Wow! Our 2024 cruising season on America’s Great Loop flew by. Nine months on board had us navigating 3820 miles from Florida to Canada before putting Now or Never away on Lake St. Clair, just north of Detroit.
2024 Cruising Journey
Our travels began with a New Years Cruise to Port Charlotte, from Melbourne, Florida. The 530 mile journey led us across the Okeechobee waterway (coast to coast through the middle of Florida) to celebrate New Years with Ohio River friends on the gulf side of Florida. Enroute we met up with boating friends (Tropical Horizons & Journey), and family.
New Years Rendezvous across the Okeechobee
We would return to Melbourne and enjoyed friends and family visiting us over the winter before beginning our northernly migration.
Winter Visitors
We left Melourne mid-March after a St. Patrick Day weekend celebration and six weeks of fun with looper friends Bob and Ronda on Hawkins Landing.
Ronda and Bob aboard Hawkins Landing
We made it as far as northern Florida before we detoured with our first side trip, one of five this cruising season. We turned west towards Jacksonville and then south and followed the St. Johns River a couple of hundred miles to Sanford, Florida. The inland Florida river which flows south to north was full of beauty and wildlife, including lots of gators. Our favorite anchorage to date was on the St. Johns River, on the edge of Hontoon State Park. It was a great side trip.
St. Johns River and Hontoon State Park
As we retraced our steps and rejoined the Intra-Coastal Waterway (ICW), just after we crossed into Georgia, we found ourselves “stuck” on the beach for a day. Not planned, not to be repeated, but if you haven’t grounded yet, just wait. Luckily the only damage was pride, as a non-stop procession of loopers passed by all day long (we were beached more than 6 hours).
Just a day at the beach!
Making our way north, we repeated some favorite stops at Jekyll Island and downtown Savannah, GA, Beaufort, SC, and Southport NC.
Two more side trips ensued in North Carolina as we navigated the Cape Fear River to Wilmington, NC, and the Neuse River to New Bern, NC. Each were about 50 mile round trip detours that enhanced our voyage and our desire to wander off the beaten path to explore more of America by water.
Met up with boating friends in Wilmington and our visit to New Bern
Friends caught up with us at several ports along the way, Tami and Al found us on the St. Johns River, Karen and Danny, joined us in St. Mary’s, GA and Dustin caught up with us in Norfolk. It’s hard to describe the joy it brings us to see friends and family along the way.
Always love seeing friends along the journey
We arrived in Norfolk, VA and spent nine days of fellowship and fun at the Looper spring rendezvous. It had been two and half years since we attended one, the fall rendezvous in Alabama in 2021. It was Norfolk, where we would meet the Bohonek Family on Live the Dash, docking next to them for nine days, and then deciding to cruise one day with them. That one day quickly turned to four months. Had we not taken another detour to head to Lake Erie at the end of the season, we would most likely still be cruising the Gulf with them now.
Our summer of fun with the Bohonek Family
We finished our back tracking from last year with our buddy boat, making a few stops in the Chesapeake, and then returning to another favorite Annapolis, MD. This time our visit was enhanced by our first ever stay on a mooring ball, back a quiet creek in a residential area of the city. So peaceful with easy dinghy access, this visit is one of our favorites on the whole loop!
One of our favorite ports – Annapolis!
Just north of Annapolis we found ourselves in new waters. Our 2023 cruising season took us as far north as Baltimore and now we were onto all new loop territory as we hit Delaware on the C & D Canal (Chesapeake & Delaware) making our way to New Jersey, and then our big ocean run along the Jersey Shore. This was supposed to be a two day run at about 70 miles each day, but the swells and Tasha had another plan. We powered up and made the run in one day. A big fuel bill, 137 miles, and 10 hours later we were in Great Kills Harbor at Staten Island, NY. Tasha was thankful to have it over with.
