Month: February 2023

• 30.2 miles
• 3 hours 32 minutes
• 8.5 mph average speed
• 10-18 mph winds

We enjoyed watching dolphins swimming in our wake on our way to Fort Pierce. Fort Pierce is a city that we did not visit last year on our way north and we really enjoyed our visit. A special treat was running into Scott and Karen Duval from Capable Cruising. We had just sat down to dinner one evening as they were coming in the restaurant so we invited them to join us. They had stayed on our boat for a couple of days a few months before we started the Loop, mainly to help boost Ellen’s confidence level with what would be required of her once we were on our way. Karen was especially helpful to Ellen teaching her things like knots, lassoing and anchoring skills. It was so nice to see them again and catch up with each other!

Another treat was visiting the National Navy SEAL Museum. Fort Pierce is where it all started when the Navy SEAL predecessors, the Navy Frogmen, were trained during WWII. This is an excellent museum with fascinating artifacts and exhibits displaying the history of Naval Special Warfare from the beaches of Normandy, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam era up to the Global War on Terror with the fall of the twin towers and the capture of Osama Bin Laden. In addition to several watercraft displayed on the grounds, there is a complete SEAL obstacle course (which we did not attempt to complete!). We were able to dress up and hold weapons (they were so heavy!) and sit in a Black Hawk helicopter.

• 57.2 miles
• 6 hours 52 minutes
• 8.3 mph average speed
• 9 mph winds

We had been told when we arrived at the marina the day before that there was a fishing tournament the next day and that we would not be able to leave until after 8:00AM once all of the fishing boats had cleared the area. What we weren’t told is that we would be awakened at 4:30AM by the loud speaker just outside of our boat as directions were being given to the fisherman and music was being played! It was quite a site to watch all of the 150-200 boats preparing for their departure!

Once all of the fishing boats had cleared the lock, we were able to get through before the lock master closed the gates. We had thought we were going to have to dodge all of those fishing boats for a while but most had gone either east or west of the lock and we went straight in order to cross Lake Okeechobee.

We locked through two more locks after we crossed the lake before arriving in Stuart.

In the meantime, we have decided not to try to go to the Bahamas as we had planned. The weather does not look promising for the crossing for the foreseeable future and, since we need to be back in Atlanta the beginning of April, we decided it would be better to try and go next year when we would be able to spend more time cruising the islands. Since we had just completed five straight days of travel, we decided to stay in Stuart for several days before making our way north.

There is a wonderful restaurant at the marina, Sailor’s Return, where we had dinner our first night in Stuart. We walked along the boardwalk the following day which took us to downtown Stuart where we had lunch and walked around the town. We went back that evening for sushi and ice cream!

Another “small world moment”! Ellen was relaxing in the boat when Kevin came in and said, “Come meet our neighbor, literally.” The man that had just pulled in to the slip next to us lives on the same street as us in Atlanta! He is not technically on our street as the street is separated by a creek and a golf course so it is the same street name but different neighborhoods.

We walked to town to a Farmer’s Market then had a late breakfast and learned there was also an Arts Festival.

• 34.5 miles
• 5 hours 2 minutes
• 6.9 mph average speed
• 6 mph winds

We ran into (not literally!) Jenn and Elliot on Pivot at the Ortona Lock. We had first met this sweet couple in Little Falls, NY and they used to live within a mile of us in Atlanta before starting their Loop. They have a wonderful blog and YouTube channel, Scho & Jo, which documents their Loop. They will cross their wake in Stuart and then head to the Keys for a couple of months before starting their next adventure of touring the National Parks in a Sprinter van!

Before reaching Roland Martin Marina, we had to transit one additional lock which is not part of the actual waterway, the Clewiston Lock. After all the locks we have locked through, this was the most challenging as we got sideways in the lock before we were able to grab the lines due to the wind. We managed to get back in position before the gates closed but it was a little stressful for The Captain with two small bass boats also in the lock with us!

We were docked in front of Scotty’s Tiki Bar and had a wonderful dinner there.

• 47 miles
• 6 hours 9 minutes
• 7.6 mph average speed
• 1-4 mph winds

We are now beginning our journey across the Okeechobee Waterway which will take us to the east coast of Florida without having to go down to and around the Keys. The Okeechobee Waterway is 154 miles long from the Gulf of Mexico at Fort Myers to the Atlantic Ocean at Stuart. The waterway was built in 1937 and there are 5 locks, three on the west side of Lake Okeechobee and two on the east side of the lake. Lake Okeechobee, which means “big water” in the Seminole Indian language, is the second-largest natural freshwater lake contained entirely within contiguous US with Lake Michigan being the largest.

