Every boat has its own Great Loop journey. We did lots of reading and with hopes that Canada will be open to US cruisers, we have decided to take the scenic trip through the Trent-Severn Canal and into the Georgian Bay and North Channel.
With full appreciation (based on some rather sub-optimal experiences) of the cruisers' expression that "the most dangerous thing to have on a boat is a schedule," here is our schedule:
Departure from Jamestown, RI May 15
May 15 - 20 - head down Long Island Sound to New York City - through Hells Gate, East River, around Battery Park, and up the Hudson to the Erie Canal.
May 20 Erie Canal opens
May 20 - June 8
Transit the Erie Canal to Oswego, NY
June 9-June 14 Return to Jamestown for Chrisy's nephew's wedding.
June 15 - June 25 Move across Lake Ontario to the Thousand Islands and the Bay of Quinte.
June 25 - July 5 Trent-Severn Canal to the Georgian Bay
July 5 - September 5 Georgian Bay, North Channel Islands, Lake Michigan - might include a trip home from Chicago
September 6 - October 31 Down the Illinois Canal - Tennessee and Tombigbee Rivers to Mobile, AL
November 1 - March 31 - Around Florida - Key West - Vero Beach.
April 1 - May 1 Bahamas
May 2 - June - Back to the US and up the coast to Jamestown RI.
Here's a quick video on the Great Loop.
