12/13/14: TWELVE STONES CROSSES HER WAKE IN FT. MYERS, FLORIDA.

We began our Great American Loop adventure on November 6, 2013 and crossed our wake 401 days later on December 13, 2014.

The Great Loop adventure has been described as ‘An amazing journey sprinkled with moments of sheer terror’. We would conclude this to be a true statement.

While the things you will see and experience such as; traveling by the Statute of Liberty in your very own boat, riding the Big Chute Lock in Canada, endless sunrises & sunsets that will take your breath away, the Gulf of Mexico crossing, and much more, nothing compares to the comradery with other Loopers.

We first ventured out into the big ocean waters in December 2013 when we exited Ft. Myers Beach into the Gulf of Mexico headed to the Florida Keys. We traveled with three other boats; Knot Home, Meridian, & Morning Star. God provided a smooth Gulf for an easy trip to the Florida Keys.

After leaving the Florida Keys in late February 2014 we headed to our home port, Green Cove Springs, Florida. There we visited with friends & family, restocked on supplies and then left heading north to complete the Great Loop.

We made a 2 week stop in Norfolk, Va. for the Great Loop Rendezvous then another stop in Baltimore for the Great Harbour Annual Meeting.

We were fortunate enough to have Captain Steve aboard Miss Hadley join us in Baltimore and stay with us to Panama City, Florida. Captain Joe, with Connie & Buster, aboard Chesapeake joined us at the entrance to the Erie Canal and stayed with us through Canada. The three boats stayed so long (due to weather) at the Phoenix New York Lock wall the locals started calling us the Phoenix Navy. Captain John aboard Endeavor joined our 3 boat flotilla, making us a 4 boat flotilla, at Trenton, Canada and continued with us until Ft. Myers, Florida where we crossed out wake.

Word of our 4 boat flotillas locking procedure spread from one Lockmaster to the next with one Lockmaster making a comment to his helper ‘ this is the group of boats that know what they are doing , we don’t need to tell them how to come in and tie off.’

The relationships cultivated along the loop are priceless. There have been lots of laughs and some tears (mainly Connie & Elaine when they parted in Killarney).  Gods protection over us was seen many times throughout this trip. He provided us a safe harbor/anchorage during sever weather and smooth waters during good weather as we lived out our adventure.

Although our Loop is officially complete we are still making plans with fellow Loopers to travel to the Florida Keys and the Bahamas after our scheduled month stay in Ft. Meyers, Florida.

Now for the statistics of our trip:

Our trip lasted 401 days. Of those 401 days we stayed in marinas 290 days (72 days in the Florida Keys), anchored 39 days, stayed on free walls/free marinas 61 days, and 11 days on paid walls (most no electric). Twenty-nine (29) of the days were spent in Canada.

We traveled 5375 Nautical Miles/ 6185 Statute Miles. Of those miles: 180+ NM/207 SM were in the Atlantic Ocean & 342 NM/394 SM in the Gulf of Mexico.

We boated through 17 States and parts of Canada (Trent-Severn Waterway, Georgina Bay, & Northern Channel).

Locks: After 110 locks we had a sign made up & put in the pilot house “What Happens In The Lock, Stays In The Lock”.

Our fuel consumption was great! We used 2128 gallons of fuel (2 engines) & 225 gallons for the generator.

12/10/14:  Clearwater Beach Marina, Clearwater, Florida: We cast off lines tomorrow and continue south.

We began the Gulf of Mexico crossing at noon from Apalachicola, Florida on 12/6/14 and arrived at noon on 12/7/14 at the Clearwater, Florida marina.  24 hours and 170 NMs.  We left the dock at Apalachicola with Endeavor, Pura Vida, & Akasha. At Dog River Inlet, Dream Fever joined us and then a couple of hours later Ithaka caught up with us and completed the crossing with us.

The crossing started out with fog which we all felt certain would burn off, however it did not. The fog stayed with us all day and into the early morning hours the next morning. Although there was a full moon it only peeked out from behind the clouds a couple of times. 

Foggy Gulf Crossing Start - Apalachicola Dock

The winds that had been predicted to arrive at Clearwater on Sunday afternoon, greeted us before the break of dawn. For a period of time we clocked a 19 Knot wind coming at our port stern. While the conditions don’t sound good it really wasn’t that bad.

As we approached Clearwater, Dream Fever took off towards Tarpon Springs and the rest of us continued to the Clearwater Inlet. It was good to have the crossing behind us and thankful to God that we all made it safe and without any boat problems.

