How to cruise the Great Loop

The Scoop on the Loop

The Environment:

The scoop on America's Great Loop

1. The weather outside:

The w

eather you will encounter will be for the most part, easy to deal with. Obviously you will

encounter some

heavy

rains, and some thunderstorms, but the hurricanes and tsunamis are easily

avoided.

Other then that, while you need to prepare for boating through all kinds of weather. Cruising

around the

Great

Loop will start with timing your departure so that you are in the cooler north during

summer, and in the

warmer

south during winter. So, it is unlikely you will experience any of the

extreme weather these seasons

have to offer.

Shorts, jeans, swim-suit, and T-shirts,

by far,

will

make up the majority of our wardrobe. Aside from

rain gear,

a few sweaters and light

cotton

long sleeve shirts will be all you need if you are traveling with

the seasons. Remember, a light jacket and

layers are the key to keeping

warm and

comfortable

those cooler mornings and evenings you will encounter

on your cruise around the Great Loop.

You will also need "lots" of sun and weather protection for your skin. Most people don't realize that

you can

get

just as sunburned from long exposure to the sun's reflection bouncing off the water, as

you can get from

shorter

exposure directly from the sun. So be prepared.

A bimini top is a must. (Let me say that again

) A bimini top is a must! The bigger, the stronger, the

better!

addition, if your vessel does not have screened windows, hatches and hatchways into your

cabin with an

inside

helm, you will wish it did. If it doesn't, you will need to install screens or mosquito

netting. Preferably,

you will

have (or can devise) a method of applying mosquito netting in such a way

where you can cruise and

relax in the

cockpit or at the helm with complete protection against

mosquitoes, black flies, love bugs, attack

bugs, and

whatever else tries to invade your privacy.

guarantee that

if you don't have screens and mosquito netting,

before your voyage is over, all those

flying flesh biting,

blood sucking critters will have their way with you, and if you don't go insane,

jumping into

the alligator invested

Lake Okeechobee will seem a better alternative then staying on your

critter invested

boat.

2. The conditions inside

The inside your vessel needs to have lots of free air circulation. This goes

for

your cabin, closets, and bilge. Even with air conditioning, plenty of ample outside air flowing

through your

vessel

will keep it smelling fresher and free of mold & mildew. The fewer cabins and

enclosed areas the

better. You will

want a very open air cabin that is light & breezy.

Everything (and do we mean EVERYTHING) on your vessel needs to have a place and a useful

purpose.

There is

simply not enough space anywhere for 'stuff' you don't need or use. Furthermore,

everything needs

to have a

place. Everything from fire extinguishers, flashlights, hand held radios,

binoculars, PFDs, wire

cutters, to toilet

paper, needs to have a place and be kept there.

We strongly suggest

a self-contained fully enclosed shower. Showers that wet down the entire Head

(bathroom),

are fine, but they are

a pain

on a long-distance, long-term cruise

, as you have to remove

everything you don't want to get wet (clothes, towels, toilet paper, etc.)

3. You will need (and want) a dinghy:

Some Loopers we know have started their voyage without

dinghy.

All of them (we know of)

end up crossing their wake with one. Obviously, if you shop around

for one

before

you start your journey, you will find a better deal. We suggest regardless of type, that it

has a hard

bottom. Cheap

inflatable's won't last

Note:

If you have never, and/or not used to boating with a dinghy - you will probably loose your first

one. It is

really unbelievable how many Loopers loose their

first

dinghy. If you keep an eye out, you will

see several lost

dinghies along the waterways, especially on the Atlantic ICW. Why there? Because the

Florida, Ft

Lauderdale and Miami area is a popular "starting point" for cruising the Great Loop. Many

Loopers go to

this

area, buy their Looper boat and fit it (including their new dinghy) out right there in

the Florida area. Then

they will

set out on their voyage with dinghy in tow. (How many times have we all

seen this?) Sooner or later,

they will get

"comfortable" with the dinghy and then forget about it

. T

hen

it's just a matter of time before it

pulls loose,

breaks away, and is far out of sight before the skipper ever

knows it is missing. For less then

$1,000 new or only

3 or $400 used, you can get a set of Dinghy

Davits that will hold your dinghy firmly in

place

4. Ground tackle:

Ground tackle - unless you are planning on spending every night in a Marina,

(which

impossible to do, by the way) your vessel's ground tackle will be an extremely important part

of your

incident free

voyage around the Great Loop. We have four anchors on my boat. Three of which

can be

displaced into position

with only a few moments notice. The fourth is a backup stowed away for

emergency

use, or in case we loose one

of the other three.

While it is not our intent here to teach or explain what you otherwise would or should learn in a USCG

State

mandated boat safety course, it is our intent to let you know when a particular subject

demands your

special

attention. So, when it comes to the proper anchoring of your vessel, we strongly

suggest you pay

attention. If you

don't or didn't, you will undoubtedly learn this lesson the hard way.

