Where to start?…

We began gathering information about the loop through several sources. We signed up with the AGLCA (America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association) which has some free information and additional content with a paid membership. http://www.greatloop.org. Not only is this highly recommended for general education, a discussion forum, and an interactive map, but also you get a burgee to fly (white for newbies, gold for those who have completed one circle, and platinum for more circles or “super loopers”) and there are member discounts! We bought the book The Looper’s Companion Guide by Capt. John. It is becoming as essential to us as the Douglas books were in Puget Sound, BC, and Alaska. We checked out a blog by a looper who owned our same boat. This allayed our concerns about our boat’s relative diminutive size – if they can do it, so can we! And we were given the books When Life Throws You for a Loop by Captain Chuck Hewitson and Coming Full Circle A Voyage on America’s Great Loop by Bruce and Susan Armstrong. Both great reads.

In doing research we discovered you can start the loop anywhere on the circle, but there are suggested strategies. Doing the loop counterclockwise is best as you can take advantage of the mostly southward current of the inland rivers. This saves gas and time. It is recommended that you do the route from Chicago to the Gulf in the fall, which takes advantage of the best weather and keeps you out of the ocean during hurricane season. Then the Gulf and Florida in the winter for the best weather – hot enough but not sweltering . Next, the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway) in the spring (back through the Chesapeake where my dad will join us for a bit!). Finally, the NY canal system or Canadian Lakes in the summer as those locks don’t open until early June and for the best weather.

The best time for us to start our journey, for various reasons, was fall, and we were looking for the shortest drive possible, so Inland Rivers was the choice.

We learned that the three locks coming out of Chicago were going to be closed due to construction in September this year. Having some experience in construction timelines, we were wary of the early October reopening, so started looking at places beyond the locks as a starting point. St. Louis, MO seemed the best choice for distance and route. We found a place to launch and then a place to store our boat and truck for the year.