The day after we arrived, we all got together for dinner and shared our crossing stories. We have all said it more than once but it can’t be repeated enough. While the Loop is about seeing things you have never seen before the real gem is the people that you will meet and bond with. Let me tell you it was a great comfort to know that we had 5 other boats that we could count on as we crossed the Gulf. 

Gulf Crossing Gang

Left to right back row: Steve & Sheli - Pura Vida, Jack & Sara - Ithaka. 

Elaine & Russ - Twelve Stones,

Front row: Left to Right:  John (not pictured his crew member Ken who already headed home)- Endeavor, Clarke & Rosemary - Akasha

12/6/14: GULF OF MEXICO CROSSING:  Today is the day! God has blessed us with a good weather forecast, a full moon, and 4 buddy boats (Endeavor, Akasha, Pura Vida, Dream Weaver) for the crossing.

We plan on leaving Apalachicola around 11:00 am, head east to Dog River pass, exit into the Gulf and set a course for the Clearwater Inlet. We anticipate anywhere from 22-27 hour crossing.

We will have our SPOT locator on which should work all the way across since it uses satellite technology. So check back here on our blog and select the ‘Current Location’ tab and you should be able to keep up with us.

Please keep us and the other boats in your prayers today. We know our God goes before us.

Note: Since we are traveling as a group of 5 boats, we will be honoring the buddy boat rule -- if one stops we all stop until the situation is fixed or its clear for some of us to leave. 

12/4/14: Panama City, Florida – Apalachicola, Florida – 56NM. We left Panama City early this morning headed to Apalachicola. We will stay there until Saturday morning when we will head out for our Gulf crossing to Clearwater. We anticipate crossing with 3 other Looper boats: Endeavor, Akasha, & Pura Vida.

11/29/14: Ft. Walton Beach, Fl – Panama City, Florida – 55 NM  - We docked at the St. Andrews Marina which is an excellent protected marina. The staff is excellent.  Upon arrival there was not a Gulf weather window crossing insight.  We rented a car anticipating being in Panama for at least a week. However, the weather being what it is changed providing a crossing window for Saturday 12/6/14 & Sunday 12/7/14.

When we leave we will leave Steve Captain of Miss Hadley behind. He has crossed his wake and is leaving Miss Hadley at the marina while he goes home for the holidays. Steve has traveled with us since we left Baltimore on 6/6/14. We will miss seeing Miss Hadley behind us.

On Wednesday 12/4/14, Ken, Johns (Endeavor) Gulf crossing crew member arrived. Earlier in the day we had purchased fresh shrimp (only $4.00 pound) off a shrimp boat that docked at our marina. We enjoyed a good Shrimp boil for dinner. Yum.

We purchased fresh shrimp right off the boat.

A deal at $4.00 a pound.

Russ and Ken working on the shrimp.

Cooker ready for the Shrimp Boil.

Sooooo Good!

Lets Eat

11/28/14: Orange Beach, Alabama – Ft. Walton Beach, Fl.  – 56NM. Today marked yet another Great Loop milestone, we arrived back in Florida waters. On 4/4/14 we left Florida waters and entered Georgia.  Today we arrived at Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. Since leaving Florida we have traveled approximately 4000 NM / 4603 SM, been out of Florida for 235 days, traveled through 17 States and Canada, and successfully locked through 105 Locks. 

November 27, 2014: Happy Thanksgiving. We are at The Wharf Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama. There several Looper boats here at the marina but many have left their boats and gone home for the holiday.  Those of us still here, Ithaka, Miss Hadley, Endeavor, & Twelve Stones have reservations for turkey dinner at a local restaurant. Yum.

Every night the Wharf area has a great light show. 

The weather forecast for tomorrow is pretty good tomorrow so we will throw off the lines and continue heading east. Another Great Loop Milestone will occur tomorrow. We will leave Alabama and enter Florida. We were last in Florida, April 2014. 

It appears their maybe some relief this Saturday for those Loopers who have been at Carrabelle, Florida for over 2 weeks waiting on a good weather window. We won’t make it there for this crossing but heading that way to await the next window. This Florida girl certainly wants to get to some warmer weather.

Elaines Christmas Wish: Be at a marina that DOES NOT have this sign.

November 20, 2014: Eastern Shore Marina, Fairhope, Alabama – Orange Beach, Al = 29 NM.

Our wait on good weather once again paid off. The crossing from Fairhope to the Intercostal was perfect. Thanking God for the calm waters.

Calm Mobile Bay, Alabama

Mobile Bay looking out into the Gulf of Mexico

Earlier in the week we attended Attitude Change and Panacas ‘Cross Their Wake’ party at Lulu’s.  Pretty cool going by it on the water.

