March 3, 2025 Conch Harbor Marina Key West to Safe Harbor Marina Marathon 42.1 NM, 4:51 h, 8.7 kn And just like that, we’re on the move again! We had smooth waters from Key West to Marathon where we stayed for 4 nights. We biked out the old 7 Mile Bridge to Pigeon Key which had been on my “to do someday” list for a while, enjoyed “Cheeseburger in Parafries” at Herbie’s, took our dinghy to lunch at Dockside and visited our friends on Jamin’ in the mooring field. When we weren’t out exploring the island we were enjoying the beautiful pool at the marina. Our last night in Marathon we witnessed the debris from a SpaceX Starship explosion reenter the atmosphere – it looked like fireworks falling from the sky rather than shooting up into the sky, something you definitely don’t see everyday during dinner.

March 7, 2025 Safe Harbor Marina Marathon to Three Waters Marina Islamorada 36.8 NM, 4:47 h, 8.1 kn. Beautiful cruising, beautiful water and beautiful marina! What a great day! Three Waters Marina was spectacular, crystal clear blue water, a great tiki bar, live music, comfortable chairs to enjoy a docktail and great food. We wished we could stay longer but once again the winds are picking up and it’s best to move on before they kick up.

March 8, 2025 Three Waters Marina Islamorada to Bayshore Landing Marina Coconut Grove (Miami) 62.7 NM, 5:27 h, 12.1 kn It was a beautiful cruise up the rest of the keys, through Biscayne National Park and Stiltsville to Coconut Grove where our slip backed up to Monty’s Coconut Grove. It was a bit of culture shock after the peacefulness of the keys! Monty’s was a lively place with good food and loud band playing Latin Pop. After lunch we went exploring and visited the old Coast Guard hangar on Dinner Key where the Bacardi Cup Invitational Regatta was being staged (which explained the myriad of sailboats we passed on our way in to the marina). We enjoyed walking around Dinner Key and Coconut Grove and had a magnificent dinner at Le Bouchon du Grove.

March 9, 2025 Bayshore Landing Coconut Grove to Pier 66 Ft. Lauderdale 26.7 NM, 5:06 h, 5.9 kn. It was a beautiful cruise past gorgeous hotels and homes. We encountered lots of no wake zones and bridges that we needed open to pass through on our way. It was pretty slow going compared to the open water, but we arrived at Pier 66 in time to enjoy lunch and their beautiful new pool. After being shuttered following Hurricane Irma in 2017, this property underwent an 8 year, billion dollar restoration and has reopened for their 60th Anniversary, I look forward to going back and enjoying the Pier Top which doesn’t reopen until March 20th.

March 10, 2025 Pier 66 to Bahia Mar Ft. Lauderdale 1.2 NM, :33 h, 4.2 kn. A short cruise bright and early before the winds kicked up to 20-30 mph with gusts even higher. We docked safely, scheduled a pumpout and enjoyed lunch at Nanou French Bakery. We went to the rooftop pool until the springbreak crowd became too much for us, walked around Marina Village and braved the ferocious winds and weather for dinner at Coconuts where I bought my first piece of clothing in 6 months – a long sleeved t-shirt because I was freezing in the wind!

March 11, 2025 Bahia Mar to Bahia Mar 11.5 NM, 4:22 h, 3.8 kn. Today’s the day! Maneuvering lessons with Captain David, www.royalnavyyachtmaster.com . We had a good day and I learned a lot in spite of high winds. I definitely think I could master docking under ideal conditions! After we got back to Bahia Mar safely, Joe Zerbo stopped by to see the boat and catch up with us, it’s always a good to see Joe!

March 12, 2025 Bahia Mar to Palm Harbor West Palm Beach 37 NM, 7:17 h, 5.6 k. It was a long day and another beautiful cruise with awesome dockage thanks to Captain Doug and the amazing. dockhands (Jacob & Chris) at Palm Harbor. We went for a short walk around West Palm before dinner at Elisabetta and definitely wished we had more time to spend here.

