June 11th
Nice to wake up and know there was no planning left to do.
We did surprise John and Cindy yesterday as they pulled into the steak bake it was great to see them.
Today Dylan, Shelly and Abby came down to the bake. We had a great day. Dylan and I came in 2nd in the
horseshoe tournament and Abby got a big fish trophy at the fishing derby. Shelly and Abby went home after dinner and Dylan stayed with us for the ride home.
June 12th
Go up and had a great breakfast. After breakfast everyone got their boats ready for the trip back to their marinas. Dylan Lin and I shoved off at 10:30am heading to our home port. Every mile we went got us closer to home. It was a nice sight as we pulled into the port of Albany. Things really made us feel we were close to home as we entered the Federal Lock in Troy. As we approached our last bridge there stood our daughter and granddaughter, also on the bridge taking pictures were our friends John and Don. One last lock and we could see our marina. There were good friends and family waiting on the dock for as Lin and I were on the bow with Dylan at the helm as we crossed our wake we raised our Gold Looper flag.
This adventure took us 6,018miles thru 17 state two Canadian provinces, thru 155 locks in 332 days.
Along the way we met some great new friends and saw some nice places. We had good days and a few bad ones but overall we are glad we did it.
For those who followed us we are glad you came along and hope you enjoyed our travels as much as we did. For now we are in our home port at Lock One Marina and will miss traveling and doing our blog.
Thanks for following along with us, hope you enjoyed the ride.
Lin & Rich Gold Loopers
Lock One Marina
Waterford New York
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
June 8th, 9th and 10th Days Days 328, 329 & 330
June 8th
As we pulled into RCYC yesterday afternoon our good friends Marty and Joan were there to catch our lines. It was great to see old(not age wise) friends waiting for us. After a great reunion and getting Goofin Off settled into a familiar dock we headed to JOKER for cocktails and catching up time. Joan and Marty made us a great welcome home dinner of chicken and ribs topped with friendship. It was surely a great day as we traveled familiar waters and were greeted by great friends.
June 9th
It was nice to wake up at a marina we have spent much time at over our boating career knowing planning travel plans and courses have come to an end. We are about 30 miles from our home port at Lock One Marina and the completion of our Great Loop adventure. We have mixed feelings about this adventure coming to an end. We are looking forward to seeing family and old friends but will miss the new friends we have met and the wondering where we will be next and how the weather will treat us. We talked with Shelly and plans were made to surprise our Grandchildren Dylan and Abby. Shelly took Dylan out of school early and told the kids she had to drop off a lock pass with Marty so we could get thru the locks next week.
As she drove down the marina road Lin & I made the turn toward the car. Well Dylan had the door open and was halfway out the door before Shelly could stop the car. He grabbed his sister at his mothers request and shot over to greet us, it was GREAT seeing all of them. We had a great visit even thru the thunder and lightening storm. We had lunch and they took off in between storms. Dylan was ready to stay to make sure we kept our heading at North. They are coming back on Saturday for the steak bake and Dylan will stay over night and ride with us for the completion of our loop.
June 10th
Today other boaters will start pulling in for the weekend steak bake. We have meet many friends here over the years and it will be good to see them again. Big part of the day will be when John and Cindy, good friends of ours arrive from our marina. We hope to surprise them as they pull in and we take their lines. Weather does not look the greatest for the weekend but will be special to us no matter the weather as we get time with family and friends.
Lin & Rich
Ravena-Coeymans Yacht Club
Coeymans, New York
As we pulled into RCYC yesterday afternoon our good friends Marty and Joan were there to catch our lines. It was great to see old(not age wise) friends waiting for us. After a great reunion and getting Goofin Off settled into a familiar dock we headed to JOKER for cocktails and catching up time. Joan and Marty made us a great welcome home dinner of chicken and ribs topped with friendship. It was surely a great day as we traveled familiar waters and were greeted by great friends.
