in big ways and small.  

May our circles (and Loops) be unbroken.   

Jim and Debi

Florida West Coast - Loads of Fun!

Observation #113 – The further south we go in Florida, the bigger the boats get, and the smaller their owners’ dogs get. 

10/20 -  Many of you know of  my occasional work as a trial consultant, doing jury studies and mock trials to study likely outcomes in pending lawsuits.  The person who recruited me, and with whom I work on each of these studies, is Richard.  Over about 13 years, we’ve had a wonderful working relationship, not to mention some great travel adventures in all corners of the country.  But in all those years, I had never met his partner, Tony, about whom I had heard a lot.  So it was great to welcome them aboard for a few days.  

Their first day with us was our last day at Al and Charlie’s house – and we just enjoyed the setting, a beach walk, and a dinner onboard.  

The next morning, we left before sunrise and had a slow leisurely trip around the St. Petersburg peninsula, heading south along the Gulf coast, around the corner, and then north inside of Tampa Bay.  That brought us into St. Petersburg.

We arrived in time to go to their famous Farmer’s Market, which is very big and includes a broad diversity of vendors, not just farmers – not to mention live music.   

One aside…Debi took Jim to ER after he doubled over in pain in the Farmer's Market (thinking it was appendicitis). Was there a couple of hours, diagnosed as a passing kidney stone, which Jim had 20 years ago.  We left the ER and carried on with our day - enough about that (Jim says).

That evening we started with drinks and apps at the elegant and restored Vinoy Hotel, a short walk from the boat.  From there, we carried our dinner picnic out to the park behind the hotel to hear a very good Florida Orchestra treat us to a pops concert. 

Let me stop here and get a little ahead of the game by summarizing our stay in St. Petersburg.  Neither of us, nor any of our 4 guests, had any idea what a great city it has become in recent years.  Young, vibrant, artsy, yet historic.  Great neighborhoods of funky stores and bars, a wonderful waterfront with lots of park space, great restaurants, lots of live music venues and a few outstanding museums.  Originally, it wasn’t on our radar, and given that it was a bit out of the way, we might not have stopped if not for the advice of fellow Loopers. Well, we stayed nine days before coming home to Atlanta – and will go back to the same marina when we return. According to locals, this transformation into a great small city is pretty recent – in the past 5-10 years.   Give it a try!

Anyway, our next day with Tony and Richard featured a bike ride through multiple interesting neighborhoods.  Our last day together included a trip to their history museum and Museum of Fine Arts.  Both were worth the time and effort – but were not “can’t miss” sort of experiences.  Our final night together, our guests treated us to a fantastic dinner at the Vinoy Hotel.  It was a nice way to top off a great visit before seeing Richard and Tony off on their return to Houston.

10/22   We had a couple days to ourselves - taking care of boat and home business, re-provisioning - heh, keeping this life going is a lot of work!  We also rode bikes to the Sunken Gardens, an old Florida attraction - actually quite nice.

Our next guests were Bob and Peg Webber from Maryland (DC).  Long-time readers will note that they also visited us on the Potomac in 2012 and in Canada in 2013.  This makes them the only three-time Sea Fever visitors (others have visited three or more times including our previous boat, whose name shall not be uttered, but not on Sea Fever).  This time we had them for four nights.  

Highlights included the Dali Museum (a real must if you are in the area) and the Chihuly Museum (almost as interesting, though quite a bit smaller).  

Separate evenings in a jazz club, a restaurant with a piano bar - where Debi, of course, got Jim inserted into the act (one of her specialties), a rooftop bar with great views of the bay and the city, a return to the weekly Farmer’s Market.

We also watched the World Series at some of the above places and on Sea Fever (both in the salon and under the stars on the bow, looking through the windshield), and played lots of card/board games and bocce ball.

10/26   We rented a car to drive to Atlanta for a week to take care of various obligations.  Dropped Bob and Peg at the airport on our way out of the metro area.   We’ve now been home for a week and in some ways it doesn’t feel like we’ve been gone – we just slid right back into the routine.  Hopefully we will have an equally smooth transition when we drive back to the boat.

When we get back we will be only two weeks away from the conclusion of this great adventure.  Those two weeks will be filled with lots of visitors and 7 more ports before crossing our wake in Stuart FL. 

11/6   After arriving back in St. Pete in our RV, we spent the better part of a day doing one of our logistical maneuvers.  Rented a car, drove it and the RV to Clewiston, near the end of our journey, where others (including Emily and Drew) will be joining us.  Parked the RV for the next two weeks and drove back in the rental car to St. Pete.  