March 13, 2025 Palm Harbor Marina West Palm Beach to Fort Pierce City Marina 48.9 NM, 7:47 h, 6.7 kn. It was a long, slow cruise to Fort Pierce City Marina where we pumped out and docked with no issues in spite of the crazy current. We met up with Chris and Diane from LaRea for dnner @ Crabby’s at the marina. They were the very first loopers we met in Frankfort on our very first day! Jenny, Lillian, Delia and Abigail came to visit on Friday and it was SO great to see them for the first time since December in Clearwater. We had a fun lunch and a good time at Jayce Park. On Saturday, we went to the Farmer’s Market and St. Patrick’s Day block party. Sunday, we visited the National Navy Seal Museum which was very interesting – who knew the Navy Seals originated in Fort Pierce during WWII? Monday, we biked to Jetty Park, had lunch at Archie’s, stocked up on wine for our next visitors and returned to Downtown Cellars for dinner because we enjoyed it so much on Saturday. Tuesday, Jenny and the girls came back to visit and we went to Pioneer Park in Port St. Lucie which was very cool. And of course, we had to finish their visit with ice cream from Sweet Willie’s at the marina.

March 19, 2025 Fort Pierce City Marina to Eau Gallie Yacht Basin Melbourne 45.1 NM, 4:38 h, 10.3 kn. About noon, we headed to the fuel dock to pump out and fill up with diesel while we waited for our friends from back home, John and Logan, to arrive for a few days of Logan’s spring break. Once they were aboard, we cruised up to Eau Gallie Yacht Basin where Doug did an excellent job backing into our slip for a smooth docking experience with our new guests. We ubered to dinner at Djon’s, a lovely steakhouse with live piano music, while watching a glorious sunset.

March 20, 2025 Eau Gallie Yacht Basin Melbourne to Kennedy Pointe Marina Titusville 29.5 NM, 3:06 h, 10.4 k. We left bright and early (shortly after sunrise) and had a lovely cruise to Kennedy Pointe. Unfortunately, there is VERY shallow water on the approach to the marina and in the marina itself. The fixed docks were extremely high and tying up was challenging. The 3 dockhands who came to help appeared to have no clue what they were doing and complicated a tough dockage. Once we were secure for the night, we determined that this marina was a complete dump with old and rickety docks and that we did not want to spend a second night there. Fortunately, Titusville Municipal Marina had space for us for the next few nights when Jenny, Dan and the girls would be visiting and Logan and John could navigate the high and rickety docks with relative ease for one night. We ubered to Pier 220 for a lovely lunch outside and then went on to the Kennedy Space Center for the afternoon. (We had hoped to go kayaking but the winds were not favorable.) We saw the Atlantis Space Shuttle Exhibit, the Spaceport/Gateway Exhibits, the Rocket Garden and the Heroes and Legends. It was an awesome afternoon. We finished the day with a delicious dinner at Vine & Olive and the boys stayed up way too late talking and telling stories on their last night aboard.

March 21,2025 Kennedy Pointe Marina to Titusville Municipal Marina 5.7 NM, 1:18 h, 5.5 k. After John & Logan departed, we waited a bit for the winds to subside and then we had a harrowing cruise out of Kennedy Pointe Marina to the channel in the Intracoastal seeing depths of 3 feet!!! At 2.5 feet we are sitting on the bottom! Once back in the channel, we did just fine and tied up in Titusville just like we knew what we were doing;-D After lunch, we visited the 3-21 Day festival and toured around historic Titusville and the Apollo and Space Shuttle Monuments in Spaceview Park. On Saturday morning, we met Jenny, Dan, Lillian, Delia and Abigail at the Brevard County Enchanted Forest. We took a nature walk, played in the Discovery Center, learned about Coquina Rocks and saw tortoises. After lunch at Playalinda Brewpub, we toured around historic Titusville, had ice cream and went out to the beach at Canaveral National Seashore. After dinner at Mama Rosa’s, Lillian and Dan spent the night with us on the boat and we watched Moana 2 – lots of fun and a wonderful day!

