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Old 08-25-2018, 06:37 PM   #17
BandB
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City: Fort Lauderdale. Florida, USA
Join Date: Jan 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lou_tribal View Post
I read many version of "the loop" on this thread, so one question, what is the "true" great loop ? I always thought it was doing real circle around east part of north america so from gulf of mexico up to st Lawrence, down along Atlantic coast to Florida and back to gulf of mexico.

L
The "true" loop is any that gets you to circle the eastern US. Generally, it's done counter clockwise. It is up the East Coast. Then multiple options.
1. Around Nova Scotia and down the St. Lawrence.
2. Up the Erie to the Oswego and it to Lake Ontario
3. The Erie west to Lake Erie.
As asides to those you can to the St. Lawrence directly or from Lake Ontario and then take the Trent Severn to Lake Huron.

It continues through the Great Lakes to Lake Michigan so that it always includes Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, generally includes Lake Erie, and may include Lake Ontario and Lake Superior.

From Chicago, on Lake Michigan, it heads south on the Illinois to the Mississippi. It can take the Mississippi all the way south to New Orleans and then the Gulf of Mexico but most take the Ohio to the Tennessee (short run often on the Cumberland) and then the Tennessee to the Tennessee Tombigbee and on to the Gulf of Mexico.

From the Gulf of Mexico, one returns to the East Coast either by circling around Key West or by taking the Okeechobee Waterway across.

Frequent side trips include the Bahamas and the Tennessee River. Other side trips can include the upper Mississippi, the Ohio, the Missouri, the Arkansas, and the Cumberland Rivers. Also, along the East coast they can include the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware River.

The only real limitations to the loop are weather in the northern portion and winter shut downs. The Erie Canal is generally open early March to late October. This year it's May 18-October 10 so shortened time. Most loopers want to leave Chicago no later than September 30. Many Chicago marinas close on October 15. The Welland Canal (Lake Ontario to Lake Erie) also has a season but it's typically late March through Late November. However, it should be noted that this past year there were many commercial vessels that waited too long and faced heavy ice on the lakes and the St. Lawrence and got stranded.
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