First 3 Months – Recap

August 19, 2019 – It’s been three months since we cast off lines from Herrington Harbour North, and started off in earnest on our ‘forward progress’ Loop.

We’d actually left on May 1st, of course, headed south to the America’s Great Loop Cruisers Association (AGLCA) Spring Rendezvous, in Norfolk, Virginia. That was 171 miles in the ‘wrong’ direction, but gave us a shake-down cruise, of sorts, and we felt pretty good about things as we completed the 323-mile roundtrip and docked once again at our home slip, to tend to a few last-minute details at our home port, before really leaving.

Over the last three months, we have traveled 1736 miles through:

• The Atlantic Ocean
• Three major rivers (Delaware, Hudson, St Lawrence)
• Three Great Lakes (Ontario, Huron, Michigan)
• Five states (Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Michigan)
• Two countries (US and Canada)
• 74 locks , in two lock systems (NYS Erie/Oswego Canals – 30 locks; Trent Severn Waterway – 44 locks)

We have moved the boat on 56 days, and remained in place 37 days; on the days we moved, we averaged 31 miles, although the shortest was 0.5 miles, and the longest was 99.5 miles.

We spent 50 nights in Marinas (54%), and 27 nights (30%) at anchor; as well as nine tied to a non-lock wall, three mooring balls, two free town docks, and 2 locks.

We have not slept ashore, nor driven a car, since leaving home.

Biggest Challenge: Not having a ‘normal day’. You’d think that maybe we’d settle into a routine, and one day would start to seem like the next. Just get up, do all the same things just like you did them yesterday. Nope. The myriad of variables and possible contingencies, seem to increase exponentially when we are deciding if and where to move our home tomorrow, and then further morph overnight. We adjust, and then begin the day, and there are another whole set of circumstances that mean the day may not go exactly as we thought it would. Wind. Waves. Current. Our boat. Other boats. Locks. Never the same waterway twice. Never returning to a ‘home slip’. Every maneuver is in strange water, whether navigating a tricky shoal, or pulling into a strange dock.

We feel fortunate to be able to undertake, and so far successfully accomplish, this incredible journey, supported by the camaraderie and friendship of so many other boaters we have met (Loopers and otherwise), and the well wishes of so many friends and family from afar.

And we have gained new confidence in each other as a team with all the skills, ingenuity, persistence, patience, and character we need to thrive in meeting the even greater challenges that lie ahead.