If you just bought a new production vessel, chances are about 100% certain that the anchor and

anchoring

system

that came with it is woefully inadequate for use around the Great Loop. If you have

yet to buy your

Great Loop

vessel, then we suggest you negotiate a swap out for a much stronger,

much longer and proper

anchoring system

before purchasing your vessel.

Our anchors, anchor chains and rode

are more than twice

the

size of

USCG standards

and yours

should as well. When you get

"out

there" with the anchoring system that came on your vessel, you will

immediate realize how silly it looks

when

compared to that of the more

accomplished

cruisers - and

these are the boaters that have learned from

experience.

You have heard or read it before, but let me reinforce the fact that t

he safety value of a good

anchoring system and knowing how to use it

is vital

NEVER just drop

anchor.

ake sure it is

holding by using

our engine to

back off until you know your

anchor is

set.

Remember, tides cause the

current to reverse directions which will make your boat swing around in the opposite direction.

good

anchoring system and knowing how to use it, will be better for a good nights sleep than a sleep

number bed.

Overall:

Overall, the Great Loop is a magnificent journey and an absolutely fantastic experience, as well as the

safest

longest distance voyage you can take in the world. If you are worried at all about cruising down

the

Mississippi,

you should know that this is done on a regular basis in both canoes and kayaks. If

you are

concerned about the

Great Lakes, don't be. You will not be alone. Of the 4.3 million recreational

boats

registered in the Great Lakes

region it is estimated that 911,000 of them are actually on the Great

Lakes

during the boating season (which is

when you will be there).

If you are worried about getting lost, you won't. The entire Great Loop route is marked. Both the Gulf

and

Atlantic

ICW as well as ALL rivers, channels, canals along your route have mile markers. In

addition, where

ever the

waterway widens, joins with another, or divides into multiple channels or

Bays, the red and green

buoys will show

the way.

For the entire voyage, you have VHF radio contact with other vessels and the USCG. In addition, you

now

have

cellphone coverage in all but a very few remote areas. For the entire voyage you will never

be any

farther away

from emergency medical services, a hospital, pharmacy, an airport or rental car,

then you

would be at home or

traveling by car. In addition, you never have to be out of sight of land,

and in most

cases, you are an easy stones

throw from it.

The Great Loop route has never experienced a rouge wave, or a tsunami. You will be in the Gulf,

Florida,

and

southern Atlantic region at a time when hurricanes have never been reported.

Pirates . . . Oh, lets not forget Pirates. The only one's we've ever seen or heard about on the Great Loop

route

were less then 3' tall and carrying bags of candy, and most had their parents in tow.

On Maps, Charts, Photos, Blogs, Websites,

(including this one)

and

dated

Great

Loop

Cruising information in general:

The Great Loop is undoubtedly the safest long-distance voyage any American can make without

having to go to sea, but it does have it's hazards, and most of those hazards change with the wind,

the

tides, and the current.

Your cruise around America's Great Loop will be like no other. Your second time around will be

different then your first, and both will be different from mine, and unique to everyone else

Rivers

change their banks, tides wash away the sands, beaches erode, and the current moves the

muddy

bottom just as effortlessly as the wind moves falling leaves.

When boating around the Great Loop, while your route may be the same as others before you, that

where the similarities stop. Silting occurs, sand dunes form, bridges and wing dams are built,

docks,

piers, and marinas come and go.

So, while we encourage you to learn all you can before making this voyage, we want to direct your

attention to some common "Looper" mistakes:

1. Caution and consideration

should be used when reading books

and blogs, or

any other

dated

material

. Don't blindly expect fuel stops, docks, piers, marinas, safe

anchorages

, or

even a favorite

restaurant to be there when you are

hen you read about them in

material dated

more th

a few

months ago

These things change, and if

there is

one thing you can expect cruising the Great Loop, it

the

unexpected.

2. Don't spend your hard earned cruising cash on any charts until you are ready to pull up

anchor and

go.

In fact,

we don't even use paper charts anymore. If

you

choose to, i

t is best to get what you need

as you need it. Remember, charts you get at the start

or planning stage of your voyage, may end up

being a

year old by the time you get

half way into your journey. Now on our 4th trip around, we have

discovered our Lowance GPS is more accurate, as we can download the most current updates for the

area we are cruising, when we are in that specific area.

3. Take your time.

Cruising the Great Loop is not a race. In most areas your speed will be

greatly

limited

anyway,

10mph speed limits

no wake zones

, traffic, as well as Bridge/Lock openings

other areas, there will be sites to see

. For the most part, distances between Marinas and safe

anchorages for your nightly stops will curtail the miles you can travel during day light. For sure,

you

are most likely to enjoy the

safest

incident free voyage

by just going slow.

In most areas, 40 to 50

miles a day will be a nice

day's cruise.

4. Above all, pay attention and obey the rules.

Stay between the red and green

channel markers,

and

don't

take

short cuts around the bends

or across the Bays and Sounds

Not paying attention, and

taking short cuts

is how

most

(run aground)

"Loopers" ruin their whole day, if not their whole journey

Capt John's America's Great Loop