A Greater Loop?

[BandB]

I'd have to ask, then what was the point of going by boat? Plane (even private for about the same cost) and car do all that much better. I ask because your ports don't match up to those in the prior post, by the way. One said Boston to Halifax and now Portland enters the conversation. RIB from where to the Yankee Cove area? Not Halifax. You drove to Sydney? You went tight by Bras d'Or on the way to Canso and PEI. It all sounds really weird to me, I apologize, but I'm just trying to make some sense of it, and as written will not help those interested in making the Downeast Loop.

I said we went from Boston to Halifax but on the return from Halifax to Portland. As to why not by car, it's why not all travel by car. We prefer boating.

Yes, we went by RIB from Halifax to St. Margarets Bay. Only a 45 nm or so run to Yankee Cove, about 60 nm total run we made, so 120-130 nm round trip. We did it slowly taking in the scenery and took a little over 3 hours going. Made some stops and explored the Bay, then later faster on our way back. Nice, easy and very enjoyable day. We did refuel during the day.

We drove to Sydney one day, yes, drove by Bras d'Or and many other places. Stopped along the way. We had some shadowing us in our Sprinter and it came in very handy for some land exploration. No, didn't see every inch. Just enough to get a feel and know it's an area we'll return to. Call it our Nova Scotia drive around. We'll plan another trip through the area in a few years.

Yes, we could have easily gone to Bras d'Or from Canso, but we didn't do so. It was a quick trip overall so not nearly the time to see all areas in depth. Perhaps next time we go, we'll allow the entire summer and we'll now know more the places we didn't see before that we want to as well as those we'd like to see again.

We do not try to get everything on any trip. We'll choose a number of places to see, leaving others for next time. We don't plan as it's our last trip. We plan for another trip later and things to pick up then. We only allocated a little over six weeks this time. Definitely not enough to see in depth.

My listing of where we stopped in Post #18 was not telling anyone that's where they should shop. It was really to answer one simple question and that was fuel range and to reassure that the distances between fuel stops were moderate and many stops between the places we went, but the trip doesn't require a tremendous fuel range. I wasn't attempting to tell anyone cruising that loop where they should go and what they should see.

Here's a difference between us and others. We did spend more time in Quebec City and Montreal than any other stops. We had not been to either and were very interested in their culture, history, and beauty as well as their food. We had great times in both. We had people who flew in an joined us in Montreal, even staying in hotels there (they did, we didn't).

We don't cruise like others. Our most frequent cruise speed was 20 knots. We also had a large group of people aboard.

 

[BandB]

I'd have to ask, then what was the point of going by boat? Plane (even private for about the same cost) and car do all that much better. .

Wifey B: Don't like planes and cars.

Like boats

 

[Sailor of Fortune]

There is no right or wrong answer for how people cruise. BandB do it differently than most on here but they have a fast boat, schedule , and different interests. Most of us on here will do it differently. Husband / wife teams cruise in their comfort zone and budget. Big boats, small boats, all budgets can have adventure within their financial means and comfort zone

 

[CaptTom]

We've done a couple of trips where we had crew swap-outs; someone drove their car to where the boat was, and someone else drove it back home. We had guests for part of the Down East Loop trip who met us in Albany and took the train back a few days later.

I could easily see expanding that to the "chase car" scenario BandB mention. I like road trips, albeit not as much as cruising. This would work well on the St. Lawrence and Gaspe Penninsula where there aren't a lot of anchorages, and you find yourself tied up to a dock more often than not. That area would also be a great road trip, by motorcycle, car or RV.

 

[Aquabelle]

Fuel is available at most ports, especially diesel.

The ports ARE few and far between, compared to some places, but they're never more than a short day apart. As I said, we did a lot of 4-6 hour days, at 7.5 knots, and even then we passed a lot of ports and pushed on to the next.

The Northeast quadrant of Nova Scotia is what I took to calling "the desolation coast." Dont' get me wrong, it's beautiful, and there are enough places to anchor and dock. It's just a long stretch and, at least when we were there, the geography (long fingers of rocky land and offshore ledges) caused confused seas the whole time. It got tiresome.

I kept a blog, if you want to follow along our 2016 Down East Loop trip. It's broken down by region; just click "first post" to start reading from that starting point.

It was a great trip. I can recommend it to anyone. I see no reason you'd need anything bigger than what you could live on. I've done Maine to Nova Scotia, and Maine to New Jersey, in my 28'er, for weeks on end.

Many thanks for the link to your blog. As an Australian planning to do the Down East loop sometime in the next two years, this is a great resource.

 

[BandB]

We've done a couple of trips where we had crew swap-outs; someone drove their car to where the boat was, and someone else drove it back home. We had guests for part of the Down East Loop trip who met us in Albany and took the train back a few days later.

I could easily see expanding that to the "chase car" scenario BandB mention. I like road trips, albeit not as much as cruising. This would work well on the St. Lawrence and Gaspe Penninsula where there aren't a lot of anchorages, and you find yourself tied up to a dock more often than not. That area would also be a great road trip, by motorcycle, car or RV.

Our shadow or chase car arose when we left a boat on Lake Pickwick and then needed to get back and forth to it. We were cruising at that time on that boat with 6 to 8 people. Try arranging transportation between Fort Lauderdale and Iuka, MS. To fly commercial, you rent cars and drive to Memphis, then fly home. You can rent cars and fly charter planes fairly nearby. We actually found ourselves one time getting a limousine to drive us to Iuka. For 8 people, the negotiated cost wasn't much more, the time wasn't much more, the comfort vs the alternatives was far greater.

