Journey to the starting date

This blog is primarily for friends and family interested in our Great Loop adventure. 

The Great Loop is a circumnavigation of one-third of the United States with portions of Canada optional. It is a journey of between 5000 and 6000 miles, roughly covering an area from the Atlantic Coast, to the North Channel of Canada, to the Mississippi River, to the southern tip of Florida. It commonly takes one year to complete the trip.

Jack and I met in 2005. As we discussed our hopes and dreams for the future, the subject of the  Great Loop became a discussion point. Jack had boating experience and I had none. Jack dreamed of boating the Loop and I was in awe of his dream.

So, together we moved toward the dream. We took local Coast Guard and Power Squadron Courses. We took trips to AGLCA Rendezvous' and Passage Maker Trawler Fests'. We met many interesting people and had great fun. Each experience offered knowledge and stories that fueled our enthusiasm. Of the many great presentations we attended, Captain's Chris and Alyse Caldwell of Captain Chris Yacht Service, caught our attention. We learned a great deal at their workshops and signed up for training on their boat. A week long training on the Caldwell's boat Sandy Hook (December 2011) really wet our appetite for the Trawler Life. So the hunt began for the "perfect" Loop Trawler.

I spent hours on the internet researching and educating myself about trawlers. Jack, being the sensible one, contacted Curtis Stokes, a boat broker. We met Curtis at several rendezvous' and Trawler Fests'. Curtis and his wife Gill took us to see three boats in Ft. Lauderdale. Then, we all traveled to the west side of Florida (Punta Gorda, Tampa) to look at more 36' to 45' trawlers.

On another boat shopping trip, we met Curtis outside Cincinnati. The three of us had a full two day trip looking at boats in Louisville Kentucky, Jeffersonville Indiana, Kentucky Lake, and at Pickwick Lake in Tennessee.

Last November at the Norfolk AGLCA Rendezvous, Curtis introduced us to our new looper friends Cathryn and Bob. Their boat "Next To Me" would be the one we would eventually purchase. But, that is a story for another day...

 Visit Cathryn and Bob's Great Loop Blog at http://olallabay.blogspot.com