Crew Posts
Day 71: St. Michaels to Annapolis, MD
Posted By: Jeff Hammond | September 6, 2012
Yeah!!! The Greatest Loop closed the Great Route Loop today just after noon in light rain. The last day from St Michaels was a short one and we buzzed up ... More
Day 70: Oxford to St. Michaels, MD
Posted By: Jeff Hammond | September 5, 2012
After traveling down the Tred Avon River we turned west into the Choptank River and now I know how it got its name. With the tide ebbing and a 15-knot ... More
Day 69: Cambridge to Oxford, MD
Posted By: Jeff Hammond | September 4, 2012
We eased out of the Cambridge boat basin at 9:00am and entered the Choptank River. We were the only pleasure boat on the water, but we saw several low, white ... More
Day 68: Solomon’s Island to Cambridge, MD
Posted By: Jeff Hammond | September 3, 2012
Today was one of our shortest days so far, just 38 nmiles from Solomons Island to Cambridge, Maryland on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. We steamed north at ... More
Day 67: Deltaville to Tangier Island, VA
Posted By: Jeff Hammond | September 2, 2012
Once clear of the western shore and shoals we set a course for NNE up the Chesapeake Bay for Tangier Island. This island was settled in the late 1600s by ... More
Day 66: Norfolk, VA to Deltaville, VA
Posted By: Jeff Hammond | August 31, 2012
We departed beautiful downtown Norfolk at 9:00am and hope to return again soon. We idled past the USS Wisconsin for the last time then motored past an incredible number of ... More
Day 65: Coinjock, NC to Norfolk, VA
Posted By: Jeff Hammond | August 29, 2012
First a 70' motor yacht slipped out into the channel, then the huge 130' mega yacht glided past The Great Loop without making a sound and headed south. We were ... More
Day 64: Roanoke Island to Coinjock, NC
Posted By: Jeff Hammond | August 28, 2012
We left Manteo at 10:00am and we followed the 8' channel from Manteo out to the main channel in Roanoke Sound then headed north. Once in 11' of water we ... More
Day 63: Ocracoke to Roanoke Island, NC
Posted By: Jeff Hammond | August 27, 2012
The channel out of Ocracoke is well marked through the shoals to "deep water" which is 13' to 22'. Every 15 miles or so is a mark so staying on ... More
Day 62: Oriental to Ocracoke, NC
Posted By: Jeff Hammond | August 26, 2012
There is 16' to 25' of depth across most of Pamlico Sound except for a short 10' stretch on our track to Ocracoke. The channel is well marked with only ... More
Day 61: Swansboro to Oriental, NC
Posted By: Jeff Hammond | August 24, 2012
Under a threatening grey sky we pushed off from our dock on Swansboro, NC and 50 yards later were in the ICW heading east. Within minutes we were passing the ... More
Day 60: Southport to Swansboro, NC
Posted By: Jeff Hammond | August 23, 2012
We left Southport early under low, dark gray clouds. First we entered the Cape Fear River and traveled north in the ship's channel which extends up to Wilmington. The ... More
Day 59: Myrtle Beach, SC to Southport, NC
Posted By: Jeff Hammond | August 22, 2012
The rudder arrived at the yard at 10:15am and by 10:45am it was in and we were ready to take off. The Great Loop was launched and we carefully made ... More
Day 58: Georgetown to Myrtle Beach, SC
Posted By: Jeff Hammond | August 21, 2012
We left Georgetown at 8:15 in the morning and traveled north through Lowcountry where there had been over 200 rice plantations before the Civil War. Today most are abandoned. Some ... More
Day 57: Charleston to Georgetown, SC
Posted By: Jeff Hammond | August 20, 2012
After a weekend of festivities at Beneteau’s local dealer St. Barts Yachts in Charleston, the Great Loop was ready to continue her trip. We departed the Charleston City Marina after ... More
Day 56: Hilton Head Island to Charleston, SC
Posted By: Jean-Michel Morison | August 14, 2012
We left Hilton Head at 8:45 am, and decided to follow the Intracoastal Waterway, the shortest way to reach Charleston. We went threw the swamps and enjoyed the wildlife there, ... More
Day 55: Orange Park, FL to Hilton Head Island, SC
Posted By: Jeff Knoll | August 13, 2012
After a weekend of demo rides at Orange Park for clients interested by the Swift Trawler 34, it is time for the Greatest Loop to continue her trip… We are ... More
Day 54: Port Orange to Orange Park, FL
Posted By: Jeff Knoll | August 9, 2012
It was a dark and stormy afternoon in North Florida. Dense clouds and heavy rains made the car ride to Ponce Inlet from Jacksonville a chore. In the car were ... More
