Our first full day in Jacksonville was enjoyable. Dick set off early to collect the rental car, while I made apple cake in anticipation of visitors. Fellow gold Loopers Debbie and Steve dropped by to visit Nine Lives and share the apple cake.
Later in the morning the local harbor host came over to see if there was anything we needed. I chatted with him, but Dick was tied up with the lighting project and didn’t realize we had a visitor. I finished and published the next installment of the blog while Dick replaced the fluorescent light fixture in his bathroom. This was another electrical project that required 3 hands and a certain amount of adult language to complete. The bathroom is now exceptionally well lit!
Our dinner in the evening was at a French bistro, Restaurant Orsay. It was an enormous place, and at first it looked as though we would be seated in a very crowded, noisy place with tiny tables and uncomfortable looking chairs. However, our hostess led us through a rather dark concrete tunnel-like corridor (where the heck are we going!) past the kitchen, and out into a pleasant, spacious, and quiet area. We were also delighted to be seated at one of the larger tables.
The meal was mostly very good. I started with a smoked trout dip, served with interesting cornmeal biscuits. Dick ordered escargots, that came in puff pastry with a lovely mushroom sauce. I tried lobster pot pie for my main dish. The lobster was absolutely delicious, perfectly cooked, not tough as it can be sometimes, in a delicate sauce. The dish fell short because of roasted vegetables that were well overcooked. It may be an easy option, but it really is time to get rid of the fashion for roasting vegetables! Too often it is an excuse for using up produce that is past its prime, although that was not the case on this occasion, they were just burnt. The biscuit that served as the “pie” was a tasty traditional southern style biscuit, but the flavour was too intense, and it overcame the delicate lobster and sauce. I ignored the biscuit and enjoyed the dish with French bread instead.
There were several favourite offerings for Dick to choose from, but he decided on cassoulet, which he enjoyed.
The restaurant has a dedicated pastry chef on staff, and it showed. So often a meal is let down by mass-produced or frozen desserts. Here, one could choose a small version of several of the dessert offerings, so we decided to share 3. Dick’s favourite was a beautiful fruit tart, while I loved the raspberry mousse. We both liked the éclair, unusually presented with key lime filling and glaze instead of chocolate. It was a wonderful finish to an excellent evening.
Friday was a busy and interesting day. Dick set off for groceries in the morning. Shortly after noon we drove to Catty Shack Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary. Their mission is to rescue large cats that have been seized by law enforcement or are made homeless by zoos or private collections closing down. They have expanded to include other animals, and now have 2 bears and some coatimundi.
We enjoyed the visit, even though, as expected, most of the cats were sleeping as they do through most of the day. It is possible to attend the night-time feeding, so we may consider a future visit for that. These animals have spent their lives in captivity, some of them in terrible conditions, so they are used to being in enclosures. There is plenty of stimulation, including giant plastic balls, that given their scratched condition, are popular for playtime! The owner and volunteers get around in golf carts, and we were amused to see that if a golf cart stopped near an enclosure, the fast asleep kitty would immediately get up and come over to the fence, in anticipation of a little snack.
Even when the animals are elderly or infirm, they are looked after and provided with special ramps in their enclosures to allow them to enjoy a peaceful old age.
In the evening, we went to La Cena Ristorante, a well-regarded Italian eatery. It was an odd experience. Reservations are only taken by phone, and the owner stresses the first of many rules, no young children, and no strong personal scents. A sign also repeats these requirements at the door. The whole first page of the menu sets out more rules in great detail. The rules are basically a push-back on the increasingly common practice of diners sharing just one appetizer and entrée. You can share an appetizer, but if you share an entrée, the upcharge will be the same as if 2 entrees are ordered. The same if you order a second appetizer instead of an entrée, you will be charged an entrée price. The whole meal must be ordered all at the same time. We fully understand why a restaurant may wish to make these policies, but we did notice that on a Friday evening, the venue was less than half full.
