Videos

First is a selection of videos related to our Great Loop Journey. We started out making videos of each segment of our journey. This was too much work so we decided to just include the highlights and they will likely lag behind the blog.

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• We dropped the boat

  • Today we launch our boat by dropping it in the water in Beacon Bay Marina, Penetanguishene, Ontario. This is the first step in our Great Loop adventure!!

• Episode 1 - We Cut Our Lines!

  • This covers day 1 to 3 of our journey from Penetanguishene, Ontario to Three Finger Bay in the Massassauga.

• Episode 2 - Shawanaga River to the Colins Inlet

  • This covers our trip from Three Finger Bay, to the Shawanaga River and Falls, to Britt in the Byng Inlet, through Point au Baril Inlet, to Beaverstone Bay, through the Colins Inlet to Mill Lake and then completing the Colins Inlet.

• Episode 3 - Getting Lost in Killarney

  • Heather takes us on a tour of Kiillarney by water followed by a tour through Killarney Mountain Lodge and the Lighthouse trail!

• Episode 4 - Where is Heather's Cove?

  • This video takes us from our departure in Killarney through to Fraser Bay and our approach to Heather's Cove.

• Episode 5 - More than Fine in Baie Fine

  • Follow along with us as we visit Okeechobee Lodge (not in Florida but in the North Channel), and travel through the beautiful Baie Fine and The Pool within the North Channel. These destinations are all within the Great Loop journey and are fantastic places to stop for a visit on your own loop!

• Episode 6 - A Car in the Water!

  • The town of Leland was a pleasant surprise with Fishtown, a waterfall, a beach, and a floating car! Now we’ve seen everything!

• Episode 7 - Ship Barely Fits Through the River!

  • Linked from our Conquering Lake Michigan blog. The Calumet clears the lift bridge and inches her way down the Manistee River toward Lake Michigan. A HUGE ship on a tiny river!

• Episode 8 - Crossing Lake Michigan

  • In this video we make the trek across Lake Michigan to Chicago from St. Joseph, Mi. This was a big deal for us which turned out to be fun and fairly simple. So exciting coming to Chicago!!

• Episode 9 - We made it under the bridge!

  • We wanted to take our boat through the Chicago downtown which meant removing radar, anchor light, and more. See us going under those tight bridges and doing locks.

• Episode 10 - Tied to rebar on an old lock wall

  • This relatively short video takes viewers on our adventures starting at Heritage Harbor in Ottawa, Illinois, down through the the Starved Rock Lock where we stay tied to an old lock wall in Henry, Il before continuing on the next day for Peoria, Illinois.

• Episode 11 - We Pass the St. Louis Arch

  • In this video we depart the Alton Marina and head south on the Mississippi, passing through St. Louis and the famous arch, and end up in Kimmswick, Missouri at Hoppies Marina. Fellow Loopers were kind enough to photograph each other as they pass in front of the arch. Lots of fun!

• Episode 12 - Swallow Bluff Island Anchorage

  • On the Tennessee River, this is a beautiful anchorage just south of Clifton, Tennessee. Good depth and the current keeps you nice and straight without the need for a stern anchor.

• Episode 13 - Chattanooga here we come!

  • In October, 2022, we drifted away from our Great Loop to take a side trip from Counce, TN to Chattanooga, TN. This video is a compilation of our trip through this beautiful river to help other loopers consider taking this fantastic side trip!

• Episode 14 - Locking Down

  • Are we talking about the pandemic? No! We are talking about locking down the many locks on the TenTom River from Iuka, Mississippi to Mobile, Alabama. This video takes us from Iuka through to Demopolis. Come along for the ride!

• Episode 15 - Locking Down Part 2

  • If you watched our video where we take you from Iuka to Demopolis, this is the second and final video of our Tenn Tom voyage which shows our trip from Demopolis down through to Mobile Bay and into the GICW (Gulf Intracoastal Waterway). Watch as we review a few anchorages and share our experiences on this fantastic waterway!

• Episode 16 - Free Docks and Tripped Breakers

  • This video runs through some trouble shooting and rewiring of our electrical panel before we move from Orange Beach and along the GICW to Fort Walton Beach where we use the free dock (don't forget to call the police department if you want to use this dock).

• Episode 17 - Fort Walton to Pearl Bayou in the FOG!

  • In this video we travel in dense fog from Fort Walton, through Choctawhatchee Bay, across the Grand Canyon and along the GICW stopping for the night in Pearl Bayou, a beautiful anchorage along our route! Such a peaceful anchorage.