Made one more trip up to our favorite rooftop bar, the Canopy – this time to look at the city after dark and enjoy their gas-fueled fireplaces. Also, took one more bike ride along the shore and the fancy houses (part of it reminded us of the Battery in Charleston, with a different style of mansion) and then departed for Sarasota.  It had been 2 ½ weeks since we last moved the boat – quite awhile in one place (although it included the week in Atlanta). 

Tampa Bay can be rough, but we had a smooth cruise into Sarasota.  

After two days, we have nice things to say about Sarasota, but it (or our brief experience with it) pales in comparison to St. Petersburg.   We would have predicted the opposite – but not sure why.  In any case, it seems to have more traffic, older people, more business and less arts (though it is not barren of them by any means), busier in not good ways, and not quite as busy in others.  To be fair, I think there are some more interesting neighborhoods than downtown, but we didn’t get there. 

Having said that, the marina was beautiful – great setting and views – with a piano bar, a band in an adjoining bar and a lots of outdoor space - we could sit on SF and hear live music while we watched the sunset (not bad!).   

And we had two very nice outings today – one to the Marie Selby Gardens, http://www.selby.org/photo-tour, which was better than average – lots of orchids and tropical plants.





















The other was to the Marietta Museum of Art and Whimsy
http://www.whimsymuseum.org/index.html and http://whimsymuseum.pastperfect-online.com/39127cgi/mweb.exe?request=random.

This was one woman’s private collection, open to the public.  Thousands of amazing pieces – great art with good humor.  The woman, holding court, struck us as a younger Josie – but had the flowered hat and attitude.    

At night we went to a cabaret show – 4 women doing all of the 50’s and 60’s girl groups, Cher, Aretha, Dionne Warwick, Linda Ronstadt, etc.  The old theater was as much a part of the show as the music.

11/7 We left Sarasota for a short cruise down to Venice Beach – we left fairly early so we could arrive, get hooked up and washed up before our guests, Clark and Helen Cunningham arrived after flying into Ft. Meyers.  Helen and Clark are neighbors and fellow church members.  We see each other at church, neighborhood events, parties, etc. – but we had not had the chance to get to know each other the way you get to know each other living on a boat, so this was a very nice opportunity for all of us.  Clark is also on the GSU faculty (law school) and both of them share a midwestern and Michigan background with me.   They arrived on a gorgeous cool day and Debi had lunch ready to serve.

Not long after Clark and Helen arrived, we greeted Mark and Allyn on Second Wind.  They were fellow travelers on the Loop last year – we spent a lot of time together before we went on to Chattanooga for the winter while they finished the Loop.  They live near Boston (where we visited them last fall) but keep their boat down here – so we were happy we could travel together for a few days.

The next day, the six of us on two boats moved on to Gasparilla Island near the town of Boca Grande.  The town, island, and marina have a combination of an old Florida and new resort feel to them.  

We took a 6-person golf cart around the island, played a lot of Bananagrams and other games, watched some football (Jim's solo observation of the MSU loss in the marina bar was a sad Saturday night), and just plain hung out – especially on a rainy Sunday afternoon where we ended up being thankful for a rainy day that forced us to do nothing.  

A couple of nice dinners out and a delicious Debi dinner in, made for some nice evenings

Sea Fever and Second Wind docked together

11/10  This morning we said goodbye to all 4 of our friends.  Helen and Clark took off for the airport, and we left the marina just before Mark and Allyn – headed in different directions.  We had a beautiful cruise down to Ft. Myers – nice downtown marina where we will spend three days.

We’re both very aware of how close we are to the end of this adventure – less than a week now - and feel it closing in on us – in good ways and not as good ways. 

11/11  We try to check out whatever is happening in the communities we are passing through. Today, that meant walking a few blocks into downtown to watch the Veteran’s Day Parade – definitely a taste of small-town America. 

This evening, our good friend Randy stopped by.  He comes to Ft. Myers periodically to check on his mother who lives here – and he will add to that by joining us for the last two legs of the trip Saturday and Sunday. 

Ever since we crossed the Gulf we pretty much felt that the challenges of the Loop were over, and the easy cruising was on.  However, we don’t want to be like the Utah football player this weekend who dropped the ball 2 yards before the end zone to prematurely begin his (not) touchdown celebration.  

So, we will continue to be vigilant and hope luck stays with us for this last week.  And we do have the 25 mile crossing of Lake Okeechobee to get through – it can be rough in windy conditions.  But come Sunday, we will celebrate with a vengeance. 

See you at our crossing!!    Jim, Debi and Charlie