As I sit here at the cottage on this early spring day
in 2019 starting to write my final blog entry, I realize that I have been
procrastinating for almost 6 years. It will be 6 years this August that Terri
and I finished our Great Loop. It seems like only yesterday that we finished
the loop and sold the boat two years later. Yet it seems like so long ago in
many ways. The Great Loop consumed much of our efforts and time the better part
of 5 years. From the concept of the loop, to building the boat, to preparing
for the loop, to actually departing that beautiful July day in 2011, this boat
was our fourth and by far our best. The previous boats had all been sailboats,
but a sailboat was deemed unsuitable by us for such a long inland trip so, in
the blink of an eye we morph over to the dark side. A power boat, but not
really a stink-pot but a power boat none the less. A trawler seemed to be a
compromise of sorts and the perfect vessel for the coming adventure we had
planned. As it turned out it was the correct move.
 |
| Mark writing blog |
 |
| Wired out! |
Our Great Loop was an adventure of a life time and
Terri and I feel blessed and privileged to have been afforded this opportunity.
When we departed in July of 2011, we left with a mixture of happiness,
confidence and a healthy sense of adventure. Ready to take on the adventure and
life with all it had to offer. We were not disappointed.
Our loop took us 25 months to complete. We were not on
the boat full time and did come home for holidays and other important events.
It covered almost 7000 miles and 1100 engine hours. We visited some of the
biggest cities in North America, Chicago, New Orleans, Nashville, Miami, Fort Lauderdale to name a few. Along with that and more memorable to me, were the smaller more secluded stops along the way that this blog details.
 |
| Engine turning 1000 hours |
Many times, since completing the loop, people ask us
about our favorite things. Usually the first answer on the list is the people.
We met dozens of people from all over the world. From all different backgrounds
and faiths. We met new boaters and life long boaters. Most of whom we would be
pleased to sit with at the end of the day and review the sights. Some of these
people we are still in contact with today. All the people that we met added to
our experience and if we could, we would thank them all!
 |
| Looper Docktails |
Next would be all of the new things we experienced.
The first half of the Loop was a whirlwind of new experiences. All of the
little towns along the way, all of the marinas, and many of the waterways
differed on a daily basis. The local customs and people were ever changing. The
more we tried to envelope ourselves into the local customs the more we got out
of it. The more tours and wanderings we did in the back roads of the many small
towns the more we appreciated the locals. People, a highlight of the Loop for
sure.
 |
| Local flavour in Nashville, TN |
One thing that I thoroughly enjoyed was the Navigating,
the planning of the daily route and destination. The last-minute reviews of our
plan before we entered a new Marina or harbour. The quick review of present
location, course and speed on the fly as Terri and I relieved each other at the
helm during a long day. Terri and I working in tandem like a well-oiled
machine, be it searching for a distant buoy with binoculars or trying to figure
out a confusing array of conjoining channels. Yes, I even enjoyed the
dissection of a failed or embarrassing docking or locking, after the fact. The
teamwork required to understand and interpret the local dialect on the radio.
But most of all the feeling of accomplishment as we dropped the hook or tied to
a dock after a long day on the water.
 |
| Mark and Smudge at the helm |
No synopsis of the Loop could have ever been dreamt of
on my part if it weren’t for the love and support of Terri. Over 25 years of
boating, Terri gave her OK for each boat we purchased and learned that boat and
its operations. She took boating courses and delved into the Navigation as much
as I did. She always let me be Captain although some times her definition of
Captain was different than the dictionary. She went through the good and the
bad mostly with a smile on her face. She raised 4 children and 3 dogs on the
boat. In the early days she put up with questionable engines that sometimes
died at the worst of times. Deep down she trusted me. She spent hours running
the business from the galley table at the mercy of poor cellular reception. She
did all of this even though boating was really not her thing in the beginning.
I am sure that she would have much preferred to spend her leisure time at some
5 star penthouse in Florida. She did all of this for me. Yes Terri, I know this
and Thank You from the bottom of my heart. I indeed am a lucky man!
 |
| Terri locking through on camera |
I couldn’t even have attempted to write this until
now, but time does indeed give you retrospective.
When we finished the loop and started to revert back
to earth dwelling, there was always something nagging at me. A bit of a hole, something
was missing. I didn’t even know that there was something missing for years
after that. But in retrospect I am no different than many others. It doesn’t
even have to be a boat they miss. It could be any kind of lifestyle that was
lived and is now gone. Boating had consumed all of my leisure time for 25 years,
no longer. What were Terri and I to do for an encore? We had plateaued and all
else would seem anti-climactic. The boat was too big and valuable for the kind
of boating that would be afforded us now. Plus, we had purchased a cottage in 2012
and that was now competing for our attention. Good boating time occurs at the
same time as good cottaging. In Canada both the boating and cottaging seasons
are too short. You feel like you are cheating one or the other if you are not
paying it attention. The boat upkeep was getting beyond my capabilities, and my
joints and bones were never going to get measurably better. The upkeep could
have been accomplished by others but that was an expensive proposition and I
had had my fill of others working on the boat and using the experience as an
apprenticeship. Sub-par work for a journeyman rate.
 |
| Mark fixing motor that suppose to have been fixed. |
We/I denied the facts and soldiered on. Kept the boat
for two more years and returned to some of our favorite areas in the North
Channel of Lake Huron. I think Terri and I knew that we were on a farewell
tour, but dared not utter it out loud. Once in a while assuming our well-worn
positions on the fly-bridge for cocktails and another sunset we did utter it and
more often. Next year should probably be our last year on the water. Not carved
in stone but certainly etched in our minds. Alas the next year did come and our
adventures seemed anti climatic. The etching in our minds was now carved in
stone. The boat must go!
 |
| Contemplating Future |
We were in the middle of selling our business and dare
not take one final cruise to Annapolis, Maryland to offer the boat at the boat
show. So, we hired another couple to sail it down for us. The arrangements
seemed to all come together quickly and all of a sudden it was departure day. As
departure day dawns I awake in foul mood, angry with the world. Terri and I
pick up the other couple at the airport, explain the boat systems, perform one
final pump out and we are done. As we walk down the dock away from the boat for
the last time, I dare not look back for one final gaze. Even with Terri’s
urging I don’t have the heart. My memory is full of fantastic memories and
nothing more is needed.
 |
| It's Time! |
On to the future!
Cheers,
Mark
.