The other issue we'd faced at many smaller towns was transportation to go sight seeing. More and more small towns don't have taxis, and they definitely don't have Uber. On top of that, some don't have car rental agencies and those that do often have Enterprise and they're not open on weekends. I remember arriving in St. Johnsville, NY on a Saturday and wanting to go to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on Sunday. We actually had to arrange a limo to come pick us up. I believe, but may be wrong, they came from Utica.

So, we bought a passenger van capable of comfortably seating 11, but still easy to drive and relatively easy to park. I remember our first trip using it. We arrived at the marina in Iuka refreshed. Some slept on the trip, some watched movies, some listened to music, some just played on tablets. The next day we went by boat to Florence, AL and the ones taking the van went by Publix and a butcher shop on the way to meeting us there. Then we were able to get out and about to explore that area. Some very nice sites around Florence. We continued the same routine all the way to Knoxville and back.

Some trips it makes sense to use and some it doesn't and we're still figuring out which ones. We remembered many of the canal cruisers in Europe whose stories we'd read. Often they had vans and would bicycle between the boat and van. Move the van ahead and bicycle back to the boat or move in the boat and bicycle back to pick up the van. Obviously shorter distances.

The plus of the van is that we always have ready transportation for anything we need. The negative is that it forces one or two people to miss each day's cruising. We do alternate people. It was suggested we hire a non-cruising driver and we have considered that.

We've had the van only 3 years and our three cars now 7 years and the van has far more miles on it than any of the cars.

So, it sort of grew out of my frustration getting a sizable group back and forth to Iuka, MS and a bit of overreaction there as even limos a couple of times are far cheaper than buying a vehicle.

For those thinking a limo from Fort Lauderdale to Iuka, MS is outrageously expensive, not as much as you'd think. Long trips are very negotiable. Considerably cheaper than chartering a plane. And compared to commercial, you're talking 8 airline tickets to Memphis and two cars for one way rentals from there to Corinth. As to time, the drive is 13 hours. Well, flying is, 2 hours ahead of flight plus 5 hours flying time plus an hour getting out of the airport plus two hours drive there plus an hour returning cars and getting transportation so 10-11 hours. Plus typically have to return the cars on a second day so can't get away quickly. Either way it's a full day, driving or flying.

Yes, very strange concept but there are times it's worked very well for us.

 

[South of Heaven]

Matt Rutherford did the Really Great Loop (completely around N & S America) in a 27' sailboat. The Panama Canal short cut is for sissies.

How long did it take? A year??

 

[CaptTom]

Yes, very strange concept but there are times it's worked very well for us.

I like it. It sounds like a good option in some situations.

I should also point out that we were frequently offered rides by locals, and many marinas have courtesy cars and/or bicycles. At one place, the dockmaster insisted we take his car, and even suggested a good local attraction to visit.

 

[BandB]

I like it. It sounds like a good option in some situations.

I should also point out that we were frequently offered rides by locals, and many marinas have courtesy cars and/or bicycles. At one place, the dockmaster insisted we take his car, and even suggested a good local attraction to visit.

When there are two of you, fairly easy. When it's six or ten, then have to make your own way. Plus we want transportation for the entire day as we go sightseeing.

We made it work just fine without the Sprinter, but the trip back and forth to Lake Pickwick just pushed me over the edge in looking for a solution.

 

[markpierce]

In Europe I've noticed many self-propelled, live-aboard, commercial barges carrying an automobile for land transport.

 

[ssobol]

How long did it take? A year??

Almost. Some people take that long to do the "Great Loop".

https://www.sailmagazine.com/cruising/matt-rutherford-mission-accomplished

https://solotheamericas.org/

https://solotheamericas.org/?page_id=283

 

[Harlen]

Here in the Pacific Northwest, our Great Loop is to circumnavigate Vancouver island.

Ok, so it is not that great a loop but still has its challenges.

 

[South of Heaven]

Almost. Some people take that long to do the "Great Loop".

https://www.sailmagazine.com/cruising/matt-rutherford-mission-accomplished

https://solotheamericas.org/

https://solotheamericas.org/?page_id=283

Thats insane! That guy has balls of steel.

 

[South of Heaven]

Here in the Pacific Northwest, our Great Loop is to circumnavigate Vancouver island.

Ok, so it is not that great a loop but still has its challenges.

How long would it take at 8 knots?

 

[Harlen]

How long would it take at 8 knots?

Oh, I believe it can be comfortably done in 6 to 8 weeks. Its about 600 NM long. Half the time is spent just offshore in the Pacific Ocean.

 

[BandB]

Here in the Pacific Northwest, our Great Loop is to circumnavigate Vancouver island.

Ok, so it is not that great a loop but still has its challenges.

It does have a lot of time in unprotected waters.

 

[Harlen]

It does have a lot of time in unprotected waters.

It does but there are safe harbors along the way. But that is why I have no interest in doing it. Too much other great cruising in this area.

 

[BandB]

It does but there are safe harbors along the way. But that is why I have no interest in doing it. Too much other great cruising in this area.

We made a return run from Sitka to Port Angeles but didn't stop along the way.