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