In review...

It has been almost a year since we began the journey known as the Down East Loop and 7 months since its completion. It seems almost impossible that so much time has passed. Reflecting back, we remember the beautiful scenery and wildlife, the farmers markets filled with fresh fruits, vegetables, homemade jellies and pickles of every sort, the $5 lobsters in Maine and humorous incidents throughout the trip. We recall enjoying the companionship of good friends, making memories of a lifetime, and the kindnesses of complete strangers.

Statistically, we travelled 4503.5 nautical miles (5088 statute miles) and burned 7,571 gallons of diesel. The average burn was 40 gallons per hour at 20 knots and 8 gallons per hour at 10 knots. In Canada, fuel is sold in liters. We didn't realize this at first and thought their fuel was really inexpensive. Wrong!

We spent 6 nights on either mooring balls or at anchor (by choice); the remainder were at a dock. We had read that docks were often unavailable and that we might have to tie up to another boat. We did not find that to be the case. There were floating docks at every marina that had a tidal issue.

We purchased a seasonal US Canal pass for $100, $160 CD for the Canadian equivalent and locked through 30 locks. The northernmost point we travelled was just east of St. Anne des Monts, Quebec, 49.16.44.

We had been warned many times about the difficulty of clearing Canadian Customs and about the strict regulations on bringing alcoholic beverages into the country so needing an excuse, we had several very nice parties featuring adult beverages in order to meet the guidelines. Ironically, we cleared Customs in about 5 minutes and they never even asked about alcoholic beverages! By the way, alcoholic beverages are very expensive in Canada and the brands are quite limited.

Many of the marinas had loaner cars available for trips to the grocery store, etc. Sometimes the dock master loaned us his personal car or personally drove us on our errands. When we wanted to take more extended trips around the areas, we usually called Enterprise Rental Cars. They were the most convenient because they would pick us up and were reasonably priced. In French-speaking Quebec Province, each dock master would happily call ahead to the next marina for us, making reservations as we progressed.

In the open waters of Canada, we filed our sail plan with the Canadian Coast Guard each travel day, knowing that if we did not report in at our destination, someone would be searching for us. It certainly provided an extra measure of comfort and security to both us and our loved ones at home.

One of our biggest concerns prior to leaving on the trip was how to handle the mail. Our solution was to have most of our bills converted to paperless delivery via the computer and for the remainder, we rented a box at the UPS store, forwarding our mail to that address. One of our children stopped by the UPS store once a week or so and called us with anything pressing. Online banking was utilized to make our payments. We found this to be a viable solution.

We stayed in contact with family and friends via Skype. It was fun to visit the grandchildren that way!

In conclusion, the Down East Loop is really an adventure and a display of beauty that one can hardly describe. It is difficult to understand why more "Loopers" don't take advantage of this section of North America. We found that if you understand your own capabilities, the limitations of your vessel, have good working basic equipment (GPS, depth sounder, VHF, etc), and use common sense, there is no reason to avoid taking this wonderful trip! By planning our segments carefully, respecting Mother Nature and not stretching the window, we never experienced the horror-stories that previous cruisers encountered. Life is short; enjoy the journey!

Surprise!! We're HOME!!

Having had enough of the Intracoastal, on Wednesday, September 8th, we headed to sea with plans to stop in Beaufort, SC to visit friends. WOW! What a beautiful day! With flat seas and a slight following swell, we simply could not stop at Beaufort! We called our friends and told them with regret, that we were headed to St. Simons Island. Off St. Simons Island, the seas were even more calm so we kept going with our sights set on Jacksonville. At 6:30 PM we entered the jetties at Mayport. To illustrate just how calm it was (and kids, we do NOT recommend trying this), we fired up the gas grill and smoked 2 slabs of ribs while cruising along. We rewarded ourselves with a wonderful meal of ribs after clearing the St. Johns River jetties at Mayport. As the sun set over the Dames Point Bridge, we knew we would be in our home berth tonight. At 8:05. we arrived at Huckins Yacht Center, sat down, took a deep breath and realized what we had accomplished on our final day: 13 hours on the water and 269 nautical miles travelled!! Needless to say, it was the longest travel day and the most miles travelled in one day during our trip but we were home. We have travelled a total of 4503.5 nautical miles or 5088.95 statute miles since April 15th. In the near future, we will complete our blog with thoughts, observations and statistics that might be helpful to others planning their journey on the Down East Loop.

