Postcript

On Sunday, September 21, 2014, we had a party at Diversey Yacht Club to celebrate our crossing our wake.  Unknown to me, it was also a surprise birthday party for me!!  It was a wonderful event and gave us a chance to talk to our friends and fellow boaters about the Loop.  

 

We were also presented with our Gold Burgee for completing the Loop.  The American Great Loop Cruisers Association also sent us our Baccalooperate Degree for completing the Loop. 

 

 

Everyone asks what our next adventure will be.  We don’t know for sure although we are thinking about returning to northern Lake Michigan and the North Channel next summer.  And the Captain is already talking about cruising back to Florida for the winter of 2015-16.  But he still has to get the Admiral’s approval – we’ll see what Kristin Says!!

Here are some of our final stats for those who want to know:

Miles Travelled: 5444 nautical miles (6265 statute miles -- about the distance from Portland, Maine, to San Francisco and back)

States Visited:  17 (IL, IN, MO, KY, TN, MS, AL, FL, GA, SC, NC, VA, MD, DE, NJ, NY, MI)

Countries Visited:  2 – The Bahamas (Grand Bahama, The Abacos, the Berry Islands, and North Bimini) and Canada (Ontario)

Locks Traversed: 100 (8 on the Illinois River, 2 on the Mississippi, 1 on the Ohio (on the other one, the wickets were down), 1 on the Cumberland River, 1 on the Tennessee River, 10 on the Tenn-Tom, 1 on the Port Canaveral Barge Canal, 1 on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, 1 on the Hudson River, 22 on the Erie Canal, 8 on the Oswego Canal, and 44 on the Trent Severn Waterway)

Highest Point Above Sea Level:  Balsam Lake on the Trent Severn Waterway – 841 feet above sea level

Average Speed: 12.21 knots (14.04 mph)

Engine Hours: 445.9

Fuel Used:  We don’t talk about that!!!!