Day 53: Palm Beach, FL to Port Orange, FL
Posted By: Alex Wilkes | August 8, 2012
We got up early – it was barely 5:30am when we left Palm Beach's gorgeous inlet, passed Peanut Island and headed straight into the magnificent sunrise. We headed north to ... More
Day 52: Fort Lauderdale to Palm Beach, FL
Posted By: Alex Wilkes | August 7, 2012
We left Fort Lauderdale, FL after work at around 5:45pm, and we headed for Palm Harbor Marina in West Palm Beach. It was really nice to cruise again with the ... More
Day 51: Duck Key to Miami to Fort Lauderdale, FL
Posted By: Alex Wilkes | July 17, 2012
Up early again, we shoved off at around 7:30 am with quite a bit of water to travel. Back in Hawks Channel again, we cruised at around 14 knots, burning ... More
Day 50: Key West to Duck Key, FL
Posted By: Alex Wilkes | July 16, 2012
Yesterday, we arrived in Key West to meet Marina Life for the event. Met some great people, and they were all very impressed with the beautiful Greatest Loop Trawler. After ... More
Key West, FL
Posted By: Garth & Sue Hichens | July 14, 2012
We spent the last day cleaning the boat, catching up on e-mails and checking all the systems on the boat. Even though our leg was a short 230 miles, we ... More
Day 49: Sanibel Island to Key West, FL
Posted By: Garth Hichens | July 13, 2012
Today was Friday and was going to be our day off to explore, but a worsening weather outlook for Saturday made the decision easy for us to leave. The Trip ... More
Day 48: Longboat Key to Sanibel Island, FL
Posted By: Garth Hichens | July 12, 2012
Off the hook at 7.00 am for a short trip up the inside of Longboat Key and through the lifting bridge. From here it was a comfortable ride at 15 ... More
Day 47: St Petersburg to Longboat Key, FL
Posted By: Garth Hichens | July 11, 2012
Arrived in St Petersburg at Murray Yacht Sales at 11 am and found the Greatest Loop Beneteau 34 in good shape and ready to go. Michael James lent us his ... More
Day 46: Tarpon Springs to St Petersburg, FL (Murray Yacht Sales)
Posted By: Stanton Murray | July 8, 2012
Departed Three Rooker Bar at 6:30 am eastern, and arrived in St. Petersburg at noon to find the dock at Fishtales completely full. Plan B included launching the dinghy and ... More
Day 45: Cedar Key to Tarpon Springs, FL
Posted By: Stanton Murray | July 7, 2012
We departed from Cedar Key at 7:15 am eastern, slow run through the channel, stopped to calibrate autopilot and a little fishing. The flat water made a comfortable ride. Arrived at Tarpon ... More
Day 44: Dog island to Cedar Key, FL
Posted By: Stanton Murray | July 6, 2012
Departed Dog Island at 6:15 am CDT and arrived at Cedar Key NW channel at 12:30 pm EDT Up at 5 to catch up on emails. Changing from central to Eastern time zone makes ... More
Day 43: Panama City Beach to Dog Island, FL
Posted By: Stanton Murray | July 5, 2012
Departed Panama City Marina at 6:00 am and anchored at Dog Island Outside run to Port St. Joe, 16 knots, toured Port St. Joe Marina via water. Then had an ... More
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Day 42: Sand Destin to Panama City Beach, FL
Posted By: Stanton Murray | July 4, 2012
Departed Baytowne at 7:00 am and arrived at Panama City Marina at 11:00 am Perfect morning with flat water made for a quick hour run through Choctawhatchee Bay to the ... More
Day 41: Pensacola to Sand Destin, FL
Posted By: Stanton Murray | July 3, 2012
Departed Portifino Resort at 10:00 am docked at 5pm at Baytowne Harbor in Sand Destin.. Calm winds made for a peaceful anchorage at Portifino resort. At 8:00 am, we picked ... More
Day 40: Roberts Bayou, AL to Pensacola, FL
Posted By: Stanton Murray | July 2, 2012
Departed Robert's Bayou 9:00 am and docked in Pensacola at 3:00 PM Woke up to 6:00am with heavy rain and lightning in our protected cove. At 7:30am rain cleared to ... More
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Day 39: Fairhope, AL to Roberts Bayou, AL
Posted By: Stanton Murray | July 1, 2012
We stayed at Eastern Shore Marine in Fairhope, AL all weekend for technical revisions as well as a deep boat detailing both inside and outside. It was really necessary after ... More
Day 38: Bobby's Fish Camp to Fairhope, AL
Posted By: Capt. Jeremy Hopkins and John Wooldridge | June 28, 2012
Capt. Jeremy said that he had no idea of what to expect in flora and fauna along the way, and it has surprised him to see so much thick, lush ... More
Day 37: Demopolis to Bobby's Fish Camp, AL
