Nocanvas
Senior Member
M/V Navigator crossed its wake today completing the Great Loop a second time in October of 2023) flying platinum Looper flag now ?
In September 2021 We became Loopers.
We disassembled our Mariner Seville Pilothouse 37 otherwise known as Helmsmen38 and trucked it over the rocky divide from Blaine, WA to Seneca, Illinois where we reassembled it at Springbrook Marina and headed down the Illinois River September 2021 and later crossing our wake August of 2022 1st time, going Gold.
Springbrook Marina turned out to be an excellent experience for us and we highly recommend them as a top choice to ship your boat and start your loop, they far exceeded our expectations. Thank you Tammy, Kevin, Steve & Crew for your support that followed even after we departed.
We want to thank Scott Helker owner of Helmsman’s Trawler’s in Seattle,WA (bought the boat through Scott) for your continued technical support of our early model boat. Scott you were there for us when we really needed it “Thank You” Check out https://www.helmsmantrawlers.comHelmsman Trawlers for your adventure on the water.
Also we want to thank Tri County Diesel & service manager Jim Rick of Bellingham,WA. Jim all the spare parts and technical support provided for our 480HP 5.9QSB Cummins kept us running without a problem.
Below is a quick easy read we posted to our Instagram page you might find interesting.
For those of you that are new to following us on Instagram #helmsman38 you might be asking what’s this trip. The Great Loop is a circumnavigation of the eastern seaboard of the U.S., and part of Canada.*(We stayed in the US for our Great Loop (2021/2022) and then the Bahamas and Canada (2023). “Loopers" take on this adventure of a lifetime aboard their own boat.
The Great Loop can take you to
* The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway
* The Chesapeake Bay
* The C&D Canal
* Dismal Swamp
* The Atlantic Ocean from Cape May to New York Harbor (or sometimes inland waterways through New Jersey) (We took the Atlantic)
* The Hudson River
* The Erie Canal (or a popular route option on the "Triangle Loop") (We took the Erie)
* The Oswego Canal
* Oswego Canal) (or continue on the Erie Canal to Lake Erie)
* Lake Ontario
* The Trent-Severn Canal
* Georgian Bay
* Lake Michigan
* Lake Huron
* The Illinois River
* The Mississippi River
* The Ohio River
* The Tennessee River
* The Tenn-Tom Waterway
* Mobile Bay
* Gulf of Mexico
* The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
* The Okeechobee Waterway (or continue on the Gulf Intracoastal to the Keys)(We did not take the boat to the Keys We rented a car and drove down)
* So much more
The Great Loop is a minimum of 5,250, but depending on which route choices and which side trips you do, it can be extended to include thousands more miles.* Most Loopers report their Great Loop trip to be in the 6,000-mile range. (Our trip was approximately 12,500 miles since we started cruising in 2021 non stop.
* *** Florida
* *** Georgia
* *** South Carolina
* *** North Carolina
* *** Virginia
* *** Maryland
* *** Delaware
* *** New Jersey
* *** New York
* *** Vermont
* *** Quebec
* *** Ontario
* *** Michigan
* *** Wisconsin (Didn’t see)
* Indiana
* *** Illinois
* *** Missouri
* *** Kentucky
* *** Tennessee
* *** Mississippi
* *** Alabama
* Qubec
* Ontario
The American Great Loop Cruisers Association AGLCA provided us a wealth of information on this voyage and if you decide to take it on we highly recommend you join. Much of the information we share is found on the AGLCA website.
The best part of the Great Loop for us was the people we met along the way. Navigational challenges ,the many interesting locations, cities, docks ,locks, bridges , dams ,rivers , canals , Gulf of Mexico ,Atlantic Ocean coastal runs , the mighty Great Lakes,Chambly River, Richelieu River, St Lawrence River, Ottawa River, Rideau Canal, Trent Severn Waterway, Georgian Bay and North Channels fantastic “Bad River” and did We say locks ?.
You might be wondering now that we have crossed our wake at Springbrook Marina Seneca, Illinois what’s next, will we write a book, make a movie do speaking tours ? no way.
We are going to continue our way down the river system to Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida after that we just don’t know ,so stay tuned into Instagram (helmsman38) to find out if we go around again.
We hope you enjoyed the photos. Feel free to reach out to us if you have a question about the Great Loop . If We can’t answer it we know someone can at the AGLCA .