• Episode 18 - How to pick up a Mooring Ball​

  • ​Recently a looping friend saw we were on a Mooring Ball and asked how best to pick one up, so we decided to make a video about it to share with our peer loopers who were new to the experience.

• Episode 19 - Why We Aborted Our First Gulf Crossing Attempt

  • Today we leave off from our last video and travel from Pearl Bayou onward to Apalachicola, Florida and make a foiled attempt at an overnight Gulf crossing.

• Episode 20 - Apalachicola to Carrabelle

  • In this video, following our initial abort of our Gulf crossing, we move from Apalachicola to Carrabelle and wait for good weather. There are some fun things to do in Carrabelle but hopefully, your weather window comes sooner than ours did!

• Episode 21 - Crossing the Gulf of Mexico

  • Well, this time we did it. We crossed the Gulf. Not without some drama, and some fun too!

• Episode 22 - We made it across the Gulf… Now what? And… good bye to our friends.

  • In this video, we say farewell to our friends on Off Leash who were with us for over 1,500 nautical miles of our trip. We started travelling with them in Lake Michigan and parted ways in Clearwater, Florida. However, we went on to meet up with long time family friends in Anna Maria Island to enjoy some time with them at their Florida home. What a nice place to tie up the boat for our time at home over Christmas!

• Episode 23 - We Cross under a broken bridge and on into the Devastation left by Hurricane Ian

  • In this video, we move from Sarasota after some repairs and a false start, and continue down through the GICW toward the Caloosahatchee River and into Ft. Myers.

• Episode 24 - Manatees and Alligators Oh My! Locking Through Okeechobee!!

  • In this video, we are joined by family friends as we leave Ft Myers, cross through the Okeechobee waterway and end our trip in Stuart. Come along and enjoy the ride where we hunt for Manatees and Alligators! Were we successful??

• Episode 25 - Cruising the ICW in our dinghy during our travels from Stuart - Miami

  • This video covers our travels from Stuart through to Miami, Florida down the AICW as we stage for our crossing to the Bahamas. We anchor in Lake Boca (watch the entrance carefully on the charts), Lake Sylvia, and ultimately secure to a dock in Miami at Vice City Marina. From Miami, we depart for Bahamas for a few months. Our next video will start in Stuart and head north on the AICW. We will upload the Bahamas videos later on.

• Episode 26 - Our neighbor's boat SANK!! Winds were Gale Force!!

  • This video takes us from Stuart - Hammock Beach with a couple stops along the way including Fort Pierce and Titusville. In Titusville we experienced gale force winds out of the east and two vessels sank in the marina!

• Episode 27 - Our time in Florida comes to an end...

  • This video covers our trip from Hammock Beach through St. Augustine and on up to Fernandina beach. We take in the sights while in St. Augustine and catch up with looping friends. Then, we head up to Fernandina Beach where we pick up a great price on fuel to continue our voyage north.

• Episode 28 - Gusts to 40 knots at Jekyll Island!

  • This video covers our travels from Fernandina Beach up the coast through Jekyll Island, Cumberland Island and on to Kilkenny. We cross several sounds within this segment as we head up the coast and lots of shallow water. During our stay at Jekyll Island, we had sustained winds in excess of 30 knots and gusts that exceeded 40 knots! Certainly a good day to be on the dock. although the exposure to the elements was still significant!​

• Episode 29 - We've been to the Gates of Hell... and Survived!

  • In this video, we take Sea Clef from Kilkenny Marina through Isle of Hope and onward to Hilton Head Island and the Sea Pines Plantation! Our trip includes the dreaded Hell Gate passage, but for us... we survived!​

• Episode 30 - Fifty Knot Winds on our trip to Charleston

  • ​​In this video, we travel from Hilton Head Island to Charleston and upon arrival, face a severe thunderstorm with winds in excess of 50 knots! Come along with us as we continue up the AICW toward Norfolk, Virginia!

• Episode 31 - We cross into our 11th state on our GREAT LOOP!​

  • Today's video has us beginning our travels in Charleston, South Carolina after weathering a violent storm of 50+ knot winds, and heading further up the coast and into South Carolina, ending our two days of travel in Southport, South Carolina. This is our 11th state thus far on our fantastic Great Loop journey!

• ​Episode 32 - We lost an engine

  • In this video, we cover two travel days, but in fact it was longer due to an unfortunate circumstance we faced with our startboard engine. Our travels continue to take us north on the AICW departing from Southport, North Carolina and arriving in Oriental, North Carolina, with a planned stop at an anchorage that ultimately wound up being at a marina in Sneads Ferry along the way.

• Next Episode - COMING SOON!