THE GREAT LOOP VOYAGE 2006
On April 1st of
2006, the trawler "AMARSE" departed from the Portofino Marina, located
in
Clear
Lake
, near
Houston
,
Texas
. AMARSE and her crew set out to
traverse many of the inland waterways of the eastern
United States
and parts of
Canada
.
This exciting route, often referred to as "America's Great Loop Cruise", covers many of the areas along the
Gulf of Mexico
from
Houston
,
Texas
to include the Gulf Intracoastal waters of
Louisiana
,
Mississippi
,
Alabama
, and the
Florida
panhandle. An offshore passage
cleared the great bend of
Florida
with direct routing from
Carrabelle
,
Florida
to Tarpon Springs. Continuing along
the inland waterways, we traveled south to
Ft.
Myers
. Crossing through the Okeechobee
canal through
Lake Okeechobee
led us the east coast of the
Florida
peninsula.
Turning north, we traveled the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) through
northern
Florida
,
Georgia
,
South Carolina
,
North Carolina
, and into the state of
Virginia
. North of Norfolk, VA, the waterway
joins the massive
Chesapeake Bay
. Fred and Judy thoroughly enjoyed
some leisurely cruising in this beautiful and historic area before heading north
to
New York City
. From the Statue of Liberty, the
Hudson River
took them past
West Point
Academy
, up through
Albany
to
Troy
,
NY
.
Although AMARSE had intended to cruise
Lake Champlain
, the floods of 2006 forced the alternative plan to continue through the
Erie Canal
,
Oswego
Canal
, and
Lake
Ontario
to the
St. Lawrence Seaway
and into
Canada
. There are many canals with much
historic significance to be experienced in this region.
Several of the
Great Lakes
, the
Thousand
Island
region, the historic
Rideau Canal
, the Trent-Severn Waterway, the
Georgian Bay
, and the
North Channel
of
Lake Huron
were all traversed toward the west and, ultimately, returned us to the
United States
with
Mackinac Island
,
Lake Michigan
, and on to
Chicago
,
Illinois
. We lowered our antennas, radar,
and other high devices to allow us to travel right through the canal that passes
through downtown
Chicago
.
We heading south along the
Illinois River
till joining the famous
Mississippi River
and then south to
St. Louis
,
Missouri
. Next was the
Ohio River
,
Cumberland River
, and the
Tennessee River
where we cruised these lovely waters during the height of the fall foliage.
In mid-November, we headed further south again along the
Tennessee-Tombigbee waterway arriving in
Mobile
,
Alabama
. At this point, we had officially
closed the Great Loop cruise portion of our 2006 adventure.
We are presently deciding where the next
adventure will lead us. All in all, over
the span of 239 days, we have traveled some 7296 miles, traversed 156 locks, and
have experienced some of the most beautiful areas of this great country.
Thankfully, we have made many new friends all along the way and we've had
the opportunity to visit with family and long term friends too.
Please wish us well in our quest for new adventures.
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