The Great Loop: Best Parts of Great Lakes

If you're heading through the Great Lakes, here are the places I recommend checking out:

1. The North Channel / Georgian Bay
Really, the best of the best when it comes to the Great Lakes. There are tons of places to anchor, swim, cool islands to hike, wild blueberries to pick, etc. If you're coming through the Great Lakes and don't check out the North Channel, you're wasting your time.

These photos are from our first long boat trip in 2005:

The best blueberries are the hardest to reach.

The Best Printer on a Boat?

LeeAnn (my wife) has been asking me to buy a printer for years. The responsibility falls to me as the more "techy" one in our relationship. I've resisted...because printers are a pain in the butt.

They work great for a while...then it seems the novelty wears off and you stop using it. When you need it you can't get it to connect, then after investing a bunch of time getting the thing print-ready, you find out the ink has dried up and it's $40 to buy new ink which really seems outrageous since this is the first time you've felt the need to print anything in 6 months.

The Truth About The Great Loop

The Great Loop is an awesome idea. If you've never heard of it, it's a series of connected lakes, rivers and man-made canals that allow a boater to travel from the Atlantic ocean, to the Great Lakes, Down the Mississippi back out to the ocean.

It sounds cool.

The Erie Canal, The Great Lakes, The Mississippi River. Relax in the Florida Keys. See major cities (New York, Detroit, Chicago) and charming coastal towns (Beaufort, Charleston, Leland).

Family road trip

Heading south to visit the boat on spring break. Hobie is counting each bridge we cross. So far five. We are loaded up with snacks. Beef jerky. Pretzels. 10 hours to Raleigh!

Today was Tuesday.

Today I hauled water.

3 trips. 21 gallons per trip. 40 pounds per jug. I often think to myself "I used to pay to go to a gym"

It takes 3.8 trips to fill one of our internal water tanks (80 gallons each).  The port water tank is now completely full. I was thrilled when it overflowed.

Boca Grande Key

A quick sail to Boca Grande Key. Just 15 miles away. A welcome change from long distances. We thought we'd be alone, but found 15 boats instead.

Key West to Marathon

We had a WONDERFUL time in Marco Island. My Grandma lives within walking distance of the bay where we anchored. We weren't sure what to expect from Grandma. People have lives, and they can't always put them on hold just because we come to town.

4 Things I HATE About Living on a Boat

There are a lot of reasons I love living on a boat, and I often focus on the pros of the lifestyle. But like everything in life, there are pros and cons. Here are the ones that irk me the most:

Clearwater to Marco Island - 150 miles

It was weird leaving Clearwater. We never felt super at home there, but it had become familiar all the same.

We made friends, most notably with "Greenheart" who Hobie calls "Greenheart Dragon Slayer". We watched movies in the park, saw street performers, and I'll always remember when my dad flew in to visit us.

Sailing to the Florida Keys

Tomorrow is our last day in Clearwater Beach.

The weather over the last 48 hours has been cold and wet, and yet we've managed to make it to the playground both days.

For the most part, the boat is ready to go and I've been super laid back about the upcoming passage. We have a GREAT looking weather window,  No thunderstorms forecast with 10-15 knots of wind out of the North East, waves 2-3. This is our forecast every day next week.

I need to look over the engines tomorrow. I probably should have already done this, but the weather has been crappy. If there is anything wrong, I'll have to get it fixed tomorrow or delay departure.

We've pretty well provisioned up, but we'll make a run to the grocery store tomorrow to top up. We also need to fill up water and fuel and empty our holding tanks.

Our route from Clearwater to Key West is about 215 miles and should take us around 41 hours to complete.

If we get tired or the weather turns we have several options for stopping along the way.

I have high hopes for a nice relaxing passage with my family. And fingers crossed for seeing dolphins!