March 23, 2025 Titusville Municipal Marina to New Smyrna Beach Marina 31 NM, 4:47 h, 7.0 k. After taking Jenny, Dan and the girls out for a cruise out on the Intracoastal and under the bridge, we departed for New Smyrna Beach. It was a nice and uneventful docking next to our friends on NOITDONT. Unfortunately, they weren’t there. But we arrived in time for lunch and some Sunday afternoon live music at The River Dock Tiki, We took a walk about town and then relaxed until dinnertime. We had a great dinner at Riverpark Terrace and enjoyed a little bit of live music in their garden until the bugs spoiled our fun.

March 24, 2025 New Smyrna Beach Marina to St. Augustine Municipal Marina 59 NM, 7:21 h, 8.5 k. What a day! We were delayed along the way due to a broken bascule bridge. Fortunately, after about an hour they were able to open half the bridge so we could pass through and this was shortly after we started dragging anchor and before we reset our anchor, so we considered it a win! After our longer than expected cruise we docked in the heart of beautiful, historic downtown St Augustine, went for a walk and met up with Jayne and Al from Short Circuit for dinner.

March 25, 2025 St. Augustine Municipal Marina to Fernandina Beach Harbor (Oasis) Marina 53.4 NM, 7:07 h, 7.8 kn. Another long day of cruising with some shallow, circuitous waters and lots of pleasant boaters. We arrived at Fernandina, easily docked, hooked up to shore power and city water and were on our way to a very late lunch/Happy Hour with tuna nachos at the Salty Pelican in no time! We enjoyed a northern Italy wine tasting and replenished our stock at The Decantery and then were off to a wonderful dinner at David’s. We met some lovely people walking the dock as the sun set. Another great day on the loop!

March 26, 2025 Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina to St. Marys Intracoastal Gateway Marina 8.2 NM, 1:21 h, 7.5 kn. Today we left Florida after a 3.5 month stay! It was a beautiful and uneventful cruise up the St. Marys River to historic St. Marys. Doug washed the boat, she was pretty salty, and I did the laundry. After our chores, we had a delicious lunch at Locals Dockside and picked up some fresh produce and bread – sourdough rye, what a treat! Next, we toured the historic city by golf cart with one of the dockhands. Bob shared lots of history and local stories while we enjoyed beautiful live oaks covered in Spanish moss and historic buildings, including the home where Aaron Burr stayed while fleeing the country after killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel. It’s a lovely little town with a down home vibe. We definitely enjoyed our stay and the homemade banana bread which was a gift from the wife of the dockmaster, Colin.

March 27, 2025 St. Marys Intracoastal Gateway Marina to Jekyll Harbor Marina 28.4 NM, 3:36 h, 8.5 kn. We departed beautiful, calm, glassy waters at the marina a little before 8 AM. That soon changed as we turned off the St. Marys River into the Intracoastal, falling in behind Call Me Curly, who was heading north from Fernandina Beach. First, we encountered a dredging operation right outside of Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base. A crane barge, a tug with a work barge, the dredge barge and another work boat pretty much blocked the channel and we had to skirt around them to get by. Adding to the excitement, the USNS Westwind was preparing to leave it’s dock and there were a couple of security boats directing us away. Definitely not a dull morning! Next, the winds kicked up to 14 mph with gusts to 23 mph and the waves were 2-4 feet on our bow, which is definitely better than on our beam, but still pretty sporty. The spray was impressive! We docked between a couple of boats on a face dock with about 6 feet to spare in front and 9 feet to spare off our stern. Once we were tied up safely, we walked to Tortuga Jack’s on the beach for lunch, enjoying the beautiful azaleas and sand dunes along the way. After lunch we walked back through the historic district and the Millionaires cottages. Jekyll Island was once a private island owned by the Jekyll Island (Millionaires) Club from 1886 until after WWII when the State of Georgia took it over. In 1888, the 100 members of the Club represented 1/6 of the world’s wealth and the Federal Reserve was founded here in 1910. On Saturday, we borrowed beach cruisers from the marina (my oh my, have our e-bikes spoiled us!) and road out to Driftwood Beach and the market. Doug’s brother arrived in time for lunch at the Beach Village and then we borrowed the marina golf cart to go back to the historic millionaires village and Driftwood Beach. It was a wonderful day finished off with dinner at Jekyll & Tide.

