Taurus Great Loop

Today we had a leisurely cruise to Troy, NY.  We are still in brackish water in the Hudson River. The tidal range is six feet here! We passed by Albany, NY where we lived in the first year of our marriage many years ago.  The picture is of Albany from the River.   We had dinner with two other Looper couples at a beer tasting place. What fun!  We got a lot of good tips and information from them. It’s really a great group of people.  Tomorrow we start our first flight of locks in the Erie Canal. More fun to come. 

After 3 long, hot, days of cruising, we had a layover in New Baltimore, NY at Shady Harbor Marina last night and tonight. One of our friends in our neighborhood, Linda, has a high school friend, Diane, who keeps her boat at this marina.  Diane and her husband, Bob, have already done the Loop, so it was good to talk with her about some of the unique happenings on the Loop.  By the way, Fred is still working very hard.  We actually had this layover because his work got in the way of cruising today.  Which is fine, given the temperature outside.  We will be on the move again tomorrow, heading to Troy, NY to get ready for the Waterford flight of locks, the start of the Erie Canal on Thursday. We are finding that when we meet other “Loopers” we instantly have something in common above and beyond being boat owners. There’s a sense of adventure about the Great Loop. You’re doing something very few people have accomplished. You’re doing risky activities such as entering...

Another long and hot day. It was in the mid-90’s as we traveled north on the Hudson River. We saw beautiful scenery and West Point.  Tomorrow is a day off from cruising.  Spoiler Alert!  Thursday will be our first time going through a river lock. Once we go through this lock on the Hudson River, we will then make our way to the Erie Canal.  I love to watch the wake from the boat

Today, we left Port Washington on Long Island, and made our way to New York City. Hell Gate, the bottleneck of the Hudson and Long Island Sound, was a bust. We hardly noticed that we went through it. We passed by the United Nations building, under the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island. We even saw a shipwreck partially above water. The weather was very hot and sunny. Sadly, we said Bon Voyage to Lucas this evening, and will continue on our trek. Here’s a short quiz. No cheating by using your devices! Where did the Statue of Liberty come from? Answer: A gift from the people of France to the people of the United States for lasting friendship Who designed her?  Answer:  French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, while its metal framework was built by Gustave Eiffel himself From what metal is the Statue made?  Answer: Copper Why is the Statue green?  Answer: Green is the color of rust on copper Let’s see if any of our followers know th...

And so begins the journey for the two intrepid adventurers! 🚤  We left Westbrook, CT at 10:00 am June 26, 2021.  Very foggy conditions and 70 degrees.  Taurus is raring to go and so is the captain. We have our 6 year old grandson with us for the weekend to make it more special.

I hope there’s room for us!  We leave tomorrow morning, June 26, 2021, heading to Port Washington, NY near the entrance to the East River. The East River is the one that contains Hell Gate, which is the bottleneck of the Hudson River and Long Island Sound.  I describe it as a white water raft ride for boats.  But that’s for Sunday.  

Above is a map showing the Great Loop.  The colors represent the different seasons that you should be in that part of the country. See the color legend below. The map also shows various choices of routes for the Great Loop. Our route did not go through Canada due to COVID-19. We cruised down through Lake Erie and across Ohio, then up the east Michigan coast. After cruising a third of the way south on the west coast of Michigan, we crossed Lake Michigan to Wisconsin, then took the inland rivers through Tennessee and Alabama.  And we went out in the Gulf in Florida and across the Okeechobee Waterway in Florida. These are all choices Loopers make in their journeys.  Red = Summer Blue = Fall Purple = Winter Green = Spring