We start this blog as a diary of our travels in our boat. It’s for us to remember where we have been, for a few relatives and friends, and for anyone who’s curious about the Great Loop. Some of our readers have travelled extensively in the past and now have to remain more fixed. They want to follow along and see what happens. Others may join us for parts of our trip. Nearly all our family and friends are from the western US, but anyone out there is welcome to follow along. I’ll also describe things about our boat and its operation. I’m just learning all this now, and I’ll tell you what I learn when I learn it.

We find the eastern coastal area to be very different from that of the west. The Atlantic is not as rough, cold, or wild as the Pacific, but the real difference is the intracoastal waterway, which does not exist in the west except for the Alaskan inside passage. Going from port to port in the western US means an open water trip. We do not wish to prove ourselves against the elements. In the east we can be off for a few nights at a remote anchorage, but then be back at a marina in the historic part of town and enjoy the traditional old east and south.

Right now we are sitting at a marina in Savannah GA. We’re new to boating and have been at it 2 months. At the start of this (2014) year we bought a 1987 DeFever 47 POC (Performance Offshore Cruiser) and started a major refit. At the end of May we came to the boat and started on our way. What we really got the boat for is the Great Loop. Just go to “greatloop.org” to learn more about this.

This year we started a little late and did not know how to pilot the boat, so we decided to wait until next year for the loop and just meander from Florida up the Atlantic intracoastal waterway. We’ll go back to Florida when winter comes and start the loop in March next year.

This started in July 2013 when Sue was in India for a few weeks. I discovered the “Great Loop” on the internet. This is a 6000 mile trip, nearly all in protected waterways that covers much of the US east of the Mississippi (again, refer to greatloop.org). I grew up in North Idaho, and Sue in Santa Clara valley. We have travelled many places in the world, but never in the eastern US. This seemed like the perfect way to see it.

What the East has over the west is tradition. I remember that much of my early education in Idaho was about what happened here in the East and old South. The revolutionary and civil wars, Erie canal, rise of the industrial US, etc. The oldest parts of the US, before good roads and the railroad, started on the waterways. A boat would be a great way to see them. Taking branches off the “main” loop you can see more. There are nearly 30,000 miles of accessible protected waterways in the US, all without ever taking the boat out of the water.

I’m writing several of these posts on August 30, 2014. I will back date this one to the start of our trip, and do the same for a few more that follow, so they will correspond to their content. Once I am caught up to where we are now, in Savannah, GA, things will post on the proper day.