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Americas Great Loop

abril - junio 2025
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The Great Loop from Florida follows the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, the Hudson River, the New York Canals, the Great Lakes, then south on the Inland Rivers to the Gulf Coast and back to FL to complete the Loop. Leer más
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  • Canadá
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Cultura, Familia, Viaje en grupo, Navegar, Visita turísticas, Vacaciones, Desierto, Fauna
  • 36,3kkilómetros recorridos
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  • 74huellas
  • 65días
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  • ViajeroAmericas Great Loop

    Day 18: Coinjock, NC, to Norfolk, VA

    2–4 may., Estados Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    WE awaken to yet another bright, calm morning, but our alarm clock is someone beside the wharf with a lawn mower! Good on them!

    We're off the dock by 0730. Graeme's on the lines while Preston inches the boat forward for him, and I set about chammying things down after last night's thunder storm and downpour.

    We motor up the short remainder of the North Carolina Cut and into Coinjock Bay from where the channel soon leads us into Currituck Sound and the North Landing River. The ICW takes us through North Landing River in a narrow channel, belied by the visual breadth of the river. The river presents as a sound at this location. depth in the channel is around 13 ft and around us in the 'bay', 3, 4, or 5 ft. You could walk across this wide river at this point. We talk to a southbound tug... he wants us to pass on his 'One', ie port-to-port. Preston moves across for him and we briefly see 8 and 9 ft of water beneath us.

    At 30 statute miles (yes, we only have 30 miles of the Atlantic ICW to negotiate), we're into the sinuous North Landing River proper and heading up to the Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal that will lead us up to the Great Bridge Lock (the first for us on this voyage) thence into the southern branch of the Elizabeth River and finally the Lafayette River at Norfolk.

    The Great Bridge Lock isn't really a 'lift-you-up-or-down' arrangement. Rather, it's to control the salinity level in the North Landing River and thus also Currituck Sound by limiting tidewater from the Elizabeth River flowing back down the canal to the North Landing River. Graeme and I hold the lines on our port side but the boat doesn't get any lower, before the gates ahead open and we pull in our lines and lead our procession of about 15 other vessels (that have gathered behind us since we left Coinjock, and are probably mostly 'bLoopers') out into the Elizabeth River.

    Our voyage towards Norfolk--about 12 miles distant--is delayed several times as we wait for bridges to open and, in one case, a tug holding a barge against a dock while a massive crane is walked onto it.

    A coal train crossing a bridge holds us up at one bridge as does a caboose hop at another as we arrive into industrial (and naval) Norfolk. Some of the bLoopers behind us peel off and head for the Waterside Hotel and its marina. The American Great Loop Cruisers Assn is holding its annual Rendezvous here at the moment.

    Preston's brother-in-law, who dined with us at Coinjock last night, meets us on the dock at the Norfolk Yacht & Country Club just into the Lafayette River, and PHASE ONE of our great journey is done.

    Having started from near West Palm Beach rather than down in Key West, we've negotiated about 90% of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and what an experience it's been! Graeme and I crack a beer while Preston and Sam take 5 oil samples from the engines.

    PHASE TWO will take us from here to Waterford, NY, where the Mohawk River meets the Hudson River., PHASE THREE will take us through about half of what is known as the 'Erie Canal' (more correctly, the New York State Barge Canal) to Oswego on Lake Ontario, and PHASE FOUR will be the Great Lakes from Oswego via the Welland Ship Canal, Cleveland, and Detroit to Traverse City, Michigan.

    We three walk to the yacht club restaurant for a celebratory dinner. Tomorrow, we'll shop and then explore some of Virginia's history.

    Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......    Leer más

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    Day 17: Belhaven to Coinjock

    1 may.–2 may., Estados Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    We're off the dock at 0730 and I'm there to see it. Graeme still greets me, with 'Good afternoon'. I mean... what's a bloke to do? I AM retired, after all!

    As soon as we exit the Belhaven channel, we're back on the ICW. We motor up the Pungo River and enter a long, straight cut of 21.2 miles (well, with one slight bend in the middle) that conveys us to the Alligator River thence Albemarle Sound and the North River. Our destination today is Coinjock, NC, where we have a dinner reservation at a famous prime rib restaurant.

    Leaving the long cut, we motor out into the Alligator River and cruise for 20 miles along this broad, 3-4-mile wide stretch of water. A couple of other motor vessels close up on us as we approach the 3-mile long Alligator River Swing Bridge, so that we and a sailboat can all move through on the one swing. We continue up the Alligator until it opens onto the Albemarle Sound. This entails a 14-mile voyage across what looks like the Pacific Ocean, such is its vastness. Accomplishing that, with a gentle south-westerly breeze and the gentlest of swells, we then run up the North River for another 13 miles, then along a cut for 2.5 miles to reach Coinjock Marina for the evening.