The meal was delicious, and we followed the proper Italian custom of a second, small pasta course between the appetizer and the entrée. A salad was included, as was the most delicious bread. As we arrived early for our reservation, the whole restaurant smelled heavenly. The bread is baked inhouse. In response to our compliments, a whole loaf was given to us to take home, just as we were wondering whether we dared ask if we could order a loaf to go
Saturday turned out to be a quiet day. After Dick completed the grocery shopping at a supermarket he had forgotten to visit the day before, I walked the docks in the marina and issued some invitations for docktails the next day. After that, it was very hot and humid, so we decided we would not do the afternoon outing we had planned. Either the heat or something I ate disagreed with me, so we also cancelled our dinner reservation for the evening. Dick’s wallet was happy for the reprieve, but we were both sorry to miss the venue – a steakhouse in a historic former bank building in downtown Jacksonville.
On Sunday we went for a short drive through some very attractive neighbourhoods near downtown. The housing is all different styles and sizes, at a guess, most date from between the wars. We also drove across the bridge over the Ortega River and through another attractive suburb. Here, the houses on the shoreline are much larger, many of them with imposing gates, while the homes further inland are smaller as the cross-streets get farther from the waterfront.
Late afternoon, we hosted docktails. There were just 5 of us, as we were competing with a marina pot-luck gathering. George joined us, he is a solo Looper from Texas. We enjoyed meeting him and sharing stories. It was great to spend time again with Sandy and Frank, and afterwards we went for pizza together. Their boat has just sold, and they are moving to a larger one with plans to go through the Panama Canal and up the West Coast. It is good news that higher-priced boats are still selling, gives us hope that Nine Lives will soon find a buyer.
Leaving the marina the next morning, we had to wait a few minutes for the railway bridge downtown. Then, as we passed the highway bridge, a gentleman in a waterfront high-rise took pictures and posted them on Nebo, wishing us safe travels.
East of downtown, the Saint Johns River is an industrial port. We met a huge vehicle carrier making its way upstream. Further downriver was an even bigger one, maneuvering into dock with no less than 3 port police boats hovering to direct other boat traffic if needed. Our timing was good, and their docking was completed before we got there.
The next excitement was two Coast Guard boats practising something, tearing back and forth, apparently chasing each other. The one doing most of the chasing had a gun in the bow. I decided that it would be prudent to take my pictures from inside the cockpit, rather than going out on deck as I usually do.
We are certainly back in the “Low Country”, with a lot of shallows and the channel meandering back and forth. We have to pay close attention to both charts. We passed the railway bridge, and the very narrow channel to one of the marinas on Amelia Island. In 2017, we tried multiple times to get into that channel with zero success. Although dredged, it was V-shape rather than U-shape, and Nine Lives with her two well-spaced hulls simply did not fit. It was our first really tough setback on our maiden voyage to bring Nine Lives round to Hilton Head. We had to continue on, into the inlet, and up the St Mary’s River with a small craft warning and very difficult dockage at the end. We shuddered as we passed that channel, which looks no better today than it did in January 2017!
We docked without incident in downtown Fernandina Beach, one of our favourite towns. As we enjoyed our early evening cocktail, we noticed a young woman with a skateboard. The docks here are only secured at night, and as we have seen in other places, it is a common thing for people to walk around and look at the boats. This young lady had the kind of skateboard with a large ball or wheel in the middle. Research suggests that they are highly controversial and quite dangerous. She was clearly wobbly, still learning how to use the board, and we wondered whether she and her skateboard were about to enjoy an unplanned swim. Sadly, it was a lot more serious. She hit the cover that goes across the dock (ironically, it’s there so people don’t trip on boat power cords and hoses), and she came off at speed onto the concrete dock. A nearby boater with medical training helped and medics were called. It was a reminder that NO wheeled vehicles of any kind should be ridden on docks.