Posted By: John Wooldridge | June 27, 2012
Hello, Hello from the crew of TGL. Or perhaps I should say the SRC of TGL. If you guessed Slow Roasted Crew, you are correct! Yesterday's 100-degree temps weren't unexpected ... More
Day 36: Columbus, MS to Demopolis, AL
Posted By: John Wooldridge | June 26, 2012
Good afternoon from the Tombigbee River between Columbus and Demopolis. It's another hot one, 93-94 degrees, and hardly a cloud in the sky. We passed a quiet evening at Columbus ... More
Day 35: Pickwick, TN to Columbus, MS
Posted By: John Wooldridge | June 25, 2012
Underway this Monday morning on the Yellow Creek, an arm of Pickwick Lake that connected us to the Tombigbee River. The forecast calls for another scorcher, somewhere in the mid-90s, ... More
Day 34: Perryville Marina to Pickwick, TN
Posted By: John Wooldridge | June 24, 2012
We have received a number of emails and so we tried to answer them before getting into the day.The InReach works very well to answer curious people who were asking ... More
Day 33: Green Turtle Bay Resort, KY to Perryville Marina, TN
Posted By: John Wooldridge | June 23, 2012
We were underway at 10:30am on Kentucky Lake, after a quiet night at Green Turtle Bay Marina at the north end of Lake Barkley. That is an outstanding stopover, with ... More
Day 32: Cape Girardeau to Green Turtle Bay Resort, KY
Posted By: John Wooldridge | June 22, 2012
05:30 CDT: anchor up, filthy with mud from the Diversion Channel where we passed a quiet night well out of the reach of passing push boats and barges. We had ... More
Day 31: Hoppies Marina to Cape Girardeau, MO
Posted By: John Wooldridge | June 21, 2012
Bonjour mes amis, and greetings to all from John Wooldridge, Editor-in-Chief of PassageMaker, and Captain Jeremy Hopkins from Annapolis, Maryland. It's Thursday, June 21st, and we are underway on the mighty ... More
Day 30: Illinois Riverdock Restaurant to Hoppies Marina, MO
Posted By: Peter Janssen | June 20, 2012
We left the Riverdock Restaurant floating dock (we were the only boat there) at 7:12 and ran the numbers in the river a little while later (the speed, rpm, gph ... More
Day 29: East Peoria to Illinois Riverdock Restaurant, IL
Posted By: Peter Janssen | June 19, 2012
This was a long day. We left Eastport Marina across the river from Peoria, Illinois, at 6:42 in the morning. The previous night we realized the air conditioning was not ... More
Day 28: Seneca to East Peoria, IL
Posted By: Peter Janssen | June 19, 2012
Left Spring Brook Marina in Seneca, IL at 7:50am and docked at Eastport Marina, East Peoria at 4.15pm with 40 plus knot winds. We stepped the mast this morning and ... More
Day 27: Chicago to Seneca, IL
Posted By: Peter Janssen | June 17, 2012
We left Chicago at 6:33 this morning and drove 75 miles to Spring Brook Marina in Seneca IL where we docked at 3.40pm, pumped out & fueled up 52 gallons ... More
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Day 26: Saugatuck, MI to Chicago, IL
Posted By: Peter Janssen | June 14, 2012
We left Saugatuck at 8:16, headed out the breakwater to the lake, and were really worried about the weather. We had 86 miles to go across the open lake to ... More
Day 25: Pentwater to Saugatuck, MI
Posted By: Peter Janssen | June 13, 2012
Left Pentwater at 9:15am and arrived in Saugatuck at 2:04pm. Going out Pentwater breakwater this morning was a piece of cake while entering it yesterday in bad following sea was ... More
Day 24: Leland to Pentwater, MI
Posted By: Peter Janssen | June 12, 2012
We left Leland just after 7am and made about 100 miles to Pentwater by 1:05pm Wind from 20 to 25 knots, small craft advisory but all’s well that ends well. ... More
Day 23: Bay Harbor to Leland, MI
Posted By: Peter Janssen | June 11, 2012
Underway at 10am, fueled up straight away in Petoskey, MI. Before leaving we checked the boat from top of the mast to bottom of the hull, starboard to port and ... More
Day 22: Mackinac Island to Bay Harbor, MI
Posted By: Bing O'Meara | June 10, 2012
After an exhilarating afternoon and evening at Mackinac and a good nights sleep we were ready for our last four hours to Bay Harbor. According to NOAA weather we ... More
Day 21: Drummond Island to Mackinac Island, MI
Posted By: Bing O'Meara | June 9, 2012
A 60 mile run to Mackinac Island, I never get tired of going to Mackinac, the grand hotel, the horse's , the bugey's, It feels like you are going back ... More
Day 20: Gore Bay to Drummond Island, ON
