The Great Loop Route

We discovered that what initially started as a one-year plan was not going to allow us to fully enjoy the journey and take in some side trips. So we adjusted and now are working to complete The Great Loop in three years.

In 2021 we traveled from our Homeport to the Florida Keys, where we spent February and part of March. We had a few mechanical issues that we addressed in Ft. Lauderdale before spending April and May in the Bahamas. When we returned to the States we cruised the east coast as far north as Charleston SC. At the end of August we went back to Savannah for some cosmetic updates on GloriaUs. We arrived back in Ft Lauderdale in October where we wintered her until 2022.

We returned to the boat early in January 2022. We cruised south back to the Keys for February and March, and then spent April and early May in the Abacos. We returned to the US and after a brief trip to our home, we headed north from North Palm Beach. We spent time in many of our previous stops from 2021 before moving north of Charleston SC. We spent most of July in Beaufort NC. We did some extended cruising in the Chesapeake Bay including a side trip up the Potomac in August and September. We hauled and left GloriaUs on the hard near Oxford MD for the winter.

Our cruising plans for 2023 call for a return to MD in mid-April/early May. We will head north through New York City and into Canada via the Hudson River, and Erie Canal. In Canada we’ll enter the Trent-Severn Waterway. During the remainder of the summer we’ll make our way along the Northern segment of The Great Loop in the Georgian Bay, the North Channel, and Lake Michigan.

In October we’ll exit Lake Michigan near Chicago and turn south for the Inland Rivers segment. During the fall months we’ll take the Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee Rivers before entering the man-made portion of the TennTom Waterway, The Divide Cut.

We continue along the TennTom Waterway until we exit back into the Gulf of Mexico near Mobile AL. We turn east for the final leg returning to our Homeport where we’ll ‘cross our wake’ to complete The Great Loop in early December.