We enjoyed a lovely walk around the town the next day. We bought some nice things, paused for a refreshing beverage at the famous (or infamous) Palace Saloon, and then we ate lunch in the form of some excellent ice cream. After that, a nap was required.
In the evening, we walked down a road with beautiful old homes to David’s, a restaurant we had visited a few years ago. It was a day early, but a lovely birthday dinner for me. There was even a candle on the dessert! We returned to a pretty sunset and enjoyed a postprandial glass of whiskey in the cockpit.
We left very late (after 11am) the next morning, because we only had a little over an hour to travel to St Marys. Even then, when we arrived our slip was occupied. They untied quickly and our docking was accomplished without drama. After we had time to settle in, the dockhand took us on a golf cart tour of the town. It was an interesting, and very opinionated tour!
In the 1700’s the Acadian diaspora took place in 3 waves, beginning in 1755. The British had been ceded what are today the Maritime provinces in Canada and some parts of Maine as part of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Over the next years, some of the French residents at the time, the Acadians, participated in French military operations against the British. By 1755, if the Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance, they were removed. Initially, they were sent to the 13 colonies, and the more troublesome the individuals, the farther south they were sent. 500 were sent to South Carolina, and 300 were sent to Georgia. Families were split up. Keep in mind that these would have been large, farming families, with grown sons and daughters. In some cases, women were sent to one place, fathers to another, and the children to a third destination. Some of the women are buried in the St Marys cemetery. What I found amazing when I researched the story was how determined the Acadians were. Many of them simply returned to their homes in Acadia, and were deported again. The second wave were sent to Britain and France, and even then, they took ship and tried to return. Many were shipwrecked or died from other causes. Ultimately, although none were sent to Louisiana by the British, it became a destination for the displaced Acadians, and they made their way there from the various places they had been sent. They became the Cajun people, and contributed to the rich heritage of Louisiana.
The land for laying out the town was purchased in 1787, and the City of St Marys was incorporated in 1802. It was the County Seat, twice, finally losing that status in 1923.
St Marys is the jumping-off point for visits to Cumberland Island. I have stayed in the very characterful Riverside Hotel twice. It was both eccentric and comfortable, and I am sure the dust on the stairs dated back to the 19th century! According to our guide, much of the commercial property in the town has been bought up by a billionaire. Most of the restaurants and shops are owned by him, although some are leased back to the previous owners. He built a huge marina (still partly under construction) to accommodate his 100-foot yacht. The docks appear to be fully functional, but there is no marina business there and no docked boats. We stayed at a small marina at the other side of town.
The town has always been quirky, and in the 8 or so years since I have been there, I saw definite improvements. We are told there is a huge housing tract of over 3000 homes about to be built nearby, but at the moment, there are no jobs or local industry. 20% of the current residents are below the poverty line. The nearby Kings Bay Submarine Base apparently does not provide much employment for outsiders, even though there are over 9000 people working there.
We ate on board, then participated in a Loopers’ Zoom docktails session. We chose the “Misadventures on the Loop” section, and were able to regale the participants with several of our mis-judgements and “I told you so” stories. It was fun hearing other scary tales, although I suspect the lady who is just a few days into her Loop came away considerably more worried than amused.
We enjoyed a pleasant day in St Marys. The farm to market shop was a bit of a hike, so Dick took his exercise and came back with some interesting goodies. He also visited the small submarine museum. In the afternoon, we explored the shops. What looked like two similar home goods stores turned out to be something like an antique mall, but with lots of crafts and bric-a-brac as well.
We continued on to Locals Dockside, a waterfront seafood restaurant. We had a good meal with great service, perfectly cooked shrimp and fish, and piping hot fries. The side salads were very fresh and extremely generous in size.
After the sun was low enough on the horizon to not be shining in our eyes, we sat in the cockpit for an evening whiskey. The Thermocell gadget was required, there were far too many no-see-ums! It did work well, so we will certainly be buying refills and using it on our balcony in Hilton Head.