June 9th
It was nice to wake up at a marina we have spent much time at over our boating career knowing planning travel plans and courses have come to an end. We are about 30 miles from our home port at Lock One Marina and the completion of our Great Loop adventure. We have mixed feelings about this adventure coming to an end. We are looking forward to seeing family and old friends but will miss the new friends we have met and the wondering where we will be next and how the weather will treat us. We talked with Shelly and plans were made to surprise our Grandchildren Dylan and Abby. Shelly took Dylan out of school early and told the kids she had to drop off a lock pass with Marty so we could get thru the locks next week.
As she drove down the marina road Lin & I made the turn toward the car. Well Dylan had the door open and was halfway out the door before Shelly could stop the car. He grabbed his sister at his mothers request and shot over to greet us, it was GREAT seeing all of them. We had a great visit even thru the thunder and lightening storm. We had lunch and they took off in between storms. Dylan was ready to stay to make sure we kept our heading at North. They are coming back on Saturday for the steak bake and Dylan will stay over night and ride with us for the completion of our loop.
June 10th
Today other boaters will start pulling in for the weekend steak bake. We have meet many friends here over the years and it will be good to see them again. Big part of the day will be when John and Cindy, good friends of ours arrive from our marina. We hope to surprise them as they pull in and we take their lines. Weather does not look the greatest for the weekend but will be special to us no matter the weather as we get time with family and friends.
Lin & Rich
Ravena-Coeymans Yacht Club
Coeymans, New York
June 5th, 6th, 7th Day 325, 326, 327
June 5th
Up early a little windy but decided to move on. Got Jim & Sharon out to the fuel dock as it was Sunday and all the fishing boats were trying to fuel. The fuel dock could not fit us both on so he fueled first. After he was done we moved over to the dock, as we were fueling a Coast Guard came in front of us for fuel. Would you believe this for the first time we over filled and some diesel got into the water lucky for us the current sent it away from the Coast Guard . We left the marina and headed across the harbor to NYC. The traffic was busy being a weekend. It was nice seeing the NYC skyline from our boat. The Statue of Liberty was something to cherish, she looks so much different from the water. Going thru NYC was rough as the ferries and taxis flew by. Out of the harbor we headed to Croton-on-the-Hudson. It was really nice to see green mountains again as all we had seen in the last few weeks were flat beaches. We pulled into Haverstraw Bay and the Half Moon Marina. There were three loopers there the first night, Jolly Tolly whom we met in Cape May and Atlantic City. Today's run was 65.7 miles for a total trip mileage of 5,893.
June 6th
Lin did laundry and I gave Goofin Off a well needed bath. Now that we will not get as salty it was a good feeling to see her clean and salt free. There are now 6 looper boats in the marina and we have a scheduled Docktail party for 5pm. We all had a good time and discussed where everyone was headed tomorrow. A few were staying another day, one was staying for two weeks so they could head home for a visit, two were going to Catskill creek and Lin and I were heading to Kingston. We are getting closer and closer to completing the loop, some happiness some sad.
June 7th
All loopers who were leaving today were ready to go at 8am. One was going to Newburgh, two were going to Catskill and Lin and I were headed to Kingston. What a beautiful day to travel the sun was out and the scenery was great, good to be back in the home state. There was a lot of debris in the river from all the bad weather upstate New York has had. We passed West Point Military Academy which was nice, being a Navy man I have to say not as nice as Annapolis Naval Academy and you can't even stop and visit it Army was always a little cautious and soft. (that is coming from a Navy Vet) The campus is really nice and from the water you can see why it was picked to defend the river. It is the oldest military base in the US of A. Go Army but Navy will beat you at football. We pulled into Kingston around 3pm. Tomorrow we will travel to Ravena Coeymans Yacht Club for their weekend steak bake which we have been going to since we owned a boat.
We have good friends there who got us spots till the bake and are even making us dinner tomorrow, we will be happy to see them. Our daughter Michelle is going to bring our grand children down on Saturday as a surprise to them. She told them she was taking them to NYC to see us. Our Grandson Dylan will stay the weekend with us and ride home with us as we complete our loop on Sunday afternoon.