Posted By: Bing O'Meara | June 8, 2012
Again we got an early start 8am, we were to clear Customs at Drummond Island and we had been invited to dinner at Bob Schultz Cabin on the other side ... More
Day 19: Blind River to Gore Bay, ON
Posted By: Bing O'Meara | June 7, 2012
We left Blind River at 9am, our destination Gore Bay. On the way over to Gore Bay we visited the Benjamin Islands an incredible collection of quartz and pink Granite. ... More
Day 18: Killarney to Little Current to Blind River, ON
Posted By: Bing O'Meara | June 6, 2012
We left Killarney at 10.30am headed for a fuel and grocery stop at Little Current, ON. We arrived and Rob Little of Little Wally's took care of us. While he ... More
Day 17: Port Severn to Killarney, ON
Posted By: Bing O'Meara | June 5, 2012
Today we leave the Trent Severn Waterway. This is a cruise I have always wanted to do, I am grateful and thankful to Beneteau for giving me the opportunity aboard ... More
Day 15 & 16: Prop change & Orillia to Port Severn, ON
Posted By: Bing O'Meara | June 4, 2012
Yesterday, as Crate's Marina opened for fuel only (Sunday) we spent the day cleaning and doing general housekeeping as well as a note about props and the Trent-Severn. A dinged prop ... More
Day 14: Buckhorn to Orillia, ON
Posted By: Bing O'Meara | June 2, 2012
Underway at 10am and docked at 4:30pm We stopped at Rosedale Marina in the afternoon as the previous day we hit a dead head and dinged the prop. We were ... More
Day 12: Hastings to Peterborough, ON
Posted By: Bing O'Meara | May 31, 2012
Underway at 9.00am. Began the day with hopes of reaching Peterborough by early afternoon. We got lucky and made it by 12:30. Peterborough Marina went out of their way for ... More
Day 9: Mississauga to Brighton, ON
Posted By: Bing O'Meara | May 28, 2012
Underway at 12.30pm Its been a great day. Roland Schultz, a friend and recently retired Airline Pilot from Northwest Airlines and Editor at Large for Lake Ljoined me in this ... More
Day 8: Rochester, NY to Mississauga, ON
Posted By: Mike Green | May 25, 2012
Underway at 6.10am. Docked at Port Credit Harbor at 4.30pm. Cleared with Canadian customs in Cobourg, ON at 11.30 am. A little bit shaken in the middle of the Lake ... More
Day 7: Brewerton to Rochester, NY
Posted By: John Mottern | May 23, 2012
Underway at 6.40am Docked at the Rochester Yacht Club at 4.45pm. Passed with no problems through the Oswego locks and with perfect conditions on the lake. Boat will be leaving ... More
Day 6: Fonda to Brewerton, NY
Posted By: John Mottern | May 22, 2012
Underway at 6.30 am. Docked at 6.30pm, in Brewerton, western side of the Oneida Lake. We went a little bit farer than we expected, so pretty much in advance on ... More
Day 5: Coeymans, NY to Fonda, NY
Posted By: Maryline O'Shea | May 21, 2012
Underway at 6am. Docked at 5pm, in Fonda, NY not quite as far as we had hoped to go, but did well all things considered. (through May 23, locks are ... More
Day 4: New York City to Coeymans, NY
Posted By: Ben Frothingham | May 20, 2012
Capt Ben Frothingham at the helm! With John Mottern and Vincent aboard with me. Underway 8:00am from Chelsea Piers Took a 1-hour break in Newburgh, docked at 5:30pm at ... More
Meeting Jim Chambers
Posted By: Maryline O'Shea | May 19, 2012
When our crew arrived at Liberty Landing Marina around 1pm on Thursday, I had a mission in mind. Find the chase boat that would follow The Greatest Loop on our ... More
Day 3: Atlantic City, NJ to New York, NY
Posted By: Maryline O'Shea | May 17, 2012
Underway at 6:30am Docked at 2:30pm Clear skies, but strong wind 15-20 knots, settled to 15 later in the day. Mostly hugged the NJ shore into the city. I knew ... More
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Day 2: Rock Hall, MD to Atlantic City, NJ
Posted By: Patrick Hopkins | May 16, 2012
Underway at 5:50am. Overcast, light wind. Stopped for lunch at Cape May at 1pm, refueled at Utsch's Marina, and resumed at 2:15. Docked at the Golden Nugget Marina in Atlantic ... More
Day 1: Annapolis, MD to Rock Hall, MD
Posted By: Patrick Hokpins | May 15, 2012
On our first day, departure from Annapolis city dock at Pusser's: Underway 7:10pm. Moored 8:30pm. 30nm under fair skies, calm seas, and an elongated sunset which ended just before we ... More
A message from Carla Demaria
Posted By: Maryline O'Shea | May 14, 2012
Many thanks to my Beneteau team in the U.S.A., and to all the sponsors who stepped up to help make this journey a reality. Know that all of us in ... More