    Crossing Albemarle Sound we open the engines up for a scheduled 15-minute 'burst' at revolutions 2,400. As usual, this nets us another 2-3 mph at 4 x the rate of fuel consumption. But they say to do it after so many hours of cruising at 14-1500 rpm, so we do.

    We dock around 4.45pm and top up our fuel tanks. Preston’s sister and husband arrive from Norfolk and after drinks we repair to Coinjock’s Sandbar—literally 40m from our mooring—for the finest prime rib I can remember, with jus and the most pungent horseradish sauce. Lorraine has softshell crab deep fried in a superb, tasty coating, reminiscent of the KFC “11 secret herbs and spices”, only better!

    And so ends Day 17… one month to the day since we all departed from Downunder. Apart from a thunderous downpour while we were in an Uber in Myrtle Beach and another 30-min one here at Coinjock, our weather has been glorious.    Leer más

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  • ViajeroAmericas Great Loop
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    Day 16: Beaufort, NC, to Belhaven, NC

    30–1 may., Canadá ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

    Some easy cruising today. On another bright and calm morning, Preston cooks hot (spicy) sausage and Graeme cooks the eggs, before we fire up, untie, and slip away beneath the Beaufort Highrise Bridge and upstream into the Newport River thence due north along the Adams Creek Canal, the Adams Creek estuary, and out into the broad Neuse (say NOOSE) River. Our Nebo trip-logging software goes on strike for this portion of the run, so doesn't show us between Beaufort and the Neuse River.

    I was able to get some good steering practice ('mostly/sometimes' sticking to the channel) but now it's onto auto-pilot for the 30-mile run downriver to Pimlico Sound before--following a plotted course--45 North turns to port, into the Bay River and then Gale Creek, for access to the Pimlico River canal that takes us through to Goose Creek and the Pimlico River proper. We cross the 5-mile wide river and enter the Pungo River, for a further 25 miles up to Belhaven for the evening.

    A breeze has sprung up and we have one-foot waves in the Pungo, but Graeme is not disturbed from his nap and Lorraine does not drop a stitch!

    We pass several sailboats and one, surprisingly, has no sail up (in what we consider to be perfect wind conditions) and is motoring along and tolerating the rolling motion (which Preston tells me would be a lot less if they had some sail on).

    The stiff breeze challenges us in docking, but the dock hands are there and take our lines. The young couple on a small sailboat beside us are also docking and are grateful for the timely shelter we provide them from the wind. For the first time on our pelagic peregrination, we require a forward cable connection to shore power AND the use of our sausage fenders (see photos).

    Safely docked, Graeme and I stroll over to the nearby brewery, just to scout it out, you understand. Sadly, the beer's not great, but gladly, we have some lively repartee with mine host and the young yachtie couple. Lorraine has gone for a walk around town and brings us back some great images for the blog.

    Graeme and I return to the ship and to the fragrance of a leg of (Australian) roasted lamb. Preston joins us for a roast dinner of magnificent property and proportion prepared by Lorraine.    Leer más

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  • ViajeroAmericas Great Loop

    Day 15: Wrightsville Bch to Beaufort, NC

    29–30 abr., Estados Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    With about 80 miles ahead of us, and a drawbridge schedule to make (the bridge is about 100 yds ahead of our mooring), we slip our bonds at 0750 on a very fresh but very still and bright morning, call the bridge tender, and get an immediate opening. Five miles to go, and we'll have a second bridge tender to talk to. We're early, and have to wait 7 minutes for him. Better than being 7 min late, as that can ruin your whole day!

    Forget the South Carolinians and their lovely city of 'BEW-fert'... the North Carolinians have a different twang, and they say 'BOH-fert' (as WE would expect).

    We motor up long cuts and channels (some quite shallow) that connect estuarine and tidal portions of intracoastal waterway; Middle Sound, Stump Sound, the New River inlet, Bogue Sound, to Morehead City and the Newporet River at the Beaufort Inlet.

    We tuck away into Homer Smith's Dock & Marina and are safe for another night. Graeme and Lorraine and I wander a block to a convenience store to restock on milk. Then Preston and I take the marina courtesy car and drive to a couple of supermarkets for an abortive sortie for me to get some 'hot' salami. It seems that Americans don't eat a lot of spicy salami. I am surprised, as I thought we had flown thousands of miles to be in the global headquarters of salami consumption.