In the morning, the bugs were impossible, so I had to give up my usual peaceful coffee hour in the cockpit. We wanted an early start anyway. The previous day, another large (Looper) boat had arrived and docked behind us, so getting out of the marina was going to be tricky, and best done at slack tide. For our landlubbers, that is the time when the tide changes, so the currents are at their least strength. We had about 10 feet in front of us for Dick to maneuver away from our berth. Good help from the dockmaster and his helper was needed to keep the stern and the dinghy from running into the dock, but it all went very well and we looked like pros!
We listened to the Coast Guard calling boats near the Amelia Island Inlet. There was a nuclear submarine about to enter the channel and make its way to Kings Bay Submarine Base. Several small boats were not paying attention and required multiple calls. When it became clear that the sub might be catching us up as we made our way past Cumberland Island, Dick speeded up so we didn’t have to heave to and wait, or possibly be asked to turn around.
Kings Bay Submarine Base is the largest construction project ever undertaken by the United States Navy. It was started in 1980, took 9 years to complete at a cost of $1.5 billion, and employs over 9000 people. As we passed, a gunboat eased out and hovered with its bow (and gun) pointing at us. Just making sure we were proceeding on our way and not getting any closer to the base. I did NOT step out on deck to take pictures!
As we arrived in St Andrew Sound we had wind opposing tide, giving us a roll on the bow. Dick cooperatively sped up for me. It didn’t really help with the motion, but it meant that it was only a few minutes before it was time to make the turn up the sound and the waves were off the stern. St Andrew Sound is one of several ugly inlets in this part of Georgia. It is wide and shallow, and shoaling means that you have to zigzag across rather than taking a direct route.
The channel that passes Jekyll Island is notoriously skinny, and we went through it at low tide. This may have been a misjudgement! After passing the marina and the public dock, both with extremely shallow water, even bare mud, on the land side, we came into a particularly shoaled section of the channel. Suddenly, Nine Lives was going uphill! We were in the mud. We were only slightly to the west of Bob’s Tracks, but for a few minutes it seemed as though we might run fully aground. We gently pushed through the mud, and eventually it got slightly easier and we were back in the channel.
Bob’s Tracks is an app you can download to your charts. It is crowd-sourced, created by a number of boaters who travel back and forth along the ICW each year, and record their exact tracks. These are then combined to produce a single best recommended routing. Much of the time, the tracks are pretty much where the regular magenta line is, but it is in areas of continuous shoaling that it comes into its own. When we last passed through this area, there was no such app to help us. What’s more, we didn’t even have the contour features that are now part of Navionics on the chartplotter, nor did we have Aquamaps on our second, iPad-based charts. It has taken us a bit of adjustment to work out how I can best convey where we need to be for Dick at the helm. Bob’s Tracks are on my iPad, not the chartplotter that Dick has in front of him.
Later, Dick read the Waterway Guide advice for the Jekyll Island Creek. It says, “Do not go through Jekyll Creek at anything less than half tide rising.” We did it at dead-low tide, which was also a foot lower than normal because of spring tides! Might possibly have been a good idea to read that section before we arrived, rather than afterwards.
After that excitement, the rest of the journey to Brunswick went well and we docked without incident shortly after 1pm. Our friend Bob arrived to welcome us, just as we were adjusting the lines, so we roped him into helping (pun intended)! Later, we carried the makings of cheese and charcuterie across to their boat, because Asea is recovering from a mishap that resulted in a broken leg. It was great to spend time with them again. We always laugh a lot when we are together!
The next morning, Dick visited the farmers’ market, and then explored the town. The no-see-ums were impossible, so I stayed below and did some work on the blog and photoshop. This is not a good time of year to be living “outdoors” in the Low Country. When we are at home in Hilton Head in late spring, we stay inside.
