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captrigney

captrigney

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2012
Messages
177
Location
USA
Vessel Name
Meander
Vessel Make
1983 Grand Banks 36 Classic
We just completed what he have called the Little Loop from Lake Huron to Lake Champlain and back through the Canadian and American canals.

Not the Great Loop, but a Pretty Good Loop :socool:

If you would like to do some deck chair cruising visit our blog here:

Part 1 Outbound

Part 2 Return
 
Last edited:
Very cool it's nice to see someone actually cruising with their trawler. I looked at your blog looks like a great "little" trip.
Fantastic!
Bill
 
Great to see. There are quite a few such loops in the country, a Florida loop, one in NC, plus rivers like the TN and Ohio. Great to see done.
 
+1
 
BandB said:
Great to see. There are quite a few such loops in the country, a Florida loop, one in NC, plus rivers like the TN and Ohio. Great to see done.
Click to expand...

So many loops - so little time. Tell me about the NC loop.
 
Kinda like the "what is cruising" thread...and what some people view as good "cruising"....

Most boaters know they could spend darn near a lifetime just doing a loop of the Cheasapeake....yes.... there are as many "loops" as a person wants to imagine.

This particular loop appeals to me way more than the "great loop" and I'm happy captrigney had a good and safe loop. For too many doing certain "cruises" or "loops" is just a badge whether they really enjoyed it or not...just bragging rights at the club.
 
Great trip, some wonderful country. Was this done all this year?
 
My plans include doing at least one "loop." Is it just for the bragging rights? I don't know. Maybe. As the song says "You did it for the stories you could tell."

But it's also just to go places I wouldn't otherwise get to see.

My sights are on the Down East Loop; up the Hudson, then the Champlain and Richelieu to the St. Lawrence, around Nova Scotia and back to Maine.
 
CaptTom said:
My plans include doing at least one "loop." Is it just for the bragging rights? I don't know. Maybe. As the song says "You did it for the stories you could tell."

But it's also just to go places I wouldn't otherwise get to see.

My sights are on the Down East Loop; up the Hudson, then the Champlain and Richelieu to the St. Lawrence, around Nova Scotia and back to Maine.
Click to expand...

the big difference is you want to do it rather than feel the need to "check it off the list"...to feel you are in a "club" of certain cruisers....
 
Great blog and trip!:thumb::thumb:

I'd love to see this thread "creep" it's way into a listing of all these "mini-loops". As a left coaster I've never heard of any of them.
 
That looks like a "loop" that would interest me. I really want to do Lake Michigan again and could add that on. I used to want to do the loop years ago when I was on a inland lake. Now that I've been on the Mississippi and have enjoyed it, the Illinois and the lake I don't have any desire to go farther south than I need to escape the harsh midwest winters, Alabama, Mississippi or Georgia will do.
 
We plan to do a "Loop" next Spring from Maine, down (up, as they say here) to NYC, up the Hudson, Erie Canal to Oswego Canal, across eastern end of Lake Ontario, to the St. Lawrence, down the St. Lawrence to the Richelieu River - Chambly Canal - St. Ours Canal to Lake Champlain, then Champlain Canal back to the Hudson, etc back to Maine.

Hope Don's new thread reveals someone who has done this route, at least the from NYC and back part.
 
Bay Pelican said:
Great trip, some wonderful country. Was this done all this year?
Click to expand...

Marty,

We did the Canadian canals last fall and the return through the Erie Canal this spring storing the boat on Lake Champlain over the winter. We love the off-seasons.

John
 
CaptTom said:
My plans include doing at least one "loop." Is it just for the bragging rights? I don't know. Maybe. As the song says "You did it for the stories you could tell."

But it's also just to go places I wouldn't otherwise get to see.

My sights are on the Down East Loop; up the Hudson, then the Champlain and Richelieu to the St. Lawrence, around Nova Scotia and back to Maine.
Click to expand...

We normally boat Lake Michigan and the North Channel of Huron. But we were interested in the Trent-Severn, Rideau, St Lawrence "loop". So we locked up the boat, got in the car and did it all in a week. Checked out all the little towns, the more picturesque locks, the various marinas. Stayed in nice hotels, did a bunch of little side excursions that you couldn't do on a bicycle. Nice drive through the Canadian country side that cost about one twentieth of doing it by boat. So now I wonder if we're entitled to bragging rights and perhaps one of those ultra cool little pennants that all the looper groupies fly....
 
RT Firefly said:
Greetings,
Mr. cr. A Good Experience with the “Carolina Loop” | Cruisers' Net
YOUR loop sounds quite interesting. I have NO desire what-so-ever in doing the "Great Loop".
http://cruisersnet.net/a-good-experience-with-the-carolina-loop/
Click to expand...

From what I gather on the Looper message board, Georgian Bay's North Channel (which we haven't done yet), the Trent Severn, Rideau, Chambly, Lake Champlain and Erie Canal are the best part of the "Great Loop". PLUS, it's very economical cruising. The Erie Canal is mostly FREE once you pay the $75 season pass for the locks. The Canadian canal season pass was around $700 which included the locks and docks in the entire Parks Canada system. I consider it a good deal. Canadian fuel is high, though. We managed to avoid fueling by the litre, though.

