We left Knife River Minnesota on September 4th, 2016, aboard S/V Mystic, our 1966 Pearson Alberg 35. Our goal was to make it to the ocean. We became "Loopers" after our friends Jim and Linda Weckman shared their dream of completing America's Great Loop. The first stop on our Loop was to visit Jim and Linda in Bayfield, WI. They sent us off with support and encouragement and then followed us all along the way.
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| September 4th, 2016, the day we left Knife River, MN |
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| August 21, 2021 Crossing our Wake St. Ignace, MI |
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| Our Great Loop Stops |
We kept track of a few statistics along the way. The following are the stats that best tell our story:
6557.5 Miles covered from Knife River, MN (start) to St Ignace, MI (wake crossing)
452 Days on the Loop
1361 Days on the hard:
22 months in St. Augustine, FL
22 months in Avondale, RI
$1366.52 Diesel Cost (Average = $2.72/gallon)
502 Gallons of Diesel: We burn about 1/2 gallon of diesel per hour and averaged 13 miles per gallon at about 6.5 miles per hour travel speed.
61 days Anchored
65 days Free docks/walls
15 days Free Mooring
16 days Paid mooring
208 days Paid marina dockage (Average dockage fee $36.00)
$7,450 Marina cost (does not include when Mystic was on the hard)
Cheapest Marinas:
$15 at Sea Hag Marina in Steinhatchie, FL (due to no-seeums swarm).
The MI Harbor of Refuge Marinas were also less expensive than other parts of the Loop.
Highest Dockage price - Half Moon Bay, Croton-on-Hudson - Published "Looper Rates @ 25% off" but charged us $2.85/FT. Gave us 10% off the length of our boat ($3.50 total) saying it was no longer Looper Season in early July. There were about a dozen Looper boats at this marina with us.
Mast stepping/unstepping:
Mast down at Anchors Way Marina in St Joseph, MI, $150.
Mast up at Turner Marine in Mobile, AL, $250.
Mast down at Castleton Boat Club, Castleton on Hudson, NY, $50 to use their crane.
Mast up at Perry's Landing Marina in Erie, PA, $150.
Longest 1 day distance: 100 miles - Atlantic City, NJ to Atlantic Highlands, NJ (14 hour day)
Shortest 1 day distance: 14 miles - Erie Canal Brockport, NY to Albion, NY. Our buddy boat Osimo got stuck by lift bridge failure. We waited for them at Albion.
Warmest temps: in the 90's from Florida through the Carolina's
Coldest Temps: 28 F with frost on the boat on the TennTom
Largest tide: 9 feet at Thunderbolt GA (along with much of the AICW)
Number of pump outs: zero (We used a composting toilet)
Locks: 69
1 - Sault St Marie
24 - Inland waterway
2 - ICW at Cape Canaveral
5 - Crossing Lake Okeechobee
1 - Great Bridge VA
35 - Erie Canal
1 - Black Rock Lock
Buddy Boats:
Mucho Gusto - Looper
Sea Marie - Looper
Life's TraVails - Looper
Delphinea - from Hawaii
Andromeda Sol - from South Africa
Osimo - Looper
Long term stays at marinas:
Columbus Marina - Columbus, Mississippi
Turner Marine - Mobile, Alabama
SAMC - St Augustine Florida
Anclote Marina - Tarpon Springs
Frank Hall Boatyard - Avondale, Rhode Island
Titusville Municipal Marina - Titusville, Forida
Osprey Marina, Myrtle Beach - North Carolina
Erie Canal: 12 Stops
Waterford
Scotia Landing
Amsterdam
Canajoharie
Ilion
Slyvan Beach
Baldwinsville
Lyons
Bushnell Basin
Brockport
Albion
Tonowanda
Forced layovers on the Erie Canal 10 Days:
2 Days - Waterford
