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Old 02-22-2011, 06:09 PM   #1
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Loopers Chime in.

Have you done the Loop?

Interested how long did it take?

Has anyone done a multi-year cruise leaving their boat in storage for extended periods between legs?

How many miles is the whole route?

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Old 02-23-2011, 03:14 AM   #2
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RE: Loopers Chime in.

I would follow the doings of the GLCA in order to avoid a large group.

The docks will be jammed and the wait for washing machines long IF you don't steer clear of this gaggle.

If I were doing it again , I would make a U turn at Charlavoy, and head back the way I came.

I found the trip down to the Gulf from there boring.
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Old 02-23-2011, 04:03 AM   #3
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RE: Loopers Chime in.

FF,* Do you think if you left "Lucy" at Charlavoy and took a break from cruising the remainder of the trip would have been more interesting?

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Old 02-23-2011, 09:14 AM   #4
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RE: Loopers Chime in.

I think the whole trip is some 6000 miles. It's on the list for us to do in a couple of years.

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Old 02-23-2011, 09:20 AM   #5
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RE: Loopers Chime in.

I am a Looper "want to be"
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Old 02-23-2011, 09:36 AM   #6
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RE: Loopers Chime in.

I'm another wanna be.* We're trying to make it happen next year but in reality it might be a few years.

Check out CHARLES C. CULOTTA, Jr.'s blog , he spent many years on the loop and now is travelling by RV, I believe.* Hopefully he will chime in.

charlesculotta.com
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Old 02-23-2011, 09:38 AM   #7
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RE: Loopers Chime in.

I am determined to do the loop at some point in my life...hopefully while the kids are still young and not when I am 65.
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Old 02-23-2011, 09:44 AM   #8
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RE: Loopers Chime in.

Count me in on the loop, but I'll be close to 65.

Woodsong, what's wrong with 65??
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Old 02-23-2011, 09:59 AM   #9
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RE: Loopers Chime in.

guess we are not talking about the NJ turnpike..
loop is east coast thru panama to west coast?
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Old 02-23-2011, 10:14 AM   #10
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RE: Loopers Chime in.

"The Great Loop is the circumnavigation of Eastern North America, a continuous waterway connecting inland lakes and rivers with the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and the Great Lakes. "

http://www.greatloop.com/
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Old 02-23-2011, 10:21 AM   #11
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RE: Loopers Chime in.

Quote:
Pineapple Girl wrote:

"The Great Loop is the circumnavigation of Eastern North America, a continuous waterway connecting inland lakes and rivers with the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and the Great Lakes. "

http://www.greatloop.com/
nice.. we really could use an ICW on the west coast
on that note, have you done a lot of cruising up into the delta?

*
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Old 02-23-2011, 10:30 AM   #12
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RE: Loopers Chime in.

Quote:
Per wrote:


Pineapple Girl wrote:

"The Great Loop is the circumnavigation of Eastern North America, a continuous waterway connecting inland lakes and rivers with the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and the Great Lakes. "

http://www.greatloop.com/
nice.. we really could use an ICW on the west coast
on that note, have you done a lot of cruising up into the delta?


I haven't, this July will be my first trip to the delta.* We know a lot of people that spend a lot of time up there or even have "delta boats" they keep there for frequent weekend getaways.* I've been*thinking that before we ship the boat back East for the loop we should spend some time on the delta.

*
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Old 02-23-2011, 01:10 PM   #13
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Loopers Chime in.

I haven't done the loop, and don't plan on doing it.* I have done much of both sides of it.* As FF said the section from Chicago to the Gulf is not great cruising.* There are too many pleasant places to spend your cruising time and money.* For instance Georgian Bay and the Canadian canal system.* Then there are the Florida Keys, Bahamas, AICW, and Chesapeake Bay.* That's where I spend most of my cruising time and money.* Maine is beautiful and would be good for a whole summer if it weren't for the tax man.

I live on and have boated the Tennessee River.* It is great, and we get allot of Loopers in the fall.* Unless I just wanted to put a notch on the bedpost or fly the gold looper pennant, I would spend my time in the Eastern portion.* YMMV.

Don't listen to Woodsong.* He's just a kid.

-- Edited by Moonstruck on Wednesday 23rd of February 2011 03:12:19 PM
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Old 02-23-2011, 01:26 PM   #14
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Loopers Chime in.

Quote:
Moonstruck wrote:* Unless I just wanted to put a notch on the bedpost or fly the gold looper pennant, I would spend my time in the Eastern portion.* YMMV.


Don,* I tend to agree with you,* At one time I thought it was a must but now I think it is more than I want to do.**

Plenty of interest in cruising the*Eastern portion*to keep me going.


Don't listen to Woodsong.* He's just a kid.

I would like to see Woodsong take his family on the Loop. It would be a great adventure and more practical than circling the globe in a sailboat.
*JohnP


-- Edited by JohnP on Wednesday 23rd of February 2011 03:17:16 PM
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Old 02-23-2011, 01:33 PM   #15
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RE: Loopers Chime in.

