The much anticipated, thought and dreamt about Great Loop boat trip is about to begin!
Basic schedule:
April 6 - April 18: Madeira Beach to Jackonsville, Fl
April 18 - May 8: Jacksonville to Norfolk, Va
May 9 - 15: One or both of us home
May 16 - May 28: Chesapeake Bay and site seeing in Washington DC
May 29 - June 14: Home and Minnesota fishing trip
Details on June 15 and beyond are forthcoming, but generally, NY city, Hudson River, Erie Canal, and then a decision on which route to follow that will take us to Mackinac Island by about the end of July.
To get to this point, my good friend and cruising mentor, Geo, and I completed a shakedown cruise in November. The three plus week trip took us from Madeira Beach to Bimini in the Bahamas and back. In all, a little more than 900 miles. Tranquility performed admirably and we were able to identify a few fixes and enhancements that we thought would make her a better, more comfortable cruiser. We also experimented with a range of RPMs to cruise at and determined the target that provides the best comfort and efficiency. With Geo leading most of the effort and me watching, helping and trying to learn, the list is pretty well complete and we think we're about ready. We'll be in Madeira for about a week prior to departing on April 6.