5 Days - Canajoharie
3 Days - Baldwinsville
Tows by Towboat US:
1. New Smyrna, FL - Ran aground towed back into channel
2. Oyster Bay, Long Island, NY - Lost our transmission, towed from anchorage to mooring ball
Ran aground (Mystic's draft is 5.6):
St Mark's - Local family pulled us off,
Bradenton Beach - Waited for tide to float off
Peck Lake - Got off on our own
New Smyrna - Towboat US
Isle of Palms, South Carolina - got off on our own
Major Repairs
New Transmission
New wooden spreaders built and replaced
Bilge pump repair
Microbreweries - 55:
Castle Danger - Two Harbors, MN
Keewanaw Brewing Company - Houghton, MI
Vierling - Marquette, MI
Blackrocks Microbrewery - Marquette, MI
Lake Superior Brewery - Grand Marais, MI
Stormcloud Microbrewery - Frankford, MI
Silver Harbor Brewing Co - St Joseph, MI
Tangled Roots Microbrewery - Ottowa, IL
Rhodell Brewing - Peoria, IL
Serda Brewing - Mobile, AL
Fairhope Brewing Company, Fairhope, AL
Tin Roof - Baton Rouge, LA
Props Microbrewery - Fort Walton Beach, FL
Oyster City Microbrewery - Apalachicola, FL
Silverking Microbrewery - Tarpon Springs, FL
DeBine Brewing - Palm Harbor, FL
Stilt House Brewery - Palm Harbor, FL
Cage Brewing - Tampa, FL
3 Daughters Brewing - Tampa, FL
Millennial Microbrewery - Fort Meyers, FL
Bury Me Brewery - Fort Meyers, FL
Playalinda - Titusville, FL
A1A Alehouse - St Augustine, FL
Prohibition - St Augustine, FL
Hidden Springs Microbrewery - Tampa, FL
Dog Rose - St Augustine, FL
BOG Microbrewery - St Augustine, FL
Old Coast Ales Microbrewery - St Augustine, FL
Intracoastal Microbrewery - Melbourne, FL
Bugnutty Brewery - Merritt Island, FL
Dirty Oar Brewery - Cocoa, FL
Hell and Blazes - Melbourne, FL
Gordon Bierscht Brewing Co - Myrtle Beach SC
Fishtown Brewery - Beaufort, NC
Legend Brewery - Portsmouth, VA
Oozlefinch - Hampton, VA
Grain H20 - Summit Bridge, DE on the C&D Canal
Carton Brewing Co - Atlantic Highlands, NJ
Greysail Brewing - Westerly, RI
Outer Light - Groton, CT
B'eerd Brewery - Stonington Borough, CT
Barley Head Brewery - Mystic, CT
Shunock River Brewery - North Stonington, CT
Bank & Bridge Brewing - Mystic, CT
Stony Creek Brewery - Brandford, CT
Oyster Bay Brewery - Oyster Bay, NY
Subversive Malt House - Catskill, NY
Crossroads Microbrewery - Catskill, NY
WT Brews - Baldwinsville, NY
Seven Story Brewing - Bushnell Basin, Perinton, NY
Stoneyard Brewpub - Brockport, NY
Noble Beast Microbrewery - Cleveland, OH
Masthead Microbrewery - Cleveland, OH
Put-in-Bay Microbrewery - S Bass Island, OH
III Bridges Brewing - Menomonie, MI
Boat Improvements:
New RIB Dinghy
New E-propulsion dinghy motor
Custom winter boat cover
Custom mast cradle that doubles as frame for boat cover
Dinghy Chaps
Solar Panels
Upgraded Refrigeration
Rain Tarp
Sun Shade
Wind Scoop
New dock lines
New laminated fir spreaders
Storm Tri-sail and mast track
Tiller bracket reinforcement
Settee tabletop refinish to mahogany
New mahogany interior doors
Solar anchor lights
45 pound Mantus anchor
Maintenance:
Oil changes every 100-200 hours
New water pump impellers every year
New Alternator belt yearly
Bottom Paint (2 times on the Loop over 5 years)
Teak varnish (3 times on the Loop over 5 years)
New lines, docking & running rigging
Bilge pump float replacement
New Batteries
Best Looper Docktales: (This was always tied to the Number of Loopers present although some of our very best docktale memories were with our buddy boats.)