Quote:
JohnP wrote:




Don't listen to Woodsong.* He's just a kid.

I would like to see Woodsong take his family on the Loop. It would be a great adventure and more practical than circling the globe in a sailboat.
*JohnP


-- Edited by JohnP on Wednesday 23rd of February 2011 03:17:16 PM
John, just teasing about Woodsong.* I have met Tony and his son, Caleb.* What a great kid.* It would be a grand adventure to take his family on any extended cruise.* Educational, too.* However, Tony is young.* I think I will buy him his first razor.

*
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Old 02-23-2011, 03:48 PM   #16
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RE: Loopers Chime in.

lol Don! Me and razors don't get along too well.

There is nothing wrong with 65 at all! My point was I am only 37 right now. I think we are at that stage with our kids where they are soon about to get very "busy" with stuff. My son is 8, daughter is 7, wife, well, she doesn't look a day over 29. My point though was that if I don't do it soon, it very well may be 65 or so before we do it after the kids are grown, etc.

This is honestly something we have thought a LOT about. I mean a lot. We have contemplated the balance of being responsible and raising your kids to live their dreams and see the adventure of life. We are in a peculiar situation in the midst of a weird economy. We could take the year off traveling and do that- just debating whether we should and what is prudent whether we should be "prudent" or not.

This week we are down in FL on vacation. Every time we get out of Atlanta, honestly, life seems better. Have you ever lived somewhere you never felt was "you"? Yet, our set up there is really just about perfect and almost impossible to replicate. So it is hard to walk away from that but really, we are all completely over being in Atlanta. I would rather live anywhere else if I could, despite how great and bountiful life has been for us there.

My wife is telling me she's up for me putting the Monk on the market and buying a larger liveaboard (49-50 marine trader or a defever???). We've been homeschooling for years up until this January when we put them in the local schools which we have found EXTREMELY disappointing. They are doing work in 1st and 2nd grade that we taught them 3 years ago. They are bored silly there.

So...honestly...we are really debating what we should do.I hate Atlanta and as incredibly blessed as we have been to be there, many things seem to be aligning to move us out of there. So I don't know. I almost started a thread in the liveaboard section today about the insanity of possibly selling it all and moving aboard and seeing what happens. We've sold most of our investment properties and land in the last 18 months at a profit despite market conditions. My last land holding is under contract and I have someone interested in buying my retail building/office. That would just leave the house which I think we could sell very quickly given incredible location and tons of upgrades since I built the house from the ground up with my own hands (I graded the lot, framed it, siding/windows/doors, almost all the interior stuff, etc. etc.). It would not take much to push me over to the side of selling it all and living a simple life for a while with the kids and embracing adventure, PROVIDED we could do so with full options remaining and sufficient funds to live a nice life and always able to move back to land if/when we ever decided.

Pretty serious stuff to be pondering. It's something I've been pondering with my wife for probably 4-5 years. You only live once- why not show your children how wonderful the world is while we are all still young? It's a topic I often ponder. It seems crazy to think of it but really- I've made decisions in the past that seemed "insane" and they got me to where I am today and each time whatever I was "giving up" resulted in us having way more than we ever would have before if we stayed in the previous situation. I am young and even if I lost everything we have, in theory, I could make it all back. We've got the money to do it...just deciding whether it is too crazy to do it.
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Old 02-23-2011, 04:14 PM   #17
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RE: Loopers Chime in.

At your age I never had a choice, and now I'm 60 hoping to do the loop before 65.
I have no regrets, but what's holding you back?
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Old 02-23-2011, 04:29 PM   #18
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Loopers Chime in.

what is holding us back??

the insanity of doing this, the uncertainty, whether it would "work out" in the end, etc.? it seems insane in this economy to even consider something like this. *And it is definitely not lost on me that we even have the option to do something like this...it is unbelievable to me to be honest. * I really welcome any input from the folks here- it's no small matter and kind of crazy to consider.*



-- Edited by Woodsong on Wednesday 23rd of February 2011 06:35:50 PM
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Old 02-23-2011, 04:38 PM   #19
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RE: Loopers Chime in.

Tony, I say go.* The kids are the right age and* the wife is on the same page.* You say you are not particularly attached to any of your real estate.* Lastly you can fund the trip and have seed money to pickup where you left off.

On top of that you are YOUNG.** A year will go by fast but will never return.

Put your money in a Swiss Bank or the Caymen Islands and go.(Just Kidding about the Banks).

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Old 02-23-2011, 04:40 PM   #20
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RE: Loopers Chime in.

I'm in sort of a similar place as Tony.* We are seriously considering selling our condo and everything in it, moving onto our boat, spending some time prepping the boat, then shipping the boat back East and doing the loop and generally*cruising for several years.** We, too, want to make sure we can "re-enter" land life should we choose to do so.**

We don't have kids so that is one big hurdle removed.* Sounds like Tony's kids were getting a better education when they were home-schooled and that plus his observation that their lives are soon going to get very busy makes it seem to me like Tony and family should get going!* But it is so easy for me to tell someone else what they should do.*

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