March 16, 2026

THE START

So, I was thinking about telling stories as a way for folks to envision our adventure. But, I think before I can do that, I have to set the scene. We spent 3 months (Dec. 16, 2025-March 16, 2026) in Fort Lauderdale prepping the boat and getting supplies. This seemed to be. time when we were also acclimating to the idea of living on a boat. For 2 of those months, we rented an AirBnB so we had a place to stay while the boat was getting worked on. Once we moved onto the boat, there was still this sense of change and newness that was a bit disconcerting. Maybe a bit on edge and a little cranky? I do think that Howie and I had more “spats” during this time. Change is hard, especially with selling the Orchard house and Nissan Leaf and giving away essentially all of our furniture. Once we got closer to leaving, my nervousness increased as there were so many unknowns-how to dock the boat, tying up fenders, throwing lines to dockhands, figuring our Bella’s routine. That first week after leaving Fort Lauderdale was really difficult. The good news is we figured things out and learned a great deal. Now, on to some thoughts about the loop!

March 16-18, 2026

ON THE ROAD

Starting out of ACY Yachts on the New River, we waved goodbye to Rafael, Mark, Ryan, Steve and Dillon on March 16 and started up the New River. It was fun to see the Sunset Bridge (which we had driven over numerous times to go to the beach) from the water. Contacting the bridge masters on channel 9 or 16 became almost second nature, though had a couple of hiccups with construction workers on the bridge delaying an opening. Overall the bridge masters are courteous and expedient. Our first marina, Seagate Yacht Club was right on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). We left putting out the fenders until we were right next to the marina and I had to use throttles to try and keep us positioned in the ICW with the current pushing me all over. Howie did a great job pulling up to the T-head and we had officially completed our first day on the water! Took a swim in the club pool and went to bed early. Next morning, before leaving I saw Bella on the front of the boat. She had a couple of her soft toys with her which Bella typically carries around. I look out a bit later and see Penguin, one of the squeaky toys drifting away in the water.

March 18-19, 2026

NASTY WAVES

So, when I started requesting slips/dockage at marinas, I would say that we were new to the boat and would like an easy in/out due to our unfamiliarity with the 49’ power catamaran (Fountaine Pajoy MY6). Well, our second marina, Riviera Beach took us quite literally. Do you see that boat on the T-head at the end of the long dock? Well, that’s where they put us. We were essentially jutting out into the ICW and every time a boat would go by, we were rocking and rolling. I told Howard that if this is what the trip was going to be like, I am stopping now. Oh, and look how far away we were from land. Taking the dog out was like going on an expedition! Crikey, that was not a fun experience.

March 19-20, 2026

LOST AT SEA

Our third marina was on Hutchinson Island and is owned by the Marriott company. Dock hands were very helpful and tied our lines in pretty spaghetti rows. I actually docked the boat using the docking mode on the joystick. Was fun and actually pretty easy. Very proud of myself! Had a nice lunch at the hotel and a walk around the neighborhood. Next morning, before leaving I saw Bella on the front of the boat. She had a soft toy with her which she typically carries around. The problem is, Bella will abandon the toys all over-front, back, and sides of the boat. Next thing I know, I see a black penguin squeaky toy slowing drifting away in the water. So, the first official “lost at sea” and just a few days in to the trip.

March 20-23, 2026

DOWN TIME

We built in a three-night stop at Safe Harbor Harbortown. This was much need downtime as laundry, grocery shopping and cleaning don’t go away on a boat. I pulled our cart up to the Publix which was about a mile away. It actually worked well, though pulling a cart of groceries back got me thinking about Instacart.

Safe Harbors are marinas all over the eastern seaboard and the Great Lakes area. They seem to have more amenities (think swimming pools, fitness centers, restaurants, etc.). The Harbortown marina in Fort Pierce, FL was one of those higher quality spots. Beautiful pool and a brand new fitness center. Really enjoyed our time here.

March 23-24, 2026

DOLPHINS

Peaceful is sitting on the back of your boat watching a pod of dolphins swim in and out of a creek off of the ICW. We also had a large number of rowing teams that were training at Oars & Paddles Park near us.

Took a very warm walk to a local sports complex, laid in the grass and threw the ball for Bella. Telemar marina didn’t have a lot of amenities, but it was a respite from the world.

March 24-25, 2026

NO PACKAGES PLEASE!