Green Turtle Bay
Turner Marine
Canajoharie
Baldwinsville
Cleveland
Questions about our Looping experience:
In 2018, our Looper friends, David Taylor and Susan Beabes, completed their Loop aboard Veritas, their 40 foot Island Packet sailboat. We posed the following list of questions to them, knowing that one day we'd be able to answer them for our adventure. Here are our answers in reference to our America's Great Loop experience.
1. Favorite Marinas:
Titusville Municipal Marina (FL)
Chagrin Lagoon Yacht Club (Lake Erie)
Castleton Boat Club (NY)
Turner Marine (AL)
2. Favorite Town:
Frankfort (MI)
Tarpon Springs (FL),
St Augustine (FL)
Avondale (RI)
Baldwinsville (NY)
Presque Isle (MI)
3. Scariest Moments:
Leaving St Joseph, MI with mast on deck
Entering Dog River with mast on deck
Near collision by tow on the TennTom while we were anchored
4. Most Special Moments:
The day we left Knife River
Meeting our first buddy boat and friends Scott and Rhonda Joiner on S/V Mucho Gusto
Seeing family and friends along the way
Crossing our wake
5. Biggest Relief:
Surviving Frankfort, MI storm
Getting off Lake Michigan
Making it through the shallows of the AICW
Arriving at Turner Marine
6. Worst Weather:
Frankfort, MI (3 day storm)
Atlantic City (4 day storm)
Lake Erie (80 mph winds)
7. Coldest Day: 28 F in November on the TennTom
8. Hottest day: In the 90's Mosquito Lagoon near Titusville, FL
9. Best decision in hindsight:
Not going to the Bahamas due to timing (Can't be in a hurry on the Loop)
Turning back to Cleveland on Lake Erie (80 mph winds)
10. Favorite Crossings: (weather is everything when making a crossing)
Gulf of Mexico
Lake Huron
11. Favorite Restaurants:
Bobby's fishcamp - Alabama
The Blue Gill - Mobile, AL
Ivy - Robertsdale, AL
Meg O'Malleys Irish Bar - Melbourne, FL
Blue Hen Cafe - St Augustine, FL
Don and Paul's coffee shop - Waterford, NY
12. Favorite meal on board: Finger foods for docktails
13. Windiest day: 80 mph - Cleveland, OH
14. Best Sailing Areas:
Great Lakes
Gulf of Mexico
Chesapeake
15. Biggest Boat Repair: Transmission, Oyster Bay, NY 2021
16. Favorite Comfort Item on the Boat: Fans and Wind Scoop
17. Greatest lesson learned on the Loop: Plan for A, B and C but be prepared for none to work out
18. Best Advice You Got on the Loop:
Delaware City Marina Dock Master Tim helped us plan our timing for tides on the Delaware bay
Transmission replacement advice from friends Jim Weckman and Mark Sauchuk
Advice to try yacht clubs if marinas are not an option.
19. Where do we wish we'd stopped but didn't: Bahamas, Cuba, Key West
20. What would we do differently?
Add a dodger
Made fewer long term stops
Talked to more yachts clubs for dockage
21. What's next: Cruise Lake Michigan, Georgian Bay and Canada, Return Mystic to the Ocean
22. Biggest Surprise on the Loop:
The color of the water in the Detroit River, St Clair River and Lake Huron
How little we could sail on the Loop due to our mast being on deck and due to head winds.
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| Beth & Dave on Mystic - Reflections; Lake Superior |
We had the time of our live's on this journey of a lifetime.
We can't wait to get back out on the water to continue exploring...beyond the Loop!