Lin & Rich
Kingston Municipal Marina
Kingston New York
Up early a little windy but decided to move on. Got Jim & Sharon out to the fuel dock as it was Sunday and all the fishing boats were trying to fuel. The fuel dock could not fit us both on so he fueled first. After he was done we moved over to the dock, as we were fueling a Coast Guard came in front of us for fuel. Would you believe this for the first time we over filled and some diesel got into the water lucky for us the current sent it away from the Coast Guard . We left the marina and headed across the harbor to NYC. The traffic was busy being a weekend. It was nice seeing the NYC skyline from our boat. The Statue of Liberty was something to cherish, she looks so much different from the water. Going thru NYC was rough as the ferries and taxis flew by. Out of the harbor we headed to Croton-on-the-Hudson. It was really nice to see green mountains again as all we had seen in the last few weeks were flat beaches. We pulled into Haverstraw Bay and the Half Moon Marina. There were three loopers there the first night, Jolly Tolly whom we met in Cape May and Atlantic City. Today's run was 65.7 miles for a total trip mileage of 5,893.
June 6th
Lin did laundry and I gave Goofin Off a well needed bath. Now that we will not get as salty it was a good feeling to see her clean and salt free. There are now 6 looper boats in the marina and we have a scheduled Docktail party for 5pm. We all had a good time and discussed where everyone was headed tomorrow. A few were staying another day, one was staying for two weeks so they could head home for a visit, two were going to Catskill creek and Lin and I were heading to Kingston. We are getting closer and closer to completing the loop, some happiness some sad.
June 7th
All loopers who were leaving today were ready to go at 8am. One was going to Newburgh, two were going to Catskill and Lin and I were headed to Kingston. What a beautiful day to travel the sun was out and the scenery was great, good to be back in the home state. There was a lot of debris in the river from all the bad weather upstate New York has had. We passed West Point Military Academy which was nice, being a Navy man I have to say not as nice as Annapolis Naval Academy and you can't even stop and visit it Army was always a little cautious and soft. (that is coming from a Navy Vet) The campus is really nice and from the water you can see why it was picked to defend the river. It is the oldest military base in the US of A. Go Army but Navy will beat you at football. We pulled into Kingston around 3pm. Tomorrow we will travel to Ravena Coeymans Yacht Club for their weekend steak bake which we have been going to since we owned a boat.
We have good friends there who got us spots till the bake and are even making us dinner tomorrow, we will be happy to see them. Our daughter Michelle is going to bring our grand children down on Saturday as a surprise to them. She told them she was taking them to NYC to see us. Our Grandson Dylan will stay the weekend with us and ride home with us as we complete our loop on Sunday afternoon.
Lin & Rich
Kingston Municipal Marina
Kingston New York
Saturday, June 4, 2011
June 4th Day 324
Got up at 5:30 and helped Midnight Sun get underway. Called Jim on Sharon B to tell him we were getting ready to get underway. We said our good byes to Herk and Millie as they helped us off at 6:30am. Out on the North Atlantic which was really calm we headed to Sandy Hook.the ride was uneventful as there was nothing to see except water and a sandy beach. We did have to dodge a lot of hopeful fishermen hoping to catch dinner on their day off from work. As we entered our last few miles of the day we could see The Empire State Building in the distance. We were about 7 miles behind people we met in Cape May and who were also in Atlantic City with us when they call the Coast Guard to say they were taking on water and the pumps could not keep up with it. The Coast Guard sent out a boat and we called them to offer assistance if needed. The Coast Guard got there with pumps and the followed them into a marina to get repaired when they found out where the water was coming from. After 92.3 miles and about 11 hours we reached the Atlantic Highlands Marina. While waiting to take on fuel a small fishing boat with two guys on it headed right toward our starboard. With my soft voice I yelled HEY WE ARE HERE he came with in less than a foot from driving his anchor into our side. Lin ran to the side to stop him have no idea what he was doing. No one could figure out how he did not see us, all the boats on the mooring ball could not figure how he could not see us. After that little thrill we decided to get in our slip and fuel in the morning. The trip today put our total mileage at 5,826. If the weather is good tomorrow we will move past the New York harbor on into the Hudson River. Gave the boat a wash down today to get the salt off. With a 6' tide and fixed docks this is not the greatest docks.
