...and we're off

And....we are off! Pushing off from the docks in Jamestown, Rhode Island was a great feeling after all the months of planning, to-do lists, trips to marine stores, Home Depot, etc!

We managed to make tons of mistakes yesterday and still have a really good time.  Our first mistake was taking off so late - more about that later.  Understandably, we had two carloads of last-minute "stuff" to load on the boat.  For a more complete definition of "stuff" please see let George Carlin explain, but you'll need to wait until the six-minute mark.  Ok - so we needed to add on the exercise weights because those couldn't go on the day before. We needed to add on the clothes from the laundry, our toothbrushes, and obviously the food - you get the point.  

We did manage to get almost everything stowed away and after a very nice sendoff from Jim Wharton,  who managed to elbow through the throng of well-wishers, we pulled away from the dock at about 11:30.

                                                        Photo credit: Jim
That's our white America's Great Loop Cruising Association burgee - signifying that we are rookies.  

Leaving late meant that we were headed into some pretty serious seas.  There was plenty of wind from the south leftover from a nice thunderstorm the night before, and when it married up with the full ebb tide around Castle Hill we were looking at some 6-8 foot waves with a very short period.  That's not a lot of fun in almost any cruising boat, and Egret is a semi-displacement hull designed to plane on top of the water not plow through it.  At any rate, the first couple of hours were "a bit rocky."  Another mistake - we didn't put the covers on the clean cushions in the stern which meant that they were soaked with saltwater in the first ten minutes of the trip. We didn't put Chrisy's shoes away - one fell into Millie's water bowl and spilled water all over.  After rounding Point Judith the seas moderated "a bit" and we were able to bump up to 10-12 knots, but not without some discussion - Chrisy obviously wanted to stay in the 9-10 knot range. Violating another maxim, "Happy wife happy life," Roger kept on charging at the 10-12 knot range. Once we got in the lea of Fisher's Island - after a brief discussion - we were able to bump it up to 15.

We pulled into the Niantic River around 3:30 and were greeted by our good friends Steve and Margot at their wonderful house.  

Millie Update: maybe we should have given Millie a melatonin because she was not a fan of the rough beginning, but she was a champ and settled in pretty well.  

We are off in our tiny home, and our adventure has begun. Thanks to Steve and Margot for hosting us on our first night and maybe we'll see you in a year on our last night.

Heading for the Hudson

 "Chrisy, where are my blue jeans?" Oh, that's right - they are on Egret.  It must be time to leave because we don't have anything left in the house.   

We are ready to head off on the Loop. At least we better be ready because we leave tomorrow.  Our to-do list has turned into a to-done list.  Our laptops, phones, iPads, earbuds, drone, and toothbrush have been charged and are ready to go.  The refrigerator and freezer will be filled tomorrow, and then we are off.  

Our last project was to install an awning over the cockpit area.  We are really happy with how it came out.  It is like having an extra room on the boat.

A few of our other projects were to install new reading lights in the master cabin and to install new carpet throughout the interior.

The engine got a complete check-up which included new coolant, new transmission oil and filter, new engine oil and filter, new fuel filter, and a new raw water impeller.  The generator got a similar once over.  We've loaded up on spare parts.  We have enough fuel and oil filters for the first four changes and we even brought the oil for the first change. I'm not too sure how fast we will burn through the zincs so we have a bunch of those.  Fuses, impellers, and random parts recommended by the dealer fill out the list.  It may be a dream, but the goal is to be "unstoppable."

We also have plenty of food, but one of the nice things about the Loop is that there are plenty of places along the way to reprovision.

Our first leg takes us down Long Island Sound to the Niantic River where our friends, Steve and Margot, have a dock that can handle Egret.  Tough to beat free.  But more importantly, a chance for us to spend an evening with good friends! Thanks, Steve and Margot!!

After Niantic, we will continue down the Sound and into the East River and NYC.  We built in an extra day on our schedule so we are not too sure where that will be.  

We are violating the cruising maxim that "the most dangerous thing to have onboard is a schedule" and we made reservations at several marinas going up the Hudson River.  There's a ton of cruising traffic headed up the Hudson at this time of year.  It's pretty much of a funnel point for those who are on the Great Loop.  There are also rumors of some striper fishing contests.  So we didn't want to test our luck and show up at the only marina in 30 miles at 3pm and have them tell us that they're sold out.  Anchoring in the Hudson is not a terribly desirable backup plan.  The current actually reverses almost all the way to Albany - who knew? Reversing current is not fun to anchor in.  

Two years of planning and talking turn into action tomorrow.

A few answers to your questions...

 We thought you might appreciate some answers to questions that we have received recently about our trip.

Most importantly - Are you going to take Millie?

Yes - we've talked it over with her and she's pretty pumped for the trip.  In all honesty, she does get a bit anxious when we're underway, but she began to settle down a bit last summer. 

So that brings up a whole other series of questions about Millie - and no she is not trained to use the swim platform to do her business so we do need to take her to shore at least twice a day.  

Do we spend every night on the boat?

Yes -we always get lots of nice offers to come and spend the night when we visit various ports, but once we get going it's much easier for us to stay in our routine.

How do you do your laundry?

Most of the marinas along the way have facilities.

Don't you get sick of each other after a while?

Honestly, no.  We do respect each other's personal space. When we're in port and one of us has our earbuds in - that's code for don't mess with me.  Roger also recognizes that Chrisy needs to hang out with some women every few days - so some social time needs to be built into the schedule.  

Are you going to bring all of your food?

Heck no - there are tons of grocery stores along the way.  They may be a bike ride away, but we should never be too far away from provisions.  

What happens if it rains?

Well - it rains.  We tend not to move the boat in bad weather so we can usually just hang in a marina or out on anchor and wait out the bad weather. Our insurance company makes sure that we stay out of the really bad weather - north of latitude 31 (Basically north of Florida) until November 1 is the rule. It's bad for their business model to have us running into hurricanes.  

How many engines do you have?

We have one engine. 

What if something goes wrong with it?

A lot of things that cause one engine to go bad also cause two engines to go bad like bad fuel and smashing your prop on a rock. We like to have one engine because it's more economical, easier to maintain, and gives us more space in the engine room. There are lots of boats running around with one engine, but it does put a little more pressure on our maintenance schedule and skills.

Are we planning to stay on the boat the entire time?

We plan to take a few trips back to see kids and grandkid, but basically, this will be a one-year continuous trip.  

Here's a quick video on the Great Loop.

Our Great Loop

     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.