March 29, 2025 Jekyll Island Marina to Sunbury Crab Co. 62.5 NM, 6:06 h, 10.7 kn. We left Jekyll Island at first light (7 AMish) and cruised smoothly for the most part of the morning. We had strong currents and wind while docking at Sunbury but Doug docked it like a champ. After lunch on the boat, we went for a walk around the neighborhood and then joined 5 other loopers; Michele on Plan B, Dave & Candace on Candy G, and Deanna & John on Stuga. We had some great conversations and met Miss Elaine who owns and runs the restaurant and dock. It was fun and it is an iconic looper stop but we don’t really need to do it again.

March 30, 2025 Sunbury Crab Co. to Safe Harbor Bahia Bleu Savannah 38.7 NM, 4:03 h, 10.2 kn. We left Sunbury around 7:30 AM with light rain and a swarm of mud gnats. They are abundant, relentless and they bite!!! Fortunately, once we started moving the breeze blew most of the living ones away. We had a good cruise with a rising tide and arrived safely at Safe Harbor Bahia Bleu in Thunderbolt, GA near Savannah in time for lunch, a tour of the Mercer Williams House (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil), a walk through Forsythe Park and an afternoon cocktail at Collins Quarter in the park. We returned to the boat via Uber in a rainstorm to get cleaned up and ready for our last evening with Bob aboard. We had a fantastic time exploring the JW Marriott on the waterfront in Savannah, it’s lobby is like a museum! And enjoyed cocktails in the Baobab Bar, decorated in African art and taxidermy. Bob treated us to dinner at Stone & Webster Chophouse and it was delicious. After Bob departed before the crack of dawn (5:30 AM) on Monday, we slept in a bit then took a walk to Bonaventure Cemetery where we did a self-directed historical tour past famous gravesites and enjoyed the peaceful beauty and parklike setting. Our final stop was the holocaust memorial to pay our respects before heading back to the marina for lunch, cleaning and some maintenance. A big thunderstorm blew through in the evening so we stayed in for dinner and watched Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

April 1, 2025 Safe Harbor Bahia Bleu Thunderbolt, GA to Safe Harbor Beaufort 40.4 NM, 4:18 h, 10.0 kn. We had a nice cruise up the intracoastal once we got passed bridge maintenance and sped up enough to get rid of the biting gnats an noseeums. They were brutal! We cruised past Daufuskie Island and Hilton head Island arriving safely in Beaufort, thanks to the captain’s planning for tides. Kate met us in Beaufort a couple of hours after our arrival and we enjoyed a late lunch, a walk about town and a nice dinner before watching Forrest Gump which was filmed in Beaufort and nearby areas. On Wednesday, we went on a Reconstruction Era tour with a National Park Service Ranger. It was interesting and enlightening. We visited memorials for Harriet Tubman and Robert Smalls near the historic Tabernacle Baptist Church and saw historic homes like the Secessionist House which belonged to the Rhett brothers. Much of reconstruction was undone by discriminating Black Codes and Jim Crow laws, and reconstruction ended by 1900. In the 1950’s and 1960’s the Second Reconstruction began and the Civil Rights Movement started to build on the work started here in Beaufort during the Civil War. It is truly a beautiful and historic little town. After our tour, we spent the rest of the day meandering around town and enjoying some of the local restaurants and bars.

April 3, 2025 Safe Harbor Beaufort to Charleston Maritime Center 63.7 NM, 6:41 h, 9.9 kn. We had a long, slow cruise from Beaufort to Charleston leaving around 8 AM in order to hit the low water in the Intracoastal on a rising tide. Timing is everything when you have 7 – 8 foot tides. There was a lot of slow cruising due to docks, fishermen and boats along the way, we need to keep our wake under control so we don’t rock anyone too much. After arriving at Charleston Maritime Center later than we would have liked, we pumped out and docked. Then we had issues with their shore power and our plans were delayed even more. Sandwiches from Ted’s Butcher Block nearby saved the day for a very late lunch. Gwen and Richard came by for docktails before our last dinner with Kate and it was awesome to see them! A late dinner at Marble & Fin was a prefect ending to our day.