Learned a valuable lesson today, don’t send packages to a marina without asking. Received a frustrated call from the Titusville Municipal Marina that “they don’t have room for packages!” It was a disconcerting phone call and I felt so bad that I made banana bread for the office staff. Warmed it up and brought in butter with the bread when we docked. Then realized, they had enormous amounts of room, they just didn’t like getting packages. Oh well, they said they enjoyed the bread.

I thought as we moved north that the weather would be a bit cooler. No such luck. Mid-80’s pretty much every day. Humidity is pretty bad as well. Walked with Bella and Howie to Pier 220 Grill and had a nice lunch. Threw the ball for Bella at Sand Point Park.

March 25-26, 2026

FEELING CONFIDENT

You know that feeling when you take on a challenge and do it well? I brought the boat into Halifax Harbor Marina which meant coming into the marina, around the fuel dock past the vast rows of boats to the second north T-head. I turned the boat so that the bow was facing the fuel dock. Serious confidence builder. The next morning, I took the boat over to the fuel dock as well.

Again, a very warm day as we came in. Howie biked over to the local Crunch Fitness (kudos!) and I took Bella on a walk in the historic district. Overall, a very fine day.

March 26-30, 2026

ANYONE SAY ‘COCKTAIL’?

After an intense 10 days, downtime is needed. The Marina at Hammock Beach was a quiet oasis for us. After docking, walking the dog and working out in the very nice fitness center, we enjoyed a lovely swim in the pool. The one downside to Hammock Beach is that it is a bit isolated. We did get over to the hotel and had an average-quality dinner. It has a nice setting on the golf course and they do provide van shuttle service back and forth to the dock. My brother Carl and sister-in-law Maggie suggested a lunch spot, Rodie’s Place, which we were able to walk to. Carl and Maggie spend a few months each year in Palm Coast, which is about 20 minutes south of Hammock Beach. We met Tom and Brenda Lahey, AGLCA Harbor Hosts for dinner. Overall, a quiet, relaxing time with cocktails, lots of cocktails!

March 30-31, 2026

BADASS CITY-ST AUGUSTINE

Sometimes you regret your decisions. I made a mistake in not choosing the St Augustine Municipal Marina. Instead, we were out on Anastasia Island, over 1.5 miles from St. Augustine city. We did walk it on a very warm Monday and had a wonderful lunch at Harry’s Seafood. Flagler College is a lovely campus. I had never seen a large outdoor swimming pool on a college campus before. Lawrence Lewis founded the college in 1968, using a luxury hotel as the foundation to the private liberal arts college. Walking down St. George Street is really enjoyable-very touristy, but has some good shops-found quality shoes and a really nice pet store. Tried to Uber back to the boat, but no luck. Definitely need to put St. Augustine on the bucket list.

March 31-April 1, 2026

MEMORY LOSS-WHERE ARE WE?

I have to admit I don’t remember much about the Windward at Beach Marina. It was near a large, busy bridge. Howard just told me that I was supposed to dock the boat, but once we went under the bridge the current was rough, there were numerous boats going in and out and where we were going to dock, there was a large boat directly in front of us. I handed over the reigns to Howie and he was amazing getting the boat docked. We stayed one night and that was essentially it. Nothing else to report. Only one picture to share of Bella enjoying a siesta.

April 1-2, 2026

DEAR FRIENDS ON AMELIA ISLAND

How cool is it when friends are willing to pick you up at your boat, take you to lunch (AND pay for it!) and then take you out shopping to get needed items?!? Audrey Schoninger has been my dear friend for decades. Even though we don’t see each other often, she will always be considered an adopted sister. It was wonderful to see Audrey and her husband Steve. We watched from the back of the boat as the NASA's Artemis II mission was launched successfully launched from Cape Canaveral. It was about 190 miles away, but we did see the large plume of smoke.

April 2-6, 2026

ISLAND LIVING

There is something to be said for island living. Jekyll Island has a long history with a diversity of people using it as a living space. Indigenous people used it as a hunting ground, plantation owners using enslaved people to grow cotton of Often described as the "richest, most inaccessible club in the world," its membership included names like J.P. Morgan, William Rockefeller, Joseph Pulitzer, and the Vanderbilts. At its peak, the club’s members controlled roughly one-sixth of the world's wealth.