Brunswick is a city with a somewhat checkered history. It was very prosperous in the mid to late 1800’s. During the mid-20th century some of the beautiful old buildings that remained from earlier, more prosperous times, were allowed to become derelict and were pulled down and replaced with mid-century modern establishments. The 14 fine leafy garden squares had nobody to save them, and roads were built through the middle of some of the ones that remained. Only 2 of the squares today retain their original size and shape.
During WWII the Liberty Ships were built in Brunswick. There were steel hulled ships, 447 feet long, weighing 3500 tons. They served as cargo vessels and troop carriers. 99 were built for the U.S. Merchant Marines with the shipyard producing about 4 per month. In 1944, the Navy asked for 6 ships to be built, and the shipyard managed to build 7 of the vital ships in a single month.
Both Virginia and Georgia claim to have developed Brunswick Stew. It is traditionally a tomato-based stew with beans, vegetables, and originally small game meat such as squirrel or rabbit. Today it is usually made with chicken. Georgia’s claim includes the original stew pot! One story says that the stew was invented by a group of hunters. One man was left to look after the camp and make dinner. He was lazy, and simply threw all the ingredients into one pot. When the hunters returned, cold, and tired, a delicious stew was ready for them.
Today, Brunswick is a major seaport, one of two in Georgia, and its economy is mainly based on tourism and logistics. In the afternoon we walked into town to have a look around. There are a surprising number of restaurants, and it seems to be something of an antiques destination. Karen drove over from St Simons and joined us with Asea and Bob for dinner at Reid’s Apothecary. It was a great evening with good food and congenial company.
America Liberty, a 100-passenger cruise ship, was docked downtown. We saw her again later, passing us on the ICW when we were docked in Isle of Hope. As we approached the Highway 17 bridge, we could see the casino boat. Also, there were 3 car carriers docked in the South Brunswick River. It’s a busy port.
It was a long day, initially boring, but with areas of extreme shoaling where we had to pay close attention to the hazard warnings on the charts and follow Bob’s Tracks meticulously. In the charmingly named Old Teakettle Creek, we passed some markers that were high and dry with the spring low tide.
As we turned into Sapelo Sound, we could see whitecaps, so Dick decided to run fast until we were back into South Newport River. It was like stepping through a door – one minute it was very calm and very hot, and then we were in strong winds and cloudy skies to make me shiver. It even rained a little. Not enough, we decided, to need the windows rolling down. In hindsight, we should have rolled them down and swapped out the screen doors! As we entered St Catherine’s Sound, the waves got higher, and soon we were plunging up and down, and spray was coming over the bow like a giant green wave. Salt water came right over the cockpit and washed over me and everything on the starboard side of Nine Lives. Naturally, Dick was completely dry. As the huge waves crashed over the bow, Nine Lives slammed down into the troughs. Dick had already speeded up, and it helped somewhat, until it didn’t, and he had to slow down to keep control. Some waves threw us sideways. Fortunately, that part of the trip, although scary, nasty and wet, was short, and even as we made the turn into the Medway River, the waves were never quite broadside. As we made our way up the river, the waters gradually calmed, and we heaved a sigh of relief. This was probably our worst experience with waves, surpassing even our awful memories of the Neuse River from 2017. Our no-go criteria is 2-foot waves and 15 mph winds. This was 4-to-5-foot waves, and 20 to25 mph winds.
The excitement was not over. We were nearing the part of the river where we were to turn off, cruising in the centre of the channel as is prudent, with both charts showing 27 feet of depth. I looked over at the depth sounder, and said to Dick, “That’s odd.” That is one of the worst things you want to hear on a boat. The depth sounder was showing just 6 feet under us. Suddenly, we came to a juddering halt. Aground. Dick was right on it, and immediately put the engines into neutral. We were lucky, the high winds, and waves coming from behind, lifted us and we floated free. We can only conclude that the shoal marked on the charts has encroached far into the channel since the last time the Army Corps of Engineers passed this way.