April 4, 2025 Charleston Maritime Center to Isle of Hope Marina 9.3 NM, 1:29 h, 7.6 kn. After a wonderful morning walk through historic Charleston and breakfast at Harken (ricotta biscuit, yes, please!), we said farewell to Kate as she left for the airport. We changed our plans to stay in Charleston for a few days due to the less than comfortable docking situation (lots of wind and current) and the weather forecast. It was smooth cruising to Isle of Hope Marina where we are happy to stay put until Tuesday when the winds calm down and the rain is done. Our good friends, Gwen and Richard joined us on Saturday for an overnight visit. We enjoyed a walk to the beach, dinner at Dunleavy’s Pub, some final four basketball and a delicious Sunday breakfast made by yours truly and complemented by an amazing coffee cake by Gwen. After our guests departed, we walked to a late lunch (a longer walk than expected) and Harris Teeter and enjoyed a relaxing Sunday evening. Monday we biked 6 miles into a 20 mph headwind gusting to 36 mph for lunch at The Obstinate Daughter on Sullivan’s Island per Kate’s recommendation – delicious! And fortified ourselves with ice cream from Republic Ice Cream for the bike ride home, the tailwind was awesome!

April 8, 2025 Isle of Palms to Harborwalk Georgetown 46.9 NM, 5:28 h, 9.4 kn. After pumping out at Isle of Palms we headed to Harborwalk in Georgetown about 11:15 AM (a later start than usual) so that we had a rising tide through the shallow parts (and there were many!). It seemed like a long slow cruise and we arrived about 4:15 and docked with relative ease. It was a very nice marina with a great staff and the town was lovely, we would have liked to have another day here. We walked about town and enjoyed a lovely dinner at The Independent.

April 9, 2025 Harborwalk, Georgetown to Myrtle Beach Yacht Club, Little River 51.8 NM, 6:21 h, 8.9 kn. We woke up bright and early to leave shortly after first light (6:50 AMish). We had another long slow cruise past marinas and docks with no wake areas and we needed two swing bridges opened which fortunately opened within 10 minutes of our request. We made it through the “Rockpile” with it’s rocks and ledges, unscathed due to Doug’s, “Dead on Bob Accurate” tracking (paraphrasing Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny). We arrived at the marina where we got diesel for $3.29/gallon! and Wayne helped us in to our slip. We had lunch at The Officer’s Club where I finally got the burger I had been craving, Doug recaulked our shower (thank heavens for West Marine delivery) and we went for a walk on the boardwalk trail out to the lighthouse. Boating past Pawley’s Island, Murrell’s Inlet and Myrtle Beach on the Waccamaw River showed us a part of the area we’d not seen on our honeymoon or on our vacations with our kids when they were young. It was very beautiful in a swampy scenery and gorgeous new homes sort of way. We even cruised past a school bus ferry!

April 10, 2025 Myrtle Beach Yacht Club Little River, SC to Morningstar Marina Southport, SC. 32.2 NM, 4:30 h, 7.6 kn. We woke up early again and departed a little before 7 AM. It was chilly (feels like 44 degrees!). We cruised slowly past floating docks, no wake zones, fishermen, and dredge barges. We arrived safely and tied up in plenty of water, our concern about the shallow depths wasn’t a problem. We had a great lunch at Fishy-Fishy followed by boat chores and a wonderful evening of live music outdoors at Haven (a wine bar/gelato shop combination) and an amazing dinner at Southern, a gathering place. On Saturday, we went to then Maritime Museum and the local history museum. It was very interesting learning about the history, economy and movie making industry in Southport. Later, Mark joined us after several flight delays and we were delighted to see him! We had a lovely dinner at Edgewater 122 while a big thunderstorm blew through and saw most of the sites where the movie, Safe Haven, was filmed. So of course after dinner we returned to the boat and watched the movie. It was kind of cool seeing the places we had just visited in the movie.