Lin & Rich
Atlantic Highlands Marina
Sandy Hook, New Jersey
Lin & Rich
Atlantic Highlands Marina
Sandy Hook, New Jersey
Friday, June 3, 2011
June 1st, 2nd & 3rd Days 321, 322 & 323
June 1st
Did some boat stuff and laundry, walked to town with Jim & Sharon. There are some real old houses which have been kept up very nice. There is a shopping area similar to the one in Burlington Vermont. Went down to the beach where there were a few people on the beach. We did a take out at a seafood restaurant with Jim, Sharon, Herk and Millie who are headed home to Rhode Island. WE had take outs and ate on our boat.
Plans were made for travel if the weather is good.
June 2nd.
Up and ready to get underway Jim and Herk have to fuel before we leave, opens at 7am.
Herk could not get his port engine started. I went to give him a hand first thing I asked was is the transmission in neutral? We checked batteries and switches a few times I asked about being in neutral.
To make a long story short he was not in neutral, problem solved. In the mean time Jim could not get his port engine started. The engine was flooded and it finally started. Two boats returned after heading out as the Atlantic was not nice. So maybe the engine problems were a good thing as we would have been out in bad seas. Lin and I organized a docktail party and everyone decided to get some fish at the local fish market and we would bar-b-que out. We used some charcoal and wood in the cooking pit. We ended up with 14 people for docktails and dinner. It was a lot of fun
June 3rd
Up and checking out the weather, looks pretty good. Decided to move out into the Atlantic to see how it is. Left at 7:30 after Herk and Jim got fuel. Once out of the harbor we had rollers from 2 to 4 feet. We were taking them on the port bow so the ride was not too bad. We ran about 4 miles off the coast and had our sights on Atlantic City. Originally we were going to run 70 miles but with the seas we decided on Atlantic City. We arrived here around 1: 30 after 44.5 miles bringing our total mileage to 5,736. Hung out around the boat and did some charting for the next few days. Had everyone over for cocktails then had dinner and we took a walk up to the Casino. The money that goes over the tables is hard to believe. Half of the games we could not figure how to play. We will leave here tomorrow and go as far as the weather and time permits.
Lin & Rich
Farley's Marina
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Did some boat stuff and laundry, walked to town with Jim & Sharon. There are some real old houses which have been kept up very nice. There is a shopping area similar to the one in Burlington Vermont. Went down to the beach where there were a few people on the beach. We did a take out at a seafood restaurant with Jim, Sharon, Herk and Millie who are headed home to Rhode Island. WE had take outs and ate on our boat.
Plans were made for travel if the weather is good.
June 2nd.
Up and ready to get underway Jim and Herk have to fuel before we leave, opens at 7am.
Herk could not get his port engine started. I went to give him a hand first thing I asked was is the transmission in neutral? We checked batteries and switches a few times I asked about being in neutral.
To make a long story short he was not in neutral, problem solved. In the mean time Jim could not get his port engine started. The engine was flooded and it finally started. Two boats returned after heading out as the Atlantic was not nice. So maybe the engine problems were a good thing as we would have been out in bad seas. Lin and I organized a docktail party and everyone decided to get some fish at the local fish market and we would bar-b-que out. We used some charcoal and wood in the cooking pit. We ended up with 14 people for docktails and dinner. It was a lot of fun
June 3rd
Up and checking out the weather, looks pretty good. Decided to move out into the Atlantic to see how it is. Left at 7:30 after Herk and Jim got fuel. Once out of the harbor we had rollers from 2 to 4 feet. We were taking them on the port bow so the ride was not too bad. We ran about 4 miles off the coast and had our sights on Atlantic City. Originally we were going to run 70 miles but with the seas we decided on Atlantic City. We arrived here around 1: 30 after 44.5 miles bringing our total mileage to 5,736. Hung out around the boat and did some charting for the next few days. Had everyone over for cocktails then had dinner and we took a walk up to the Casino. The money that goes over the tables is hard to believe. Half of the games we could not figure how to play. We will leave here tomorrow and go as far as the weather and time permits.