    Preston has a chat with the dockhand and it turns out he's a fan of New Zealanders! He was over in Auckland, involved with the Americas Cup and later made two trips to tour NZ; one to the Sth Island and another around the Nth Island. We also see a motor yacht called 'Kiwi' tied up at the marina,    Leer más

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    Day 14: Myrtle Bch to Wrightsville Bch

    28–29 abr., Estados Unidos ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    7 hrs. We are provisioned and watered, we still have 800 gal of fuel, our blackwater tank has plenty of capacity (Preston wants to know who among us must be blocked up and not 'doing enough'?), Graeme unties us, and by 0830 we're turning out of the Yacht Club Marina and back onto the ICW, northbound. The stranded yacht has gone. Within 15 min we're crossing the Little River and are in North Carolina. Since one of my favourite singers, James Taylor, hails from this state, Carolina is also in our minds.

    It’s a scenic run up the waterway, but turning out into the Cape Fear River, we run upstream with a stiff breeze on our port bow and a stiff ebbing current. We dodge a couple of vehicle ferries, a clutch of downbound fast-boats, and overtake a sailboat or two. We’re showing 15 mph through the water but just 10 mph 'over the ground'… thus a 5-mph current against us.

    Soon though, we’re able to turn off into the ICW again, via Snow’s Cut, and then run about 12 miles from Carolina Beach up to the Wrightsville Beach Marina. At times, we're showing the tide to be a foot lower than the usual low, so we tip-toe along some areas with not too much below our keel. We arrive at the marina where we are berthed conveniently on the outside facing the direction of departure tomorrow. The staff take our lines and do a pump-out for us... the opportunity being too good to pass up.    Leer más

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    Day 13: Georgetown to Myrtle Beach

    27–28 abr., Estados Unidos ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    6 hr 22 min. Preston cooks breakfast muffins in the air fryer, and we slip our bonds at 0830. We are promised a more scenic and pleasant vista today (and easier navigation) as we head up the ICW for a destination that sounds, from Preston's description, like an amalgam of Queenstown NZ and Luna Park, on steroids. But we will have no time for such trivial and frivolous pursuits... we will have grocery shopping to do!

    We have a more scenic and leisurely cruise along the ICW today. We encounter more traffic and pass through two swing bridges that open for us. We encounter more traffic today, mostly fisher rec boats and jetski terrorists. Eventually, we reach the 'ditch', as Preston calls it.

    There is an almost constant string of houses along the banks that all look the same or similar, with the requisite jetty at the front, and runabout or pontoon picnic boat, usually sitting on a boat-lift. Many other houses are individually architectured and are obviously owned by a more wealthy sector. The 'ditch' (ICW), which runs parallel to the beach and between one and two km distant from it, is also fronted by numerous restaurants. We do not see the sea at all.

    By 3.00 pm we are stern-in and tied up. We Uber uptown to Lulus restaurant at Barefoot Landing, a large restaurant and entertainment precinct. Greg Norman's 'Australian Grille' (don't they know that a 'grille' is a portion of the front of a motor vehicle whereas a 'grill' is a bbq cooker?) is next door. Lucy's is one of several around the US owned and operated by the late Jimmy Buffet's wife. We then Uber to the nearest Publix and do a big grocery shop before returning to the boat.

    Looking at the stern of many 'lifted' boats as we make our way along the ICW (and zooming around the waterways in Miami), I have been astonished by the multi-engined outboard setups I've seen. 3, 4, 5, and even 6 engines clamped across the transom of some vessels. I ask Preston if that makes the boat go 3, 4, 5, or 6 times faster than a single. He thinks not, but the guy will have 3, 4, 5, or 6 times the maintenance bill. I reckon these guys must have accountants who advise them to spend money before the taxman gets to them.    Leer más

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    Day 12: Charleston to Georgetown

    26–27 abr., Estados Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    The name "Carolina" is derived from "Carolus," the Latin form of the name Charles. The original charter for the area, granted in 1629 to Sir Robert Heath, included the name "Carolina" or "Carolana" in honour of King Charles I. It should be noted that the French explorer Jean Ribault also used the name Carolina in the 1560s when attempting to colonise Florida, establishing Charlesfort in what is now South Carolina. However, the British colonists eventually established settlements in the area, retaining the name in honour of King Charles I, and later acknowledging his son, Charles II.

    Back when the locals were still fighting the British colonists and the British were fighting the Spanish who had colonised Florida, South Carolina was the southern limit of the civilised America of the day.

    It's interesting that, having wanted for so long, to see the end of British Rule, the Carolinians then retained the nomenclature that had been originally given in honour of His Majesty. I guess that in the Carolinas they don't hold grudges.

    8 hrs. We continue our voyage up the coastal Low country that we've been negotiating since leaving St Marys a week ago. Low country indeed! For all of this time, the average elevation of the land we motor through is between 0 and 1 ft asl. Pockets of land rise a bit above this, and people have been quick to build on them and stretch looooong walkways out to jetties and boat lifts. No serious rec boater on the ICW keeps their boat moored in the water..