April 13, 2025 Morningstar Marina Southport to Wrightsville Beach Marina 22.5 NM, 3:03 h, 8.1 kn. We left about 9:30 AM after pumping out. Mark cruised with us through some very shallow areas and helped with our challenging docking due to winds and current. It was nice to be on the T of the dock even though it was rocky for a few days due to winds. After lunch at Poe’s Tavern, we took a walk to the beach before Mark had to leave for the airport to head home. We hitched a ride with Mark in his Uber to the airport and rented a car for the week. Monday, we went to the grocery, Total Wine and West Marine and stocked up on provisions since we had a car and didn’t have to buy only what would fit in our bike baskets. Tuesday – Thursday, we took a little break from the boat and a road trip to visit Tim and Jamie’s crew in Greenville, SC. It’s always wonderful spending time with family. Thursday evening, we had a wonderful dinner at the Commodore’s Club at the Wrightsville Beach Yacht Club after we drove back to the boat. On Friday, Terry, John, Henry, Oscar, Rosie, Louise and Claire arrived in time for lunch on the water at Bluewater Grill, followed by a tour of our boat, fun at the beach, pizza and a boat sleepover with the boys. What a great day! Saturday, we went to breakfast with Henry and Oz at the Famous Toastery then met the rest of the family at the USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial. We had a wonderful self-guided tour that took a little longer than the estimated time, there was so much to see! The whole ship was incredible, but I was particularly fascinated by the bakery and the fact that the bakers made a minimum of 340 pies per shift! Their recipe called for 96 pounds of shortening, 6 pounds of salt, 200 pounds of flour and 3.5 buckets of water. We also saw the dentist office on board as well as all the other things one expects to find on a battleship. After lunch at Poe’s Tavern, we went swimming in the Yacht Club pool then had cheeseboard (the girls favorite) at their AirBnB for dinner. The girls and John spent the night with us on the boat and it was another great day. Sunday was Easter and we had an egg hunt on the beach, so much fun and harder than you’d imagine. After Vicious Biscuit for breakfast we went to the beach and enjoyed the sunshine and sand until everyone was worn out. After dinner at Dockside, we said good-bye (a teary good-bye on my part, missing our kids and grandkids is the hardest part of looping for me) and we headed back to the boat and our visitors left for their AirBnB to prepare for an early departure on Monday morning.

April 21, 2025 Wrightsville Beach Marina to Casper’s Marina Swansboro, NC. 46.6 NM, 6:13 h, 7.8 kn. We left bright and early Monday morning as we needed one drawbridge and one swing bridge opened along the way. We caught the 7 AM opening of the drawbridge, enjoyed a leisurely cruise past Camp Lejeune, and got lucky with an early opening of the Onslow Swing Bridge due to the construction barge shifting positions. After cruising right through, we were safely tied up at Casper’s in time for lunch at Saltwater Grill. We took a walk around town, enjoyed some ice cream and returned to the boat to get some boat chores done before a lovely dinner at il Cigno Italiano (the Italian Swan). This was definitely a nice stop along our way to Beaufort (BO4T) NC.

April 22, 2025 Carper’s Marina Swansboro, SC to Beaufort (BO4T, NC) Docks Marina 24.6 NM, 3:13 h. 8.3 kn. We departed Swansboro a little before 8 AM and arrived in BO4T in time for a really early lunch (for us), followed by a walk about town including a self-guided tour of the old burial grounds, a vintage 1961 double decker bus tour of town with Hollywood as our guide, a highlight was Blackbeard’s (aka Edward Teach) alleged house, and a ferry ride out to Carrot Island’s Rachel Carson Nature Preserve to see the wild horses and take a hot sandy & buggy hike around the island. I’ll admit I breathed a sigh of relief when the ferry returned to pick us up. We had a great dinner at Blue Moon Bistro to finish our day. On Wednesday, we took a walk and visited the Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Center which is a working wooden boat building facility and saw the ballast stones recovered from the wreckage of the Queen Anne’s Revenge (Blackbeard’s ship) which was sunk nearby. We had a late lunch at the Black Sheep near our dock and were back safely aboard Hiatus Too when the thunderstorms blew through in the late afternoon/early evening.

