Oh, just some Great Loop daydreaming?
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The friendliest place on the web for anyone who enjoys boating.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
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David O
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Alexis Cove is Louisville Yacht club. I can get you the phone number of the marina manager if you like, they manage Tartan's also.
O, wait, you need to get a boat first! I believe you said pocket trawlers.
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We are loopers who are 265 days into our trip. We are members of the AGLCA and attended a fall reunion. Our experience with the AGLCA and the boaters doing the loop is quite positive.
The AGLCA is a business and the only one I know of that is dedicated to the Great Loop. It provides a valuable source of information to current and potential future loopers, and is justified in earning a profit doing it. If it wasn’t value added, it would quickly disappear. Joining AGLCA is frequently recommended as the first step by loopers for anyone interested in this experience.
The seminars at an AGLCA rendezvous are largely provided by couples who have done the loop and are experts or live in and are very knowledgeable of a designated area. Each seminar is designed to cover a small section of the loop helping others anticipate and plan their travel and be aware of risks.
There are vendors at the rendezvous selling charts, guides and books directly related to the needs of loopers. This makes it easy to compare and select the different guides that you will need.
There are also marinas at the rendezvous acquainting boaters with the benefits of their locations, accommodations and services. Some give discounts on fuel or slip fees to AGLCA members.
There are dinners and social events and loopers opening their boats for others to tour. Again, a chance to learn a lot.
Having a boat broker with a booth or speaking who specializes in boats for loopers is also very useful since some of the attendees have not yet purchased one for this trip. Others have looped and are looking for a “better” boat for future cruises. It is not uncommon for loopers to buy boats that have already completed the loop, since they are well outfitted and suited for the trip.
Seeing boats along the way flying the "little white burgee" helped us to quickly identify and make friends with people who we had something in common with. We cruised for short periods with many of them and remain in touch.
The boaters we met were quite experienced and knew their boats inside and out. Many like us were doing all the maintenance successfully themselves. When needed, there was always a helping hand.
Most loopers we met anchored quite regularly and are proficient in the required skills. We anchored 30% of the time and this seemed typical of others.
Most loopers we met also do the trip in one year which is quite adequate to get around without feeling rushed. Others loop over and over seeing new things each time.
We are great supporters of Active Captain and found it indispensible in our every day planning and piloting.
The combination of the AGLCA seminars and forums, and Active Captain crowd sourcing data helped greatly to make our looping such a great experience.
The AGLCA is a business and the only one I know of that is dedicated to the Great Loop. It provides a valuable source of information to current and potential future loopers, and is justified in earning a profit doing it. If it wasn’t value added, it would quickly disappear. Joining AGLCA is frequently recommended as the first step by loopers for anyone interested in this experience.
The seminars at an AGLCA rendezvous are largely provided by couples who have done the loop and are experts or live in and are very knowledgeable of a designated area. Each seminar is designed to cover a small section of the loop helping others anticipate and plan their travel and be aware of risks.
There are vendors at the rendezvous selling charts, guides and books directly related to the needs of loopers. This makes it easy to compare and select the different guides that you will need.
There are also marinas at the rendezvous acquainting boaters with the benefits of their locations, accommodations and services. Some give discounts on fuel or slip fees to AGLCA members.
There are dinners and social events and loopers opening their boats for others to tour. Again, a chance to learn a lot.
Having a boat broker with a booth or speaking who specializes in boats for loopers is also very useful since some of the attendees have not yet purchased one for this trip. Others have looped and are looking for a “better” boat for future cruises. It is not uncommon for loopers to buy boats that have already completed the loop, since they are well outfitted and suited for the trip.
Seeing boats along the way flying the "little white burgee" helped us to quickly identify and make friends with people who we had something in common with. We cruised for short periods with many of them and remain in touch.
The boaters we met were quite experienced and knew their boats inside and out. Many like us were doing all the maintenance successfully themselves. When needed, there was always a helping hand.
Most loopers we met anchored quite regularly and are proficient in the required skills. We anchored 30% of the time and this seemed typical of others.
Most loopers we met also do the trip in one year which is quite adequate to get around without feeling rushed. Others loop over and over seeing new things each time.
We are great supporters of Active Captain and found it indispensible in our every day planning and piloting.
The combination of the AGLCA seminars and forums, and Active Captain crowd sourcing data helped greatly to make our looping such a great experience.
OK as the OP of this thread it is my job to reign things in if they get off track. Actually I don't think they are far off track, some strong opinions, but I like that, some pull back and I like that as well.
As the previous poster said, as soon as AGLCA stops benefiting members it will go out of business post haste. Active Captain will be as good as it's participation by us water folks. The service they provide will grow in value with our participation.
So let's get back to some fringed weather daydreaming if that's acceptable. Bimini, will that satisfy my blue-water urges? Several days waiting for a weather window, crossing, spend a week or so, again waiting for a window and crossing back. Is that enough or better to wait and cross over to the West end and then hop islands for several weeks in the Bahamas?
As the previous poster said, as soon as AGLCA stops benefiting members it will go out of business post haste. Active Captain will be as good as it's participation by us water folks. The service they provide will grow in value with our participation.
So let's get back to some fringed weather daydreaming if that's acceptable. Bimini, will that satisfy my blue-water urges? Several days waiting for a weather window, crossing, spend a week or so, again waiting for a window and crossing back. Is that enough or better to wait and cross over to the West end and then hop islands for several weeks in the Bahamas?
N4712
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I would wait for a weather window to hop over west end then cruise the abacos. Two weeks is enough if you in a hurry. If you not in a hurry I would recommend staying a month as AC said.
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