We accomplished the Great Loop on 6/29/23…..what a great feeling! We had friends and family waiting on the docks when we arrived……it really touched our hearts! It feels good to be home but I’m sure we will miss the simpleness of boat life.
Below are some stats from our trip:
· 300 total days on the loop
· 263 days in a marina/slip
· 37 days on anchor
· 141 travel days
· 6,553 total statutory miles traveled
· 46.5 average miles per travel day
· 1.6 average MPG for the trip
· 4,099 total gallons of diesel burned on the trip
· $4.65 average cost per gallon of diesel
· 667 total hours on each engine
· We ran at 10 mph about 90% of the loop – and found out we enjoyed going slow
John and I both listed some of the things that we realized/learned on the trip and have listed them below (in no particular order). Note that we did this list privately and did not share it with each other until we posted here.
Things John learned/realized on our Great Loop trip:
It’s healthy to do something very different every once in a while.
We’d like to own a boat in Florida rather than a piece of real estate (in Florida) at this point in our lives.
There’s a tremendous amount of places to visit in the good ole’ U.S. , Canada, and Caribbean - and I’d like to visit more of them by boat, RV, motorcycle and car/plane.
Being gone from family, friends, and the office for 10 months is too long. 1-2 months at a time would be perfect.
The likely perfect future boat for us: 2006 ish Grand Banks 46/47 Europa with twin Cat diesels.
I’d rather make memories and have experiences than buy more “stuff”. Although having some “stuff” can help facilitate those memories/experiences.
Chris-Craft built a high quality boat and it has treated us well.
The people/friends we met along the way are, by far, the best part of this adventure.
God has truly blessed us with the family we have and giving us the ability to do this trip.
Some things Robin learned on the Loop:
· The Great Loop is not a vacation ……its an adventure that takes a lot of time planning, boating and socializing!
· John and I learned a lot about each other living in such close quarters for 10 months – and I still love him!
· The loop took a lot more planning than I ever thought – figuring out how far to go and where to stay, all while balancing the weather, tides and marina reservations.
· John’s a good financial planner – but I’m a better travel planner! He would wake up in the morning and ask me “where are we going today Sunshine”….LOL!
· I enjoyed learning about all the towns that we stopped in – and in planning our routes!
· I loved meeting all of the people we met along the way and hearing all their stories….we have definitely met some friends for life!
· I learned that John is a very very good boat driver! I was always much more nervous about docking than he was.
· I really enjoyed visiting the different catholic churches!
· We had only boated in Michigan previously…..but quickly learned that we love boating in Florida. Even though Michigan has beautiful fresh water…you have bugs and spiders to deal with. Florida has salt water, but no bugs or spiders…..which was very nice!
· Marriage saver communication devices really do work…..they were a great addition to our trip!
· Being away from home for 10 months was a long time (even though we came home a few times). I realized I would appreciate living on a boat more if I could get home for a while after 6 to 8 weeks.
· I feel very fortunate and blessed that we did the Great Loop at this time of our lives…..and hope and pray we have many more adventures together!
"Crossing Our Wake" - Gold Flag picture (6,500+ miles later)
Lake Charlevoix Lighthouse - we spent the last night of the loop anchored in Lake Charlevoix
Entering Elk Rapids Harbor
Family and friends welcoming us home to our slip
We made it!!!!!! What a great feeling!
Nicole and Dee made some really cute signs!
Us with Mom, Renee and Don - they traveled 3 hours to welcome us home - it was so sweet!
Celebratory lunch after we arrived. Schmitz's, Penski's and Pat Parker were also there to welcome us home!