April 24, 2025 Beaufort NC Docks Marina to Oriental Marina 20.9 NM, 2:57 h, 7.7 kn. We left Beaufort after a walk and breakfast as we had a short cruise and were unable to dock in Oriental before 1 PM. After an uneventful cruise and relatively easy dockage considering there were pilings (my docking nemesis), we congratulated our neighbors, Brenda and Lance, on Blessings Flow, on completing their loop. Lunch was excellent at Rick’s North Carolina BBQ where we enjoyed a great conversation with Rick, himself. We meandered back through town, meeting Chuck on Moonlight Dance and his friend, Bob who joined him on his trip north from the Bahamas. And we reconnected with Gordon and Nancy on Unbridled and Michele on Plan B. Our new friends, Chuck and Bob joined us for Happy Hour at the marina Tiki Bar (where we enjoyed live music courtesy of an anniversary party) and then we joined the Gold Loop Celebration for Brenda and Lance on Blessings Flow. It was a fun and busy day.

April 25, 2025 Oriental Marina to Belhaven Marina with a detour to Dowry Creek Marina for diesel and pumpout 49.7 NM, 5:15 h, 10.5 kn. We left Oriental a little before 8 AM and had a beautiful cruise to Belhaven with a little detour for our first pumpout in 13 days and to top off our fuel for our run to Coinjock crossing the Albemarle Sound on Monday. We’re going to sit tight in Belhaven for a few days until the winds die down before going up the Alligator River and crossing the Sound. We were greeted at the marina by Lorraine and Shawn who helped us tie up and we met several more loopers who are headed to the rendezvous. We ran in to Michele and Chuck and Bob again and had a lovely dinner at SpoonRiver per Chuck’s recommendation. Belhaven is a small little town (with only one mailbox which is at their Post Office!) but not a bad place to relax and catch up on some things…and there’s free laundry!

April 28, 2025 Belhaven Marina to Coinjock Marina 76.9 NM, 6:39 h, 12.0 kn. We departed Belhaven at sunrise with hopes of an easy cruise to Coinjock, up the Alligator River and across the Albemarle Sound. We were not disappointed. We had some fog early in our cruise but it turned into a beautiful day with just a little wind and waves. We arrived in Coinjock and tied up close to the boat in front of us on the face dock to leave room for all the rest of the boats arriving later in the day. There is very little to do in Coinjock but they do have a restaurant that is famous for it’s prime rib and we were sure to reserve one for Doug in advance when we made our slip reservation.

April 29, 2025 Coinjock Marina to Waterside Marina Norfolk, VA. 41.9 NM, 5:49 h, 8.1 kn. Two swing bridges, a drawbridge and our first lock since Mobile Bay, kept us on our toes today. We timed things perfectly and even had one bridge open early due to a barge coming downriver. I should have bought a lottery ticket I was feeling so lucky! We tied up safely at Waterside Marina where we will stay for the Looper Rendezvous this weekend. I’m very excited to get the scoop on what the rest of the loop holds for us from other loopers who have done it. In the meantime, we are enjoying Norfolk and reconnecting with loopers we’ve met along the way as well as making new looper friends. Today, we toured the USS Wisconsin and the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. And the original Jack Brown’s Beer & Burger Joint is a short walk from the dock so life is good.