Cheers, M/V Navigator Marco & Karen
In September 2021 We became Loopers.
We disassembled our Mariner Seville Pilothouse 37 otherwise known as Helmsmen38 and trucked it over the rocky divide from Blaine, WA to Seneca, Illinois where we reassembled it at Springbrook Marina and headed down the Illinois River September 2021 and later crossing our wake August of 2022 1st time, going Gold.
Springbrook Marina turned out to be an excellent experience for us and we highly recommend them as a top choice to ship your boat and start your loop, they far exceeded our expectations. Thank you Tammy, Kevin, Steve & Crew for your support that followed even after we departed.
We want to thank Scott Helker owner of Helmsman’s Trawler’s in Seattle,WA (bought the boat through Scott) for your continued technical support of our early model boat. Scott you were there for us when we really needed it “Thank You” Check out https://www.helmsmantrawlers.comHelmsman Trawlers for your adventure on the water.
Also we want to thank Tri County Diesel & service manager Jim Rick of Bellingham,WA. Jim all the spare parts and technical support provided for our 480HP 5.9QSB Cummins kept us running without a problem.
Below is a quick easy read we posted to our Instagram page you might find interesting.
For those of you that are new to following us on Instagram #helmsman38 you might be asking what’s this trip. The Great Loop is a circumnavigation of the eastern seaboard of the U.S., and part of Canada.*(We stayed in the US for our Great Loop (2021/2022) and then the Bahamas and Canada (2023). “Loopers" take on this adventure of a lifetime aboard their own boat.
The Great Loop can take you to
* The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway
* The Chesapeake Bay
* The C&D Canal
* Dismal Swamp
* The Atlantic Ocean from Cape May to New York Harbor (or sometimes inland waterways through New Jersey) (We took the Atlantic)
* The Hudson River
* The Erie Canal (or a popular route option on the "Triangle Loop") (We took the Erie)
* The Oswego Canal
* Oswego Canal) (or continue on the Erie Canal to Lake Erie)
* Lake Ontario
* The Trent-Severn Canal
* Georgian Bay
* Lake Michigan
* Lake Huron
* The Illinois River
* The Mississippi River
* The Ohio River
* The Tennessee River
* The Tenn-Tom Waterway
* Mobile Bay
* Gulf of Mexico
* The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
* The Okeechobee Waterway (or continue on the Gulf Intracoastal to the Keys)(We did not take the boat to the Keys We rented a car and drove down)
* So much more
The Great Loop is a minimum of 5,250, but depending on which route choices and which side trips you do, it can be extended to include thousands more miles.* Most Loopers report their Great Loop trip to be in the 6,000-mile range. (Our trip was approximately 12,500 miles since we started cruising in 2021 non stop.
* *** Florida
* *** Georgia
* *** South Carolina
* *** North Carolina
* *** Virginia
* *** Maryland
* *** Delaware
* *** New Jersey
* *** New York
* *** Vermont
* *** Quebec
* *** Ontario
* *** Michigan
* *** Wisconsin (Didn’t see)
* Indiana
* *** Illinois
* *** Missouri
* *** Kentucky
* *** Tennessee
* *** Mississippi
* *** Alabama
* Qubec
* Ontario
The American Great Loop Cruisers Association AGLCA provided us a wealth of information on this voyage and if you decide to take it on we highly recommend you join. Much of the information we share is found on the AGLCA website.
The best part of the Great Loop for us was the people we met along the way. Navigational challenges ,the many interesting locations, cities, docks ,locks, bridges , dams ,rivers , canals , Gulf of Mexico ,Atlantic Ocean coastal runs , the mighty Great Lakes,Chambly River, Richelieu River, St Lawrence River, Ottawa River, Rideau Canal, Trent Severn Waterway, Georgian Bay and North Channels fantastic “Bad River” and did We say locks ?.
You might be wondering now that we have crossed our wake at Springbrook Marina Seneca, Illinois what’s next, will we write a book, make a movie do speaking tours ? no way.
We are going to continue our way down the river system to Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida after that we just don’t know ,so stay tuned into Instagram (helmsman38) to find out if we go around again.
We hope you enjoyed the photos. Feel free to reach out to us if you have a question about the Great Loop . If We can’t answer it we know someone can at the AGLCA .
Cheers, M/V Navigator Marco & Karen
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