THE GREAT LOOP-An Overview

Our quest, to circumnavigate eastern North America by boat is known as “Cruising the Great Loop”.  The journey can start from any point on the route. For us, our adventure began in 2010 on board the Elissa II when we traveled between our home port on Grand Traverse Bay and Sackets Harbor NY on L. Ontario.  Though our motive was to visit with grand daughter Meridian and her parents Elizabeth & Mike, we picked up a start on the Loop as well.

Leaving Northport in mid-July 2010, we cruised into L. Huron’s North Channel (our favorite of all cruising grounds) traveled down the Georgian Bay, into the Trent Severn Waterway, ultimately arriving in Trenton Ontario on the North shore of L. Ontario.  Following a short 4 hour dash across the lake we arrived in Sackets Harbor.  In the process we covered some 775 miles, about 12% of the Great Loop.

We will be leaving Northport shortly after Labor Day to resume our counterclockwise trip around The Loop.  We will be heading down Lake Michigan to Chicago, with stops at some of the many harbors scattered every 15-20 miles along the east side of Big Blue.   From Chicago its through the Chicago Ship Canal to the Illinois and the Mississippi Rivers, up the Ohio River to the Cumberland River to Kentucky Lake where we will pause for a spell and return to Indy.  

In mid October we will resume the voyage, heading further south down the Tennessee River. We then head down the Tenn-Tom Waterway to Mobile Bay and Pensacola, FL where we will leave the boat for the winter while we return to Indy for Christmas and a protracted stay. 

In March 2013 we will head south along the west coast of Florida to the L. Okeechobee canal and cut thru the lake to Stewart FL on the east coast.  We will return to Indy for couple of weeks, then it’s back to Stuart and a possible 3-week side trip to the Bahamas. Returning to Stuart, we pick up the Atlantic Intra-Coastal Waterway and head north.  We have planned several stops on the way, visiting with Bonnie’s sister in the St Augustine area as well as with friends in both South and North Carolina.  When we arrive in Chesapeake Bay we will pause for a lengthy stay – to spend time with our daughters and revisit some of our favorite Bay anchorages. We will leave the boat for the winter somewhere between the Chesapeake and NY City.

In the spring of  2014 we will begin the last lap.  The route north takes us to NY City where we join the Hudson River to reach the NY Canal system and ultimately, L. Ontario where we will “cross our outbound wake” and complete the Great Loop.  But, this is too simple so we are planning another side trip (to New Bedford And Martha’s Vineyard, MA and friends Joe & Bev Gracia). 

Eventually though, we are back at the point where the Hudson feeds us into the NY Canal system.  There are numerous choices to get into Lake Ontario and we plan to take the “long way”.  We head up the Champlain Canal to L. Champlain, north on the Lake to the Richelieu River/Canal to the St Lawrence Seaway at Sorel Quebec.  We would then turn west on the St Lawrence, pick up the Rideau Canal near Montreal and take it to Ottawa. From Ottawa the Rideau takes us to Kingston, Ontario and then Trenton where we will “cross our wake”, thus completing the Great Loop in Canadian waters.  From Trenton we would retrace our steps as described in the opening paragraph.

The following link will get you about all you would care to know about the loop:   http://www.greatloop.org/index.php