Speaking of locks, we did 158. That feels like an accomplishment.

Six weeks for us is a comfortable amount of time on the boat away from home. After 30 days of not paying bills, they start to go to collection. :whistling:

Since we were in the area, we thought of continuing on with the Down East Loop or heading down the Hudson to the Chesapeake, but family plans dictated otherwise.

We love rivers, bays, and canals. Open water for us is just to get there, though we have had nice times on our crossings.

If you're thinking of cruising any of these waterways, feel free to contact me with any specific questions. I'd love to help you plan your trip.

John
 
CaptTom said:
My sights are on the Down East Loop; up the Hudson, then the Champlain and Richelieu to the St. Lawrence, around Nova Scotia and back to Maine.
Click to expand...

We have done most everything from the Mississippi east to the eastern boarder of the Caribbean. We still consider the Down East Loop to be our best cruising. The people, scenery and waters of eastern Canada are terrific. Only problem is the shortness of the season means you go in as early as weather will allow and leave when you have to leave. You will wish you could spend twice the time.

Good traveling.
 
Mini-Loops

I love the idea of mini-loops. Even a small loop instills a great sense of pride and accomplishment for those with limited time and limited resources.
It's not the 'just to say I did it' thing although that could be a large part of it. It's also the exploring of new places that you may never have gone to if you didn't set it as a goal. So what else does a mini-loop do? It shows you some really great marinas and anchorages that you may otherwise have never known about ANNNND... now you know where you want to go back to, to spend some more time.

It's a way of doing a lot of travelling and seeing twice as much as if you went to a place half the distance and returned by the same route.
 
I enjoy cruising whether it's a loop (haven't done any) or what the norm here is cruising up or down the river and returning. I hope to head south this fall to Alabama or Mississippi to winter and return in the spring. After the trip thru Lake Michigan last month I really want to spend a few weeks on it, a loop up the Wisconsin side and down the Michigan side should do. May do that next year and then go south for the winter.
 
Bay Pelican said:
We have done most everything from the Mississippi east to the eastern boarder of the Caribbean. We still consider the Down East Loop to be our best cruising. The people, scenery and waters of eastern Canada are terrific. Only problem is the shortness of the season means you go in as early as weather will allow and leave when you have to leave. You will wish you could spend twice the time.

Good traveling.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll keep your words in mind when I wonder if I'm crazy to want to do a trip so many have never even heard of!

Did you make it to Newfoundland at all? I know it's a stretch goal, but I was thinking if the season wasn't too far along when I got to the Cape Breton area, I might try to head up that way.
 
CaptTom said:
Did you make it to Newfoundland at all? I know it's a stretch goal, but I was thinking if the season wasn't too far along when I got to the Cape Breton area, I might try to head up that way.
Click to expand...

We did not make it to Newfoundland.

Our insurance company (well known trawler insurer) required a separate endorsement and application to be authorized to go east of Quebec City. This we passed with ease. This authorization did not allow us to go east of the Bra d'Or and specifically not Newfoundland.

To go to Newfoundland we would need to contact the insurance company within 72 hours or leaving for Newfoundland and they would study the weather forecast. In addition any authorization resulting would be limited to the southern end of Newfoundland.

While we were in Nova Scotia late in August a Nordhavn 62 was interested and planning to go to Newfoundland. Many locals and finally the Canadian Coast guard pleaded with them not to go at that time of year, the weather was too unpredictable. Don't know what happened, we left to go to Maine as the weather was closing in. Spent 48 hours in pea soup and didn't see the sun for a few days and we were in Bar Harbor Maine.

With acknowledgement to our Canadian friends it is Newfoundland and Labrador.
 
Pea soup fog is a regular inconvenience in Northern New England (Maine,NH). cruising boats should be ready for it at any and all times while in these waters.
 
psneeld said:
the big difference is you want to do it rather than feel the need to "check it off the list"...to feel you are in a "club" of certain cruisers....
Click to expand...


An interesting perspective, that about being in a "club".....

Not to take this down the proverbial rabbit hole but life suggests that we all desire to belong to a club. Be it TF, or the "I own a real trawler and you don't" perspective or any other association we may define ourselves by. People are inherently tribal. And if my life's experiences have taught me anything, it's that most everyone wants to be associated with a successful tribe. For some, it's the tribe of "lists" and the the need to earn stripes (checks if you will). If it's boating, and the passion is true, let them earn their stripes I say.


~ Gary ~

Sent from my iPad using Trawler Forum
 
Sailor of Fortune said:
Pea soup fog is a regular inconvenience in Northern New England (Maine,NH). cruising boats should be ready for it at any and all times while in these waters.
Click to expand...
Ready for it meaning having good working Radar and the knowledge to properly use and read it, an AIS transponder, having the hailer set to broadcast fog signals and when it permits the use of a FLIR this depends on the fog makeup. Did I miss anything? Having a good heading sensor for when you occassionally lose GPS lock knowing where your boat's bow is in relation to the chart.
If you don't feel comfortable wait it out don't leave the dock or anchorage.
Bill
 
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