As we passed by Fort Myers we could see what was left of the marinas which were so devastated by Hurricane Ian. Most of the boats that were destroyed have been removed but some still remain either half sunken in the water or on land where they were deposited by the surge. Most of the docks are gone.

We passed a fellow Looper who sent us a photo of Perfect Match:

The Port Labelle Marina is such a beautiful and peaceful setting with extremely friendly staff. We enjoyed the serenity by reading as we waited for our laundry to be done and later took a taxi to the LaBelle Brewing Company for a delicious dinner.

• 77.7 miles
• 7 hours 47 minutes
• 10 mph average speed
• 5-16 mph winds

Proudly flying our new gold burgee!

Since it was a nice day, we decided to travel on the outside for our run to Cape Coral. We had cruised this area several times before starting the Loop and this would allow us to alleviate having to slow down for numerous no wake zones and waiting for bridge openings.

We had stayed at Tarpon Point Marina on our way down to the Keys last year but it was quite different this time due to remains from Hurricane Ian. The main basin of the marina was still closed so we stayed on a dock outside of the basin with no power or electricity.

We had a nice dinner at Pinchers Restaurant and enjoyed the beautiful views of the moon from our boat.

• 56 miles
• 6 hours 20 minutes
• 8.8 mph average speed
• 9-22 mph winds

PERFECT MATCH HAS CROSSED HER WAKE!

While we did not stop in St. Petersburg, where we started this epic adventure, we did take a photo as we crossed our wake there (completed the Loop):

Once docked in Sarasota, we opened a bottle of champagne and swapped our white AGLCA burgee for a gold one and, just like that, we went from being “Loopers” to being “Gold Loopers”!

Misty and Darrel had made dinner reservations for us at the marina dining room and sent a gift card for us to celebrate our crossing in style! We enjoyed a wonderful Calamari appetizer, salads, and delicious filets along with a bottle of wine. Boy, do we miss those two!

Some statistics from our trip up to our wake crossing:

• 396 Total Days Start to Finish (including time spent at home)
• 112 Travel Days
• 98 Days at Home
• 5,644 Miles Traveled
• 49.51 Average Miles Per Travel Day
• 657:52 Hours Traveled
• 5:46 Average Hours Per Travel Day
• 3,267 Gallons of Fuel
• 19 States Visited
• 125 Cities Visited (give or take)
• 63 Locks (plus 6 on Okeechobee Waterway after completing Loop)
• Countless memories created!

• 179.8 miles
• 23 hours 4 minutes
• 7.8 mph average speed
• 3-6 mph winds

After waiting for a weather window in Carrabelle for 12 days, the time finally came for us to make our Gulf Crossing! We left Carrabelle at 1:30PM and arrived in Clearwater at 12:30PM the following day. We made the crossing with four other boats, Out of the Blue, Aries, Two by Two and GoGo. It was foggy the entire way except for about the last three hours so we couldn’t actually see our buddy boats other than on radar and AIS and, of course, we had radio contact with them. Visibility was only a couple of hundred yards in front of the boat. Around 9:00AM, the fog dissipated just in time for us to start watching for the crab pots as we neared Clearwater. It was definitely worth the wait in Carrabelle for nearly perfect conditions for a peaceful and “no drama” crossing! We did, however, miss the sunset, sunrise, moon and stars!

Kevin’s cousin, Jerry, lives in Clearwater and we enjoyed having dinner with Jerry, his daughter, Sarah, and her husband, Vinny, at The Bait House. Kevin and Jerry had not seen each other for about ten years and had a great time catching up with each other!

Jerry picked us up the next day and gave us a tour of Dunedin. We really liked this charming little town!

After our tour of Dunedin, Jerry took us to Tarpon Springs, the “Sponge Capitol of the World”. We visited the Greek area known as The Sponge Docks and had dinner at Hellas Greek Restaurant. After dinner, we rode the Jolly Trolly to downtown Tarpon Springs for First Friday, a monthly art, food and music festival covering several blocks. We took the Jolly Trolly back to Clearwater and walked to a liquor store to purchase our celebratory bottle of champagne as we would cross our wake the next day!

The sponge industry in Tarpon Springs dates from about 1890. The practice of sponge diving was very common in Greece and many Greeks immigrated to Tarpon Springs and opened restaurants, candy stores, coffee houses, taverns and grocery stores.