The Jekyll Island marina was pretty lame. The pool was filthy and the restaurant overlooked the space so there was a bit of voyeurism in the whole thing, so never did use it.

April 6-7, 2026

ANCHORING OUT-NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART

Ever try something for the first time and think, “why the @%^& are we doing this?” Well, get a boat, go to a remote place, drop your anchor and then spend the night. Definitely an experience. You constantly watch the land and try to figure out if you have moved or if your anchor is holding. Do this a hundred times over the course of the evening, while you are trying to sleep and into the next morning. That is anchoring out. The good news is that once you pull anchor, you are free and ready to move on. Let’s just say that once we got into Savannah the next evening, we had a cocktail.

April 7-10, 2026

OLD HAUNTS

From 1997-2000, we used to live about 50 minutes west of Savannah, GA. I worked at Georgia Southern University and Howie would jet off to a client site Monday-Thursday. I would sometimes drop him off at the Savannah airport early on a Monday morning and then pick him up for a fun evening on the Savannah River with gin and tonics and cheese and crackers that I had put into a cooler. It was the highlight of a busy week apart. We have come back a couple of times since, so coming in on the boat was really something special. We had a dear friend, Carolyn Bryan stay with us a couple of nights-our first official guest!! Carolyn and I go back to 1997 when we met at a new faculty orientation, almost 30 years ago. Wonderful to be together.

April 10-11, 2026

DO YOU EVER GET THAT VIBE?

Full confession, I am writing this blog entry on May 27 which is probably 20 stops ago from Port Royal, SC. Howard and I had to figure out where the heck this stop was. It really was a nondescript place. I do remember walking Bella in a nice neighborhood, but since we were only here for one night, it was just a place, nothing special. Oh well, moving on.

April 11-15, 2026

I COULD LIVE HERE

Charleston, SC is a freaking AWESOME city. Other than the heat and humidity, I could definitely live here. The beautiful homes, wonderful parks, walk-ability of the place, restaurants, bars, and just the overall vibe, this is a happening place. Really enjoyed our time here and have to come back. We visited the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier which is a historic WWII vessel permanently moored in Charleston Harbor. There was a really unique cemetery behind a church that had graves from the 1700-1800’s. Too cool to find a Unitarian church in downtown Charleston!!

April 15-17, 2026

THE APOCALYPSE IS HERE

So, our trip from Charleston, SC to Georgetown, SC was apocalyptic. We were constantly watching our depth gauge due to low water in a number of areas and because of absolutely no wind, we started taking on flies about an hour into our trip. It was horrendous-flies everywhere-up on the fly bridge, in the saloon, and outside on the back sitting area. it was hard to captain the boat due to how many there were. When we got into Georgetown, I had to get the vacuum out to suck up their crappy “ass” carcasses. That will go down in the annals as being a thoroughly yucky day. Georgetown itself was actually a very nice area. We walked into the town and had a quality lunch at 1310 Kitchen and Bar. Ok, we did get ice cream too.

April 17-20, 2026

CHORES-GOT TO DO THEM

The everyday chores of life don’t go away on a boat. Laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking, bills, etc. are there after a day of boating. I don’t want to be too traditional here, but I (Linda) typically do the laundry, grocery shopping and cooking. I like to cook and enjoy listening to an audio book as a complete tasks. Howie is our route planner and maintenance guy. Bella is the greeter and is darn good at her job. No one can go by the boat without her bringing a squeaky toy out.

We stopped at Myrtle Beach Yacht Club which had a restaurant on premise. The staff was very nice and we had a lovely view from our outside table. It was in a pretty commercialized area, so we didn’t go to far away, though there was a nice walking path around the marina and we were able to walk in a small subdivision nearby. So far, one frustration has been that many of the marinas are isolated or near industry.

April 20-22, 2026

NATURE IS THERAPEUTIC

Bald Head Island is in South Carolina and is a wonderful stopover for nature lovers. We finally got the dog cart out and attached it to the back of my bike. Rode to a hiking trail and enjoyed a peaceful walk in the woods. We were only here for two days so definitely need to come back as there is much more to investigate.

Had a lovely “docktail” at our boat with fellow loopers-Greg and Kara and Mike and Bobbi. Matt, Greg and Kara’s son also joined us for dinner.