We spent a week in New York City, our first visit ever and a great one it was. From the bright lights of Broadway (we saw two shows Neil Diamond and Chicago, met up with Pete and Cathy from home as their daughter was on stage in Chicago!) to cruising by Lady Liberty, and the emotional National September 11 Memorial & Museum, New York was alive and fun!
New York City!
The Hudson River surprised us with its beauty and historic light keeper houses, we cruised by West Point and the Culinary Institute of America both perched on the riverbank. We would make visits to those sites too.
The Beautiful Hudson River
Full of anticipation, the historic Erie Canal and Trent Severn Waterway were everything we hoped for and so much more. We traversed the eastern portion on the Erie Canal visiting 7 towns and locking through 22 locks. We turned north off the Erie onto the Oswego locking through 7 locks and visiting 1 port.
Erie and Oswego Canals
We then cruised our first Great Lake of three this season, making a run across Lake Ontario and another side trip to the Thousand Islands on the St. Lawrence River bordered by the US and Canada. We visited a castle and were graced with the generosity of locals Todd and Robin, who took us on two incredible boat rides weaving in and out of the incredible landscape of the Thousand Islands. They shared history and local knowledge as we cruised areas, we would have never been able to see aboard Now or Never. The voyage becomes so much more by those we meet along the way. Todd and Robin made our stay in Clayton New York and our visit to the Thousand Islands something we will never forget!
Thousand Islands
We crossed into Canadian waters, checked in with the officials, and in less than 24 hours, left the boat and we were back by car in the US in upstate New York to see James Taylor. A spur of the moment plan that makes another good story and a fun evening.
James Taylor
Our grand Canadian journey on the Trent Severn Waterway for six splendid weeks began. It started with spending Canada day with our Canadian friends Karen, Eric, and Tank aboard Tropical Horizons at their home port in Trenton, ON, the gateway to the Trent. Canada Day was spent partaking in the Lions Club pancake breakfast, a car show, air show, and a wonderful display of fireworks with the best view off our boats. A taste of our Independence Day that would take place 3 days later.
Canada Day with our hosts Karen, Eric, and Tank
Traveling the Trent, we negotiated our way through 43 locks over 306 miles, slowing our roll as best as we could. We spent our journey visiting 16 different ports, from cities with access to anything we needed to a lock wall on an island with nothing but pure serenity and the Bohonek kids enjoying the dog days of summer swimming in the lock. Lots of hidden gems, a couple of incredible lock walls with iconic locks (the Peterborough Lift Lock and the Big Chute Marine Railway) made our six weeks on the Trent Severn Waterway were pure magic. Best summer ever.
One incredible journey along the Trent Severn Waterway
With the season end quickly approaching, we left the Trent Severn and cruised beautiful Georgian Bay, finding some killer anchorages and fun places to explore, and finally making our way to Killarney, ON. This was a big dream or ours to return on our own boat to a family friends’ dock, at their cabin, on an island, and across from the mainland. We enjoyed the small fishing village on the narrow channel that connects Georgian Bay to the North Channel. Our dinghy was the only mode of transportation needed, and the fish and chips were straight off the boat. Our private dock was equipped with a golden retriever and two yellow labs. It just doesn’t get any better. Our end of season week visit was just too short for our liking, so we pledged to return next year to take it all in again. Thankful for George and Kathy (Chardy, Tilly, and Beau – the resident pups) who immensely enriched our visit with their generous hospitality.
Killarney, ON and family friends Kathy and George sharing their oasis
It was in Killarney that we said goodbye to the Bohonek Family aboard Live the Dash. It was a solemn occasion that took the wind out of our sail the rest of the cruising season.
Our Killarney farewell with the Bohonek family
They continued on with the looper migration toward Chicago, our crew headed south into Great Lakes, Huron and Erie. It was in Erie that we revisited our roots from our youth and visited with Tasha’s cousin, Deb. Our cruising season ended with Now or Never being tucked in for a long winters nap north of Detroit in the old Chris Craft Factory in Algonac, MI. We will get reacquainted in the spring as we continue our Great Loop Voyage, year five!