May 2 – 6, 2025 Waterside Marina, Norfolk, VA. AGLCA Looper Spring Rendezvous We had a blast reconnecting with Loopers we have met along the way and meeting new Looper friends. As the Looper saying goes, “There are no strangers on the loop – just friends you haven’t met yet!” Our bellies ached from laughing so hard at the stories that were shared. The route briefings about what lies ahead for the next 4 months were exciting, overwhelming and a little intimidating but I’m looking forward to the rest of this adventure. Chad Buchner from Parks Canada did an incredible presentation on the Trent Severn Waterway and it’s fascinating (and challenging) locks. All the AGLCA presenters did a wonderful job sharing their experiences and what works(ed) for them. I particularly liked one slide about “High Adventure/Low Risk”. In 2024: 28,383 people finished the Boston Marathon, 996 people completed the Appalachian Trail, 861 people climbed Mount Everest and only 270 boats completed the Great Loop. We did Looper Crawls seeing all the different kinds of boats people loop in and we had a Coast Guard Safety Inspection which I’m happy to say we passed with flying colors. It was hard to say good-bye at the end of our long weekend but we have hopes that we will see many of our friends again along the way. After the last session of the rendezvous, our friends on Her’sIV came over to visit (they didn’t make it for the rendezvous) and it was so exciting to see them and be together again! (Sadly, we forgot to take a selfie.) We spent Tuesday doing boat maintenance and walking the Cannonball Trail in Norfolk before we depart for our trip up the Chesapeake Bay.

The Looper Toast

There are good ships and wood ships, and ships that sail the sea, but the best ships are friendships, May they alway be! -Irish Proverb

May 7, 2025 Norfolk Waterside Marina to Chesapeake Boat Basin, Kilmarnock. 57.1 NM, 4:38 h, 13.0 kn. After departing Waterside Marina about 7 AM, we cruised very slowly past more naval ships than I ever imagined existed, dredges, and container ships before passing Fort Monroe in Hampton, VA and entering the Chesapeake Bay. Once in the bay, we sped up a bit and had smooth seas all the way to Chesapeake Boat Basin in Kilmarnock, VA. Upon arrival, we filled up with diesel and pumped out our holding tank, then we borrowed one of the marina’s courtesy cars and went in to Kilmarnock for lunch at Filibusters. We enjoyed meandering around downtown Kilmarnock before reprovisioning and returning for a beautiful, calm evening aboard.

May 8, 2025 Chesapeake Boat Basin, Kilmarnock, VA. to Solomons Island Yacht Club, MD. 49.6 NM, 4:02h, 13.1 kn. Today we entered Maryland, our 15th state on the loop! After waiting an hour for our Norfolk diver to showup and reinstall our hull zincs, we departed about 8 AM without them. Mind blowing that he no-showed after promising to be there by 6 AM (his idea). We had a very nice cruise to Solomons Island where we were greeted by Steve Abbott from the Yacht Club and Dave & Brenda on Blue Moon. After tying up and getting the scoop, we walked to lunch at the Island Hideaway then meandered around the town. We joined Steve, our Harbor Hosts, Doug and Susan, Dave & Brenda, Frank & Sharon (Happy Hour), and Evy & Steve (O’Evy) for docktails and dinner in the Yacht Club Pub. On Friday, while I did laundry and experimented with baking cookies for the first time aboard, Doug managed to track down the zincs we needed (with a little help from our friends at Bay Marine), picked them up at West Marine and arranged to have a local diver install them on Sunday morning before we depart. On Saturday, we visited the Calvert Maritime Museum and saw everything from stingray, skates, otters, seahorses, jellyfish, to prehistoric fossils from the Calvert Cliffs, to the history of the bay with showboats and speedboats and the Drum Point Lighthouse. It was very interesting. We enjoyed a relaxing evening and another very good day on the bay.

May 11, 2025 HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! Solomon’s Island Yacht Club to St. Michaels Marina 48.9 NM, 4:21 h, 11.9 kn. Our diver arrived EARLY to install our zincs and we were on our way by 7:30 AM. We cruised past the Calvert Cliffs and several fire boats, stopped midway across the bay to FaceTime with Lauren, Cleo and Isla for Mother’s Day (Starlink is pretty cool) and continued on with glassy seas all the way to St. Michaels. Docking went remarkably smoothly considering the dockmaster changed his mind/instructions several times about where he wanted us and whether it would be a port or starboard tie each time. We had a nice lunch at Foxy’s Harbor Grille (a take off on Foxy’s on Jost Van Dyke in the BVI), Doug washed the boat and I journaled and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. Our friends, Leeann and Larry invited us to their home nearby for a lovely crabcake dinner and we had a great evening visiting with them and catching up.