    Once again, the length of our 'day' will be largely dictated by tidal requirements at various portions of the journey. Today, we'd scheduled an 0800 departure to secure a good tide condition on some lengthy shallow sections, but we awake to our first foggy morning on this trip, so we have a leisurely breakfast while we cool our heels. And the tide ebbs...

    We head out of Charleston, into the Cooper River estuary, then past Fort Sumter and directly into the ICW. From time to time, pods of dolphins follow us; perhaps we're stirring up the fish.

    We have some lengthy portions today that require captain Preston's close attention. At times we have just 7 ft under the boat... and we draw 5! At one point, a barge tow (except they don't 'tow', they shove from behind) has grounded to one side of the channel. It's captain has a conversation with Preston and tells us he'll do his best to keep to the side of the channel for us. When we pass, his engines are Full Ahead and his thrashing prop wash is churning up black mud.

    For much of the trip, Preston is sitting on the edge of his seat, as they say. My old Canadian mate, Milt Deno would have said, "I was sitting so lightly in the seat, you could have cut washers off my ass." Later, when we're sitting around the cockpit table in the Georgetown marina having pork spare ribs (grilled on the bbq by captain Preston), I observe that Preston does indeed appear to be an inch or two shorter.

    He promises us tomorrow will be different (easier navigation) and more scenic than was today's extended marshy vista.

    At one point, while Graeme is steering, Preston--down in the wheelhouse--looks out and sees what he thinks is a log and we're heading for it. He's about to warn Graeme to change course when he realises it's an alligator... the first one he's ever seen in the ICW. The reptile passes behind us and we watch it swimming for the far bank.    Leer más

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    Day 11: In Charleston

    24–27 abr., Estados Unidos ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Today I left the others breakfasting boringly on the boat and hiked to the restaurant right at the marina… where I luxuriated with corned beef hash on home-made hash browns with 2 eggs over-easy. Yum, yum, y’all!

    Then we Ubered across town to the Port of Charleston, where we caught the ferry for a 35-min ride to Fort Sumter, where we had an hour that included a ranger talk (not that the ranger talk coming over on the ferry wasn’t memorable enough). Fantastic, superb, excellentissimo!! Google it. The story of Fort Sumter, as part of the American Civil War (oops… sorry southerners, the ‘War of Northern Aggression’) is of terrific interest, at least to me. Is it acceptable for a man to love a war story? Well, I love this one!

    By the way, here’s a map for Kate.    Leer más

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    Day 10: In Charleston

    23–26 abr., Estados Unidos ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We are tied up at the "Safe Harbor" (that's the company that owns the marina) Charleston City Marina. Next to us, and five metres away on the other side of the pier, is "Powerplay", an ocean-going tender (support vessel) for a luxury super yacht, "Mogambo" owned by Jan Koum, the co-founder and CEO of WhatsApp.

    Today we breakfast aboard, then catch the marina shuttle uptown to board a 90-min bus tour of the city; as usual, a superb use of time, with an amusing and professional driver.

    Later, we examine a full-size replica of one of the very first steam locomotives to operate in the Americas, the "Best Friend of Charleston", and then visit the Charleston Museum to learn something of the history of this old town.    Leer más

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    Day 9: Beaufort, SC, to Charleston, SC.

    23–26 abr., Estados Unidos ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    5 hr 02 min. We depart Beaufort on another glorious morning and immediately encounter our first swing bridge... the Richard V. Woods Memorial Bridge, shown on our charts as Ladies Island Bridge. This was the bridge that featured in the Forrest Gump movie. Unfortunately for we tourists, we do not get to see it 'swing', as it's high enough above the water for us to easily slide beneath.

    We head off, on a mirror-smooth surface, up Mulligan Creek, past the Merritt Field Marine Corps Air Station and into St Helena Sound, and then jump across country, courtesy of a series of cuts made across the marshland, to enter the South Edisto River and onward via another winding course to the Stono River, the Elliot Cut (Wappoo River), and finally into Charleston's Ashley River and directly across it to the Charleston City Marina, where, at 1400, our booking scores a very convenient mooring (considering the length of some of their finger piers. One is 1,700 ft long before you have another 630 ft to go to the shore!). With a strong flooding tidal current and under advice from the marina dockmaster, Preston swings 45 North through 180 deg and slots us into a space between two other vessels. We make fast and thank our lucky stars for the berth.

    We leave Preston to his 'chores' and catch the marina shuttle bus into town, where we visit the Information Centre, look for a SIM card for Graeme, and walk a few blocks to a restaurant that Preston has recommended.

    More images to come...    Leer más

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