Lake Erie Roots
Weather and wind played so much of a factor in our cruising this year. We were on constant watch, and we dodged and waited out weather in Titusville, FL, St. Mary’s, GA, and Solomons, MD. Clayton, NY, Parry Sound, Britt, and Tobermory, ON, St. Clair, MI, and Vermilion, OH. We had more weather days this segment than the couple years prior combined.
Our voyage was rich in history, and we partook in tours and museums including the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, so much in New York including the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, West Point, the Hudson River Maritime Museum, Clayton NY’s Antique Boat Museum, Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum (Cleveland), and the Christmas Story House.
Following is our cruising recap of this year beginning with our New Years voyage across the Okeechobee and then our migration to our furthest northern point of Killarney, ON before we headed south back into the US and put the boat up on Lake St. Clair. The second column includes all our stats since we left our home port on the Ohio River in June of 2021.
| Great Loop by the Numbers | 2024 | Total Loop | |
| Miles Traveled | 3760 | 10,006 | |
| Cruising Days | 95 | 237 | |
| Days Onboard | 269 | 830 | |
| Days Since Departing Home Port including Melbourne Hiatus | – – | 1189 | |
| Locks | 86 | 127 | |
| States Traveled | 11 + Canada | 17 + Washington DC + Canada | |
| Ports Visited (unique) | 76 | 166 | |
| Marina Nights | 210 | 678 | |
| Marina Nights w/ Melbourne | – – | 1037 | |
| Marina Cost | $12,949 | $37,533 | |
| Marina Cost w/ Melbourne | – – | $46,784 | |
| Highest One Night Marina Cost | $235 – $5/ft + $15 power New York, NY | $235 – $5/ft + $15 power New York, NY | |
| Free Dock Nights | 22 | 66 | |
| Anchor Nights | 14 | 30 | |
| Mooring Ball Nights | 7 | 7 | |
| Lock Wall Nights | 16 | 16 | |
| Boat Yard Nights | 22 | 39 | |
| Gallons of Diesel | 2510 | 6611 | |
| Diesel Cost | $10,889 | $25,448 | |
| Lowest Diesel Cost | $3.31 – April 2024 Fernandina, FL | $2.99 – October 2021 Blue Springs, TN & June 2021 Jeffersonville, IN | |
| Highest Diesel Cost | $5.18 (US) – July 2024 Buckhead, ON, CA | $5.49 – March 2022 Marathon, FL |
We started dreaming of looping close to 15 years ago. Saving, planning, dreaming. Our closest friends know there was a spreadsheet, or two, or twenty involved. Many factors in play and coming to the realization there would never be a perfect time to cast those lines off, the captain stated in the spring of 2021, it’s Now or Never.
First day on the loop 2021, last of 2024
Our great adventure began June 18, 2021, traversing from our home waters on the Ohio River to Algonac, MI where Now or Never awaits for a spring launch. Our intentions were to savor the moments and take two years to complete our loop. But life goes on and plans, change. We’ve had our fair share of heartache and obstacles these last 3.5 years, but this incredible journey has been just what we needed to mend.
Travels to date – June 21 to September 24
We will jump on board in Michigan in May and spend the summer in Canada and the Great Lakes (Michigan and Superior) before heading south on the rivers to cross our wake at the confluence of the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers (Western Kentucky). The direct route to our wake crossing would be 1225 miles, but we are certain we will wander off the magenta line a few more times before closing our loop.
We appreciate you cruising along, encouraging us on this journey, and the feedback you give us via comments here on the blog, comments and likes on facebook, a thumbs up when we see you at home, and just keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. Ten thousand miles under our keel, 28 months on board, what an adventure we have been blessed to enjoy, with memories to last us a lifetime.
And the loop goes on!
Cheers! David, Tasha,
& Remy forever in our hearts!
Best Loop Dog Ever, Our Sweet Remy
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Thank you both for the great adventure. Have a wonderful holiday season!
Happy Holidays to you, Judy!