We await yet another weather event before we head east. Enjoying Orange Beach, Alabama with our friends from Pura Vida, Steve & Sheli, John on Endeavor, Steve & Martha on Miss Hadley.

Getting ready to build a fire & have some ribs.

11/18/14: The weather has kept us at the Fairhope marina off Mobile Bay. For 3 days we have experienced winds 25+ knots & temperatures as low as 28 degrees. The winds are blowing towards the marina which offers no protection from the winds. Needless to say it has been a very rocky 3 days! Praising God that we are at least at a marina. 

We hope to make a run for the Intercoastal waterway on Thursday. 

November 13, 2014: Mobile Bay. 

We arrived at the Fairhope marina located in the northeast end of Mobile Bay yesterday early afternoon just before the bad wind picked up. By 3 pm the wind was blowing and the boats in the marina were rocking. We tied off 11 lines in preparation for the winds and rain expected over the next couple of days. The winds are predicted to blow straight across the bay in our direction so we are prepared.

We will wait out the weather here at the marina in Fairhope, probably 3-4 days.

November 9, 2014 – November 12, 2014 = 185 Nautical Miles + 2 Locks / Demopolis, Alabama to Mobile Bay, Alabama. Almost no internet connection & very little phone service for 3 days.

Military Ships, Mobile Bay

Sunrise as we head towards Mobile Bay

It is 213 statute miles from Demopolis to Mobile Bay. There are no marinas, except Bobbys Fish Camp, to stop at along the way.  The first two nights we anchored alongside the river (Markers 149 & 97)just outside the channel. The large Tows/Barges that go past during the night light up the river.  The 3^rd night we anchored off the river on the Tensas River (Marker 39). The Tensas River offered us a large protected anchorage, so a goodnight sleep was had by all.

Anchorage View

Endeavor Anchored just off the channel at MM97

Tow on the River

At mile marker 116.6 we went through the Coffeeville Lock making this our last lock on our Great Loop Adventure. To-date we have went locked through over 100 locks. Call for a celebration.

This time of the year we are encountering fog almost every morning which makes for beautiful pictures, especially when the sun starts coming up.

Foggy Morning on the Tenn-Tom

White Cliffs of Epes which are part of the Selma Chalk formations.  The red fall colors really make the white cliffs pop.

10/30/14:   Bend Cut-off Anchorage – Demopolis Yacht Basin – 53 NM +  Lock.  After 3 nights of beautiful anchorage we arrived at the Demopolis Yacht Basin. The marina owners have certainly done a great job designing a great marina.

Every body of water has presented unique qualities that have to be considered when traveling. Wind, currents, tides, flood conditions, etc. As we plan on approaching Mobile Bay we are once again checking currents, tides, wind conditions, and predicted wave heights. As we prepared to leave on Tuesday we had a weather window to get tucked into a marina in Mobile Bay. However, the fog Tuesday morning shut down the entire river system in the Demopolis area leaving a Tug inside a lock until the fog lifted. The fog didn’t lift until after 10:00 am. After looking at our small weather window to get to Mobile Bay we decided to wait in Demopolis.

10/24/2014: Barton Ferry Cut-off Anchorage – Cooks Bend Cut-off Anchorage = 57 NM + 2 Locks. The last 3 days on the Tenn-Tom Waterway has been wonderful. We had several people tell us that it is the most boring part of the trip but we have found it to be anything but boring. The scenery has been wonderful, the anchorages quiet & secluded, and the  sunsets/sunrises spectacular. It has been a relaxing trip so far.

  Foggy Mornings Are The Best

The Water Temperature 62 Degrees - Ahhh The Sun!

10/23/14: Owen Cove Anchorage – Barton Ferry Cut-off Anchorage =  50 NM + 5 Locks

Barton Ferry Anchorage - The Leaves Are Turning

10/22/14: Grand Harbor Marina – Owen Cove Anchorage =  44 NM + 2 Locks

Owen Cove Anchorage - View From Bow of Twelve Stones

10/21/14: Florence, Alabama – Counce, Tn – 36 NM.  When we arrive at the marina in Counce, Tn we will be at the entrance to the Tenn-Tom waterway. We will travel 234 statute miles on the Tenn-Tom then onto the Black Warrior-Tombigbee River. Once we are on the Tenn-Tom we will go 470 statute miles & pass through 12 locks (414 ft. difference between Tennessee River & sea level at Mobile) to reach Mobile, Alabama.