After that, we were happy to have an easy docking with good help and the wind blowing us onto, rather than off, the dock. Once we were in, we could see the mess our adventure had made. Fortunately, we have good discipline and keep the cupboards latched, so nothing had fallen out inside the boat. The salt water that drenched the starboard side of Nine Lives came through the screens, which were quite dirty after weeks of travel. All of that dirt, plus the salt, was deposited on the windowsills, cushions, and even onto the back door, right up to the ceiling!
We ate at the rustic Sunbury Crab Company. We had been there once before (by car), so we knew that the food would be good. Great service, and a very chatty owner, made for a pleasant evening.
There were heavy thunderstorms during the night, so everything was soaked in the morning. The side of the boat that faced the dock was coated with an amazing variety of insects. We debated whether the forecasted rain and wind was such that we should stay put for another day, but the next day was going to be even worse, albeit sunny. The no-see-ums buzzed around us as we untied and got underway. We timed our departure so that it would be slack tide when we got to St Catherine’s Sound. The plan worked, and the waves were not as bad as the previous afternoon. The period was also shorter, that is, the waves were closer together, so Nine Lives was not riding up and slamming down as she had the day before.
The next challenge was Ossabaw Sound, which is in two parts, joined by a channel called Hell Gate (really, even on the charts!) This is extremely narrow and shallow, and subject to wind tides. That means that a sustained wind can actually blow the water out of the channel. Fortunately, the wind was in the “right” direction, and we were still only a little after high tide, so the passage, much dreaded by Loopers, was uneventful. Once through Ossabaw Sound, the rest of the journey was pleasant and smooth, just the way we like it! We arrived at Isle of Hope Marina, our last stop on our Loop voyages, by 1pm.
There are incredible numbers and variety of bugs in this part of the world. Not only no-see-ums, which are as tiny and sneaky as the name implies, but also the large greenflies that give a very painful bite. Annoying, but fortunately not biting, are strange long-legged spider-like things, and of all the unexpected pests to find on a boat, grasshoppers!
The heat and the bugs kept us inside for most of the day on Isle of Hope, but we ventured out in the marina courtesy car to stock up on beer and to have a late lunch. The Driftaway Café has earned TripAdvisor’s highest accolades, and the food was certainly very good. The venue was decorated throughout by sea creatures painted on the walls and ceilings, and quirky tchotchkes. There were plants everywhere, and the decks and garden were lined with an amazing number of small pots with colourful flowers. Cleo, the customer support feline was dozing on one of the outside tables, waiting with the menu to greet the next diners.
The bugs were awful in the evening and first thing in the morning. We headed out at 9am for the final leg of our 8-year voyage.
Crossing the busy ship channel of the Savannah River and going through the shallow Fields Cut were uneventful. We followed a gorgeous 100-ft yacht. Her name was the engaging, and slightly disrespectful Waddle We Do. As we came into Calibogue Sound we were surprised to see not one, but two cruise ships anchored off Harbour Town. One of them was American Liberty, who we first saw in Brunswick and again when she passed Isle of Hope. The other was American Eagle. Both are 100-passenger coastal cruising ships.
We arrived at the lock at Wexford, where we departed from in April 2018. Somehow the channel leading to the lock seemed narrower! Once in the lock, with only inches to spare on each side, Nine Lives looked huge! We were soon tied up on the guest dock, and had time to relax and watch the construction. Wexford is building a new, much larger harbour building and is also doing a major renovation to the clubhouse.
Later, I was able to join my bridge friends, even filled in for a hand, before the traditional wine and gossip afterwards. We spent a quiet evening (blessedly with many fewer no-see-ums) and woke to a pretty sunrise over the golf course.
For the eagle-eyed, and mathematically inclined readers, you might notice a slight disconnect between some of our stated statistics. We collected Nine Lives in January of 2017, in St Petersburg. So we technically finished the Great Loop, and earned the gold burgee, this February when we passed under the bridge in Tampa Bay.
