Day on the Cruise: 165
From: Joe Wheeler State Park Marina
To: Joe Wheeler State Park Marina
Statute Miles: 0.0 SM
Time: 0.0 Hrs
Cumulative Miles: 4,244.9 SM
On Board: Susan, Chuck, Maggie, Trooper, Peanut
We are at Joe Wheeler State Park Marina in Rogersville, AL.
Today's breakfast was sponsored by Dog River Marine in Mobile. They also gave out very nice long sleeved shirts to all the Loopers. This is a class company that has been around for years. I remember seeing them at the big boat shows in Nashville and Atlanta.
We had presentations on the Tenn Tom Waterway; cruising from Mobile to Tarpon Springs, FL; and crossing the Gulf. One of the benefits to this Rendezvous is to "match make" with other boats for the crossing. We are meeting other boats that we may link up with for the crossing. It is important that you go with other boats that are cruising about the same speed as you are.
We also heard about pros and cons of doing the route around the "big bend" of Florida instead of the one 170 mile crossing between Carrabelle and Tarpon Springs. The single crossing looks to be the way to go because of lack of transient dock space in Steinhatchee, FL which is one of the Big Bend stops. Also, the need for consecutive days of good weather for the Big Bend route is a limiting factor during this time of year. So, I guess we are destined to do the 170 mile overnight crossing sometime between Thanksgiving and Mid December. Any volunteers out there to join us?
This afternoon, we participated in the "Looper Crawl". This is an open house on boats at the docks. Susan did so NOT want to do this. She felt that everything on the boat had to be perfect. Heck, we are living on this boat, and it is not perfect and never will be. She reluctantly gave in to my urgings, spent untold hours cleaning the damn boat, and we welcomed other Loopers and wannabe Loopers onto our boat. We are one of the smaller boats here at the Rendezvous, and I thought it would be interesting for people contemplating doing the Loop to see how to live on a 40' boat with a dog, a cat, and a bird.
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| Us Waiting for Loopers to "Crawl" Our Boat |
We had a huge turnout for our boat. People took pictures and measured the boat. I stayed on the fly bridge with Maggie and Susan did the cabin tours. Like I thought, people were interested in our size boat. It went very well. People were interested in how it felt to operate the boat from the fly bridge and it was fun to show them all the bells and whistles on the helm. I hope that we were able to give folks some insight into the cruising life. Maggie behaved herself well despite the fact that there were a lot of dogs walking the dock. It was like a festival on the dock with so many people doing the "Crawl". We loved it!
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| Maggie and I on the Fly Bridge |
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| A Boat Dog Across the Dock From Us During Looper Crawl. This Boat had a State Flag from Each State Visited on the Loop. Neat Idea! |
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| Our Friend John Merritt from "Lightfoot" Contemplating Life During Looper Crawl |
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| Our Dock During Looper Crawl |
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| Our Dock During the Crawl |
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| Ozell and Mary Ann from "Freya" and Their Portugese Water Dogs |
Tonight at dinner, the attendees who are either planning to do the Loop or are just here to find out more about it were introduced. It was interesting to see some of the same people who we met last year here who are still "planning" to do the trip. Just jump in the water! It feels fine! We sure aren't getting any younger! I think a lot of people come to see the boats and to try to get reassured that this trip is not going to kill them. We try to answer their questions and tell it like it is. We have been 4,200 miles, and it is no vacation, but the accomplishment is so rewarding!
Tomorrow we have more seminars!
Thanks for Reading!
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