April 22-24, 2026

BOAT REPAIR

Heading up to Myrtle Beach, while I was driving (of course), we lost steering. We could only go up to 1500 RPM on the one engine which meant going slow. An engine technician came out and diagnosed a fault in our steering drive. An easy fix, right? Wrong. It required us going up to Wilmington, NC, having the boat taken out of the water and two Volvo Penta technicians from Myrtle Beach driving up to spend the day repairing it. Finally tally-$16,000. Yep, this is not for the faint of heart. Good news, we really liked Wilmington and when we move to an RV, definitely plan to come back.

April 24-25, 2026

ANCHORING OUT -2ND ROUND

Realizing that stress is what you make it, meaning it can work for you or against you. Today was a day when it worked against us. We had decided to anchor out after leaving Wilmington. There was construction being completed on the Wrightsville Beach bridge and boats that are wide can’t go through when they are working on it. So, we were planning on waiting until Saturday morning (April 25) to go through when they weren’t working on it. Well, every other boat was thinking the same thing and when we got to the anchor area there were already 9 boats in the lagoon. We tried setting an anchor, but a boat came in right behind us and quickly dropped anchor in our swing area (boats move back and forth due to wind while anchored). We pulled up the anchor and started back down the ICW thinking we could find another spot. Well, we went a couple of miles and there was nothing. I called the Wrightsville Beach bridge and by this time (around 4 p.m. on a Friday), the construction crew was gone.

We turned around and headed up to the bridge, waited for it to open on the hour and went to Swansboro to anchor. It was windy, but it worked. The main stressor with anchoring is Bella’s unwillingness to potty on the artificial turf we bought for her. By the time we went to bed, it had been 12 hours since she had peed. We got up around 6 a.m. and put her in the tender, motored over to the town dock and she peed immediately (hence the picture of her peeing to the right). It turned out to be a lovely Saturday morning. We found coffee, walked the streets of Swansboro, chatted with a few folks out and then had a very nice breakfast at Yana’s.

April 25-28, 2026

BAD MOJO

Apologies for another Bella story, but she is the first mate and deserves a few mentions. We were in a lovely marina, Homer Smith Marina in Beaufort, NC which had a courtesy car so I could do errands and a nice laundry. We got in on a Saturday and had 3 days of down time. Did some boat stuff in the afternoon and was looking forward to walking into town and have a drink and dinner. I decided to take Bella over and throw the ball for her in the water before we left. Had a great time and then the three of us walked into town. We hadn’t sat down for five minutes when Howie looked down and saw blood under Bella’s paw. It was bleeding pretty badly. Well, that was the end of that night. We walked back and I wrapped her pad which was cut from one of the shells from the beach. Austin Veterinary Animal Hospital was kind enough to get us in early on Monday morning. It’s a lot of fun to Uber with your dog to a vet clinic-ha! The pad took almost a month to heal as the vet didn’t stitch it. Lessons learned, Bella will NOT be going in water with shells unless she has her dog boots on.

We did get out to a for a delicious dinner at the Beaufort Grocery Company. Small, intimate restaurant that served incredible food.

April 28-30, 2026

EERIE PLACE

Ever been to a place and the hairs on your body start to stand on end? River Dunes Marina felt like a town that had been abandoned with everyone leaving their place in perfect order. All of the houses had neatly trimmed landscaping, the pool had water and looked inviting, the marina had boats, but there was no one around. Okay, there actually were a few folks around, but the place was just creepy. There was another looper family that came in on April 29 and they said the same thing. The restaurant was closed the two nights we were there and even the swimming pool had a “closed” sign on it, though the looper kids did go in. I biked about 10 miles around the area and there were a lot of vacant lots that hadn’t been built on. When you add in how frustrating it was to get into and out of this marina due to the crab pots, I would not go back.

April 30-May 1, 2026

DOWN HOME FEEL

Belhaven Marina feels like a down home spot where everyone knows your name. Just walking around town there is a butcher shop, bakery, a few restaurants, a couple of cloth stores and a feel that you have walked into a community where everyone knows each other. Talking with the Belhaven dock master Gregg about restaurants, he said we needed to go to Spoon River and that he would text the owner to get us a reservation. He said, “We’ll see you there as we are taking a friend out for his 85 birthday. He lost his wife a few months ago and we wanted to cheer him up.” On our way to dinner we actually met the birthday gentleman who had on his best suit and was looking pretty good for his age. There were around 10 people at the birthday dinner. We also saw some fellow loopers at dinner as well. They were chatting with the folks sitting next to them and then later, they were over at the birthday table. It was a really nice stop over.