In 2017, we spent a few weeks bringing Nine Lives to Hilton Head, where she was based in Wexford, behind our house, until April of 2018. During the summer of 2017, we went on a 3000-mile shake-down cruise (yes, 3000 miles, only Dick would call that a shake-down cruise). We went north, following the traditional route of the Great Loop, as far as Oswego on Lake Ontario and then returned. We had a decent boating resume before we bought Nine Lives, but we had never owned a large boat, and much of our most relevant experience was on sailboats and narrowboats. We did not know what we did not know! So we sailed off into the wild blue yonder, ever so slightly unprepared, but full of confidence. There were adventures and misadventures, and it was on this cruise that Tucker-cat decided that he is NOT a boat-cat, and prefers to remain on dry land. The following year, having added Nine Lives to the annual AGLCA fleet t-shirt, we set off on the first of our 7-year segments of the Great Loop.
To resume this year’s story, the next morning, Dick rode his bike to our friend’s house to retrieve his car, which he then parked at Palmetto Bay Marina. I spent the morning cleaning, including polishing the outside railings and cleaning the cockpit of accumulated salt grime. This was the day of our big party to celebrate Nine Lives and the completion of our epic journey. Perhaps it should be referred to as a pawty? Or, given that Nine Lives is a cat, we could talk about the purrrty.
Then there was nothing to do for a few hours, since the party was to be catered! In due course, a huge table arrived and was set on the dock. There was a certain amount of concern because there was a gusty wind blowing. We decided that drinks would be on the dock, and food on the boat. Five enormous trays of an amazing variety of hors d’oevres arrived next. Sausage rolls, quiche, cheese and charcuterie, shrimp, tiny flatbread slices, and a whole tray of beautiful macarons and fruit were spread out in the cockpit and downstairs in the salon.
We can certainly say that the party was a success. 37 people managed to fit themselves onto Nine Lives, spreading out between the cockpit, the salon, the foredeck, and even on the back platform. The food was excellent, and our serving helper kept the wine and beer flowing. Most of the guests had not been on Nine Lives before, so it gave them a chance to see what our floating home looks like.
In the morning, we took Nine Lives around the whole of Wexford Harbour for a last look at the lovely homes and gardens, and then out through the lock and the very short trip down Broad Creek to Palmetto Bay Marina. Nine Lives will stay there until she finds a new owner to take her on new adventures.
As the helpful dockmaster assisted with our arrival and tying up, he commented, on seeing the gold burgee, that we were finishing the Great Loop, and he made the assumption that we had taken the usual one year and travelled the traditional 6,000 miles. We explained that in fact it had been 8 years and 20,000 miles, and his exclamation was “Did you get lost?” So yes, we got lost by seeing all but one of the Great Lakes, by going up the Mississippi, by venturing up the Ohio, the Monongahela, and the Cumberland Rivers, and this winter by following the Gulf Coast all the way around the Florida Keys. And let’s not forget, we also went through Lake Champlain and the Chambly Canal, followed by the Rideau. We visited places that most Loopers don’t see, including Lake Huron and Detroit, Cleveland, Sault Ste Marie, Minneapolis St Paul, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, and Nashville. And all the wonderful small towns in between.
This is the close of the Nine Lives Voyages story. We anticipate that soon Nine Lives will sail off into the sunset with new crew, who are sure to love her as much as we do. There will be new adventures, and perhaps she will revisit many of the places that she has been with us. Thank you to all of you who have been with us on this journey. I am continually surprised and so grateful to hear that people are reading this story.
We are going to do other things, travel more and farther, visit friends far and wide, play some golf, and take some time to enjoy all that Hilton Head has to offer. One of the party guests left us some advice, that is entirely apropos:
Advice from a Sea Turtle
Swim with the current
Be a good navigator
Stay calm under pressure
Be well travelled
Think long term
Age gracefully
Spend time at the beach!
The Voyages of Nine Lives 