When we reach the Tenn-Tom Waterway we will have:

• been on the loop 314 days
• traveled 4069 Nautical Miles / 4682 Statute Miles
• locked through 91 locks

We will cross our wake in Ft. Myers, Florida.

10/10/2014- 10/20/14: Chattanooga, TN. – Florence, Alabama =  181 NM & 4 Locks.

The City of Chattanooga did not disappoint us. The docks were located downtown & once you climbed the 77 steps you were in the heart of downtown Chattanooga. The weather socked us in for 2 extra days so we made the most of it and took in 2 movies at the movie theater about 5 blocks away. 

Leaving Chattanooga we stayed at the Guntersville Marina, excellent choice. When we left the next morning we had a beautiful sunrise. As I often say God paints some amazing pictures.

Sunrise as we left Guntersville Marina.

The next night we anchored out at Jones Creek.  The weather report had predicted 3 knot winds but about 3 hours after we anchored the wind picked up to 15 knots. Although the lake is about ½ mile wide we didn’t experience much fetch so it was a peaceful night.

Entering Jones Creek Anchorage

We arrived at Florence Marina in the middle of the yearly Dragon Race. This is where they pile lots of people into a canoe & race. The marina area was a mad house but we managed to get tied up to the dock. We spent the next two days making provision runs to Sams, Bed Bath & Beyond, Napa, and have Ike groomed. 

Fog At The Lock - Beautiful

Wilson Lock Just Before Florence, Alabama

10/8/2014 – 10/10/2014: Hales Marina – Chattanooga 29 NM

Raccoon Creek Anchorage – Hales Marina – 29 NM + 1 Lock

Alred Marina – Raccoon Creek Anchorage 33NM

We are so glad we decided to take the side trip to Chattanooga. The river is amazingly beautiful & so peaceful. We enjoyed Raccoon Creek anchorage on a full moon night. John & Jill on Endeavor rafted off of us until after dinner than moved to anchor. Three other boats joined us for a quiet night. The next morning we had to wait for the fog to lift before leaving.

Raccoon Creek Anchorage View 

Woke Up To A Foggy Morning

From marker 432.4 to Chattanooga the river is known as the “Grand Canyon of the Tennessee.” While the entire trip on the Tennessee since we left Joe Wheeler has been beautiful this section has the most stunning scenery.

We arrived at the Bluff Docks downtown in Chattanooga & learned that the “Chattanooga Head Race” would be held on Saturday. This is a rowing regatta with over 1000 rowers. We sat out on the front of the boat and watched the event.

10/7/14: Ditto Marina – Alred Marina (Guntersville) 22NM & 1 Lock. It was a short day which equates to laundry, filling up with water, & a nap. Steve & Sheli aboard Pura Vida were at a nearby marina so we used the marina courtesy car and met them for an excellent meal at Top of The River restaurant.

So far the river had been quiet and beautiful making for a relaxing trip.

Calm Water & Mountain View

Morning View

Tomorrow we continue our upriver trip heading to Chattanooga.

10/6/14:Joe Wheeler Marina – Ditto Marina 48 NM.  We had planned on anchoring out at Indian Creek however the anchorage was not as posted on Active Captain so we had to head further upriver to the Ditto Marina. This was a good stop. A protected marina with large floating docks. Local pizza place delivers right to the boat.

Beautiful Bird Along The River

10/4/14: Florence Marina  - Joe Wheeler State Park/Marina 18NM & 2 locks. Before we threw off the lines at the marina we called the Wilson Lock for a status. The Lockmaster said there was a tug coming but if we could beat hit he would lock us first. Endeavor, Pura Vida, & us threw the lines off and raced to the lock. We beat the tug and it was a fast pass through the lock.

Twelve Stones Locking 

At next lock, Joe Wheeler lock, we had to tie up to the wall while a big ship locked through.

Water from the Joe Wheeler lock is released into a pool located beside the lock. 

We arrived at Joe Wheeler Marina early in the day and that afternoon Johns wife, Jill arrived to join him for the trip to Chattanooga. Weather kept us at Joe Wheeler a day longer than expected.

Ike enjoying Joe Wheeler 

10/2/14: Rock Pile Anchorage – Florence Marina 24NM. We stopped at the Florence Marina just before the Wilson Lock. GREAT STOP floating docks & courtesy car. We were able to go to Cracker Barrel, Krispy Kreme, & Texas Roadhouse. There is a Sams club, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc. all nearby with the courtesy car. Pura Vida was there when we arrived. We stayed for two days then headed out for Joe Wheeler.