(Seen below: Lock #5 on the Erie Canal outside of Waterford, NY.) This means there will be much less turbulence than being in the wakes of the boats in front of you, and who wants to spend endless days looking at the transom of other boats? When transiting the upcoming canals of the trip, with the Erie Canal not far away, it is always best to be first in line in the locks, often crowded with fellow Loopers.
While replacing damaged electronics, they learned a secret from a couple on a sailboat. They were forced to continue up the Hudson River on basic navigation and paper charts until they reached a proper boat yard where repairs could be made. While stopped at Liberty Landing Marina across the Hudson from New York City, both boats were hit by lightning, and lost their electronics. That also eased the tension of traveling new waters where one must be focus on safe navigation. (Seen below: Boating down Virginia's Northern Neck offers some exceptional views.)ĭan and Jan’s Grand Banks, DAJA, would lead the way one day, switching with Good Time the next. That seems such a waste to me, and that is true along most portions of the Loop.) (I’ve met Loopers who blasted up Chesapeake Bay in two or three days, for example, not seeing much of anything. Such side trips greatly added to the experience and kept things slow and easy. Coming up Chesapeake Bay, for instance, they would wander off the magenta line and cruised way up the Rappahannock River and the beautiful scenery of Virginia’s Northern Neck. Do not make it a delivery, and don’t follow a tight schedule. When I asked her to elaborate about the fun factor, her comments were similar to what I’ve heard many times before. Jan told me the Grand Banks was an ideal boat for the Great Loop, and as the majority of Loop boats are trawlers, most agree that is the perfect platform for the trip. Even so, they used extraordinarily little of their onboard stores. One negative of the Grand Banks was that it had holding plate refrigeration and would freeze whatever produce they bought. It worked gloriously well, and she highly recommended it to keep cooking from being a chore.īoth couples took lots of food and other provisions, but soon found that most weeks there were farmers markets on Wednesday and Saturday, which provided fresh produce and other goodies. Jan would cook dinner one night, Audrey would cook the next night, then the two couples would dine at a restaurant the next day, and on the fourth day everyone was on their own. Jan told me that Audrey, at the time the food editor for Southern Boating magazine, would share cooking responsibilities during the trip. Related: Getting Ready For The Great Loop
Traveling in company with friends on their own boat seems a terrific idea in every way. Ted and Audrey Stehle owned a Grand Banks 46, so the boats were closely matched for the trip. One key element that made the trip more enjoyable was they teamed up with friends to do the Loop together, buddy boating. After speaking with her, Jan gave me a lot to think about. I wanted to hear her story, as Dan shared that his parents’ philosophy was to maximize the fun factor when they did their Great Loop. The family owned a boatyard and marina for many years in Virginia, so the couple were not only fully experienced in all things nautical, but they knew hundreds of cruisers from their years in the business. Along with her late husband, Dan, the couple did it on their Grand Banks 49, a classic trawler with lots of room for living aboard. Seattle Yacht’s broker Dan Bacot recently introduced me to his mother, Jan, who did the Great Loop in a more traditional way. (Seen below: Dave Pike's Walker Bay RIB that completed the Great Loop.) His was an adventure that kept him in shape as he made his way around the country. Passionate about his other love, pickle ball, he arranged to meet players at every place he stopped to play pickle ball most days along his grand adventure. Now retired in Grand Haven, Michigan, he chose the Walker Bay to do his Loop. I first met Dave at a boat show in Seattle, when he was cruising the Pacific Northwest on his Krogen 42. Dave Pike chose to modify a 14-foot Walker Bay RIB, powered by a Honda 60 outboard. I wrote about one fellow doing his solo 4,500-mile Loop in a most unique way. And when discussing the Great Loop, and its many variations, there are some great stories to tell. Every couple is different and every adventure unique. I always enjoy meeting cruising people and hearing of their experiences.