Georgetown, SC

With higher winds and seas than we prefer, we decided not to venture out into the ocean and resigned ourselves to the slow passage on the ICW, filled with No Wake zones and lots of boats. The first half of the day was just that. However, in the afternoon we entered the glory of the Waccamaw River. Wide open water, lined with mossy cypress trees and marsh, it was a welcome respite. We saw few other boats on the Waccamaw; just natural beauty. At the end of the day, we made a return visit to the Harborwalk Marina in Georgetown and were reminded once again of what a pleasant town this is.

Headed Home

Baltimore's Inner Harbor lived up to its billing as a protected harbor and Hurricane Earl stayed far away so we were able to enjoy the city and as a bonus, a visit from Judi's sister Denise and niece Caitlin.

We are now on the fast track home. We've overnighted at Tidewater Marina in Portsmouth, VA (across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk), Dowry Creek Marina in Belhaven, NC and Sea Path Yacht Club in Wrightsville Beach, NC. The last time we stayed at Dowry Creek they were having a pot-luck supper complete with "beer-butt chicken". We missed it by one day on this visit but still enjoyed sharing shories with other boaters in the marina.

Since this was Labor Day weekend, it was a slow ride in the Intracoastal waterway to Wrightsville Beach. Our slow ride was more than rewarded when we were met at the dock by Gene & Tee Woodbury, long-time friends of Tom Coker. Tom sent us a bottle of Dom Perignon Champagne via Gene and Tee, to celebrate our completion of the Down East Loop -- AWESOME!! After toasting the occasion, Gene and Tee took us on a tour of beautiful Wrightsville Beach and hosted us at dinner at their beachfront club. A wonderful evening!

WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!

Though we left our home port on April 15th, we began the Loop portion of the trip on June 1st when we left New York Harbor. Today, August 31, 2010 at 2:05 PM, we “crossed our wake”; we have officially completed the Down East Circle Loop!!! Hallelujah! It was quite an emotional time as we exited the East River and again saw Lady Liberty standing tall over New York Harbor. So far, we have traveled 3505.5 nautical miles or 3,961.215 statute miles. What an adventure it has been!

Next adventure: Avoid Hurricane Earl
We have both satellite TV and XM Weather on the boat so we are keeping a close eye on this Category 4 storm. Our plan is to cruise to Cape May, NJ on Wednesday then to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor on Thursday, via Delaware Bay, the C & D canal and the upper Chesapeake Bay, in order to be in protected water. We are hoping that Earl will mind his manners and stay far away from the East Coast.

Noank & Mystic, CT

Mystic is a 3 mile ride up the river from Noank but with the No Wake zones, it would take almost an hour in Litenup Therefore, we opted to stay at Noank and take the tender into Mystic where we looked around the town and historic Mystic Seaport.

Several years ago, while on a road trip, Judi and Terry detoured to Noank to eat at the famous Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough. Imagine our surprise when we pulled the boat into the Noank Shipyard and discovered that we were docked immediately adjacent to Abbott’s! Obviously we had to make an encore visit as this is our last chance for a lobster roll.

Onset Island

While traversing the Cape Cod Canal, we cruised under a unique Railroad Bridge. Built as a WPA project, its span raises to a height of 135 ft above the water. When it was built, the railroad carried passengers to Cape Cod from the mainland. Today it most often used by the train removing garbage from Cape Cod. Just off the Cape Cod Canal lies Onset Island where friends Martha and Steve have owned one of the island’s 54 cottages for over 30 years. After Steve drove us to the grocery store, liquor store and showed us around the area, they tendered over for a tour of the boat and invited us back to their home for a New England lobster dinner, complete with stuffed quahog clams, steamers and lobsters. It was quite a party as their daughter Emily and her friend John were visiting for the weekend. Once again, great to catch up with friends from home.