Lin & Rich
Farley's Marina
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
May 31st Day 320
We waited till 9:30 to get underway so we could catch a good ride on the tide. High tide was 11am so for the first hour we fought the tide at 1200 rpm's we were doing 7.2 mph later at the same rpm's we were doing 11.8mph. The ride was uneventful as we were in the Delaware Bay with nothing to see. The bay was calm and besides dodging a few crab pots a little boring. It was a 61 mile trip from the C & D to Cape May. The last hour of our 7 hour day was a little choppy as we bucked the incoming tide dropped back to 8mph.
The Cape May Canal was windy which cooled us off after a 90 degree day. The current was out going so at times we slowed to 6.5 mph at the 1200rpm's. We are now in our 17th and last state on this adventure. Next state our home state of New York. We reached Utsch's Marina around 4:30, nice place with friendly staff . It is $2.00 a foot with everything included. We will stay tomorrow as the weather does not look to good. Jim & Sharon from Lock 1 Marina are here with their new boat which we got a tour of. Real nice boat. We had cocktails and snacks on their boat then came back to the boat to call it a day.
Lin & Rich
Utsch's Marina
Schellenger's Landing
Cape May, New Jersey
The Cape May Canal was windy which cooled us off after a 90 degree day. The current was out going so at times we slowed to 6.5 mph at the 1200rpm's. We are now in our 17th and last state on this adventure. Next state our home state of New York. We reached Utsch's Marina around 4:30, nice place with friendly staff . It is $2.00 a foot with everything included. We will stay tomorrow as the weather does not look to good. Jim & Sharon from Lock 1 Marina are here with their new boat which we got a tour of. Real nice boat. We had cocktails and snacks on their boat then came back to the boat to call it a day.
Lin & Rich
Utsch's Marina
Schellenger's Landing
Cape May, New Jersey
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
May 30th Day 319
A beautiful morning and we were underway at 6:45. Our destination for today is the Delaware City Marina on the East side of the C & D Canal which connects the Chesapeake Bay with the Delaware Bay. Being
Memorial Day and the temp in the 90's the waterways were loaded with boats. On a day like this there is no such thing as a slow pass. The water was the calmest we have seen it on the bay until the big fast boats flew by, must have passed so close in such a big bay to see where this slow moving boat was from. I am sure it was not to see this slow boat bob back and forth. Some passed so close we did not have time or room to turn into the waves. There was a lot of debris in the water even some big pieces of wood, great day we did not hit anything. We reached the C & D Canal around noon. The canal is wide and deep from bank to bank. We did not see any barge traffic while on the canal. Once we left the canal and headed North against the tide we lost 2MPH, tide and current are big on the Delaware River and Bay. We pulled into Delaware City Marina after 71.4 miles at 2:45 and are now in our 16th state. We have one more state to go thru till we are in our home state of New York. We are holding out this morning 31st for slack and ebb tide before heading South to cape May. High tide is at 11:08am but it is a 58 mile run to Cape May so probably 6 to 7 hours. We will probably get the underway fever and get underway 9:30 or 10 and fight the tide for awhile.
Lin & Rich
Delaware City Marina
Delaware City, Delaware
Memorial Day and the temp in the 90's the waterways were loaded with boats. On a day like this there is no such thing as a slow pass. The water was the calmest we have seen it on the bay until the big fast boats flew by, must have passed so close in such a big bay to see where this slow moving boat was from. I am sure it was not to see this slow boat bob back and forth. Some passed so close we did not have time or room to turn into the waves. There was a lot of debris in the water even some big pieces of wood, great day we did not hit anything. We reached the C & D Canal around noon. The canal is wide and deep from bank to bank. We did not see any barge traffic while on the canal. Once we left the canal and headed North against the tide we lost 2MPH, tide and current are big on the Delaware River and Bay. We pulled into Delaware City Marina after 71.4 miles at 2:45 and are now in our 16th state. We have one more state to go thru till we are in our home state of New York. We are holding out this morning 31st for slack and ebb tide before heading South to cape May. High tide is at 11:08am but it is a 58 mile run to Cape May so probably 6 to 7 hours. We will probably get the underway fever and get underway 9:30 or 10 and fight the tide for awhile.
Lin & Rich
Delaware City Marina
Delaware City, Delaware
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