May 1-4, 2026

OH CRAP, THERE’S ANOTHER ONE

Let me just say that Manteo on Roanoke Island, just west of Nags Head is an absolutely lovely place. With that said, I will NEVER go there in a large boat again. If you look at the map to the right, you will see the Alligator river that flows into the Albemarle Sound. Manteo is on Roanoke Island, to the right of the green area. As you hit the 64 bridge, you realize there are crab pots everywhere! These are basically floating buoys placed sporadically all over the water. Each captain will paint their buoys a particular color-red, orange, green, blue (yes, similar to the water color). They are typically a long line of buoys and boy are they random. Howie and spent about two hours going slow from Alligator river to Manteo shouting out “port or starboard” the entire time. Once we got close to the harbor, we were exhausted. The craziness didn’t stop there!

Pretty typical day for Bella - sleeping on the flybridge, watching over the captain on deck.

Bridge opening video (16 seconds) - We had 66 bridges over 13 travel days (March 16-April 6).

This is Hammock Beach marina. A lot of marinas are right next to a bridge. It’s a real bummer, as the road noise cuts into the serenity of the places.

Nice lunch at Rodie’s Place-thanks Carl and Maggie for recommending!

Flagler College was originally a luxury hotel (Ponce de Leon) which can be seen in the Student Center.

This is a pretty typical bridge. Bridge heights range from 7-65 feet. Anything below 25 feet, we would request a bridge opening.

Bella finally peeing after almost 24 hours of not going.

Short, but fun tender ride around Swansboro.

When you watch the video, you can see the shells right at the water’s edge. Can’t believe I was that dumb to let her swim.

Howie and Bella on a chillier day.

Bella in her “splat” position on the front cover of the boat. This is a favorite viewing spot. Alas, a lot of the toys are left to their own devices after she gets tired of hanging out.

Enjoying a margarita after our first official week on the Great Loop! We got the margarita mix from a couple that were giving away kitchen items prior to their flight home. Turned out to not be such a good mix as I spent time in the bathroom getting rid of said mix. Yuck.

There was a group of ladies rowing that went by our boat at Telemar. They looked like they had been rowing together awhile.

Might be a bit difficult to see, but there is a dolphin riding ride the wake of a boat that just passed us. You can see the fin as it comes out of the water.

The above picture is Halifax Harbor. You enter through the north waterway and come down past the grassy area and turn at the office space. We were down on the second north T-head.

First time washing a dog on the back of the boat. It was actually pretty enjoyable!

Bald Head Island Lighthouse

The bike cart worked really well. Bella definitely got used to it after the second time out.

Getting the boat into the sling, out of the water and moving to dry dock for the day. Howie and me out to lunch on the Cape Fear river.

Do these people seriously use the space in this mansion? I bet they live in 5 rooms and the rest are closed off. Most homes on the ICW aren’t this big.

The historic city walls of St. Augustine, known as the Cubo Line, were originally built in 1704 after an English siege devastated the city.

Bella enjoying a siesta on the “dark side” of the boat.

Audrey Schoninger, Howie and Linda at lunch. Howie, Linda, Steve and Audrey after a great Mexican dinner and watching Artemis II take off from Cape Canaveral.

Walking the beach on Jekyll Island. Bella playing in the surf.

It was actually a pleasant anchoring situation, other than the generator not starting and Howie having to spend a half hour bleeding the line.

Carolyn, a dear friend for almost 30 years.

Linda, Carolyn and Kara-an AGLCA looper that is a new friend!

Couldn’t come up with anything other than this benign picture of land for our Port Royal stop.

I only had one picture from Georgetown from a walk with Bella. It really was a lovely downtown.

Beautiful greenery going from Georgetown to Myrtle Beach.

This was the only picture I took while staying at River Dunes. Says a lot about how lame the place was.

Belhaven is a pretty town with great people.

Entrance to Myrtle Beach Yacht Club

Bald Head has an amazing coastline. It goes on for miles and it basically empty of people. At least in mid-April. Maybe the “summer people” haven’t arrived yet.

Boo-boo after the vet patched her up.

Finally did get out for a fantastic dinner in Beaufort-Beaufort Grocery Company (yes, it was a grocery before they renovated).