Cement-pour day is always exciting. The huge truck churns and grunts. Out comes the goopy gray stuff. The crew spreads it, working quickly as a team. Six+ hours later, it's a foundation. (And a floor.) My first-ever garage floor, for my first-ever garage. It's actually concrete, not cement. Cement is the the binder that, when … Continue reading Garage Pt 2: Cement Pour
Mainship Many Moons completed The Great Loop, America's great boating adventure, in July 2022. This year she will stay mostly on land while the Skipper and First Mate build a waterfront "dirt home" on Lake Superior. We miss the boat and love sharing the adventure. Here is a slide show, in PDF form, about The … Continue reading A Journey of Many Moons
Our floating home isn't floating any more. After her 6,200-mile journey through 19 states followed by 2+ leisurely months in her home waters, Mainship Many Moons has been lifted from the water at tiny Pequaming Marina on Keweenaw Bay. She still flies the gold burgee that identifies her as a "finisher" of The Great Loop. … Continue reading Many Moons Goes To Bed
Mainship Many Moons has completed the last 32-mile leg of her 6,200-mile journey which I call "The Great Loop-Plus," as she returns to the marina where it all began. Captain/Skipper Jeff and Navy Captain/First Mate Mary feel rather sad by this "last leg of the journey." The boat doesn't seem to care. Funny how that … Continue reading Many Moons’ Last “Loop” Leg
Mainship Many Moons finished The Great Loop two months ago. Even among boaters and adventurers, it's an unusual accomplishment...6,000 miles by personal boat, through 19 states. Fewer than 200 boats achieve this milestone each year, which is fewer than climb Mount Everest. That may be why so few know about it. (The National Geographic called … Continue reading By The Numbers: Many Moons On “The Loop”
Have you ever noticed how two trajectories can meet unexpectedly in your life? That's how it was when we joined Looping Sid on a visit to my hometown this week. We met Sid in North Carolina in late March just before entering The Great Dismal Swamp. We were more than 4,000 miles into The Great … Continue reading To Hancock: Hometown Visit With Sid
Where is "home?" Where your heart is, they say. For boats doing The Great Loop, it's the home port. For Mainship Many Moons, that's Huron Bay, a narrow 12-mile-long bay (some call it a fjord) on the southern shore of Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Many Moons has been at anchor here for over … Continue reading Many Moons at “Home”
Tangier Island is disappearing. We've been hearing this for decades. I can confirm that it's true. I was there. The small, still-inhabited island in the Chesapeake Bay is now 2.5 miles long by 1.5 miles wide. That's apparently half its size several years ago, based on local written accounts. I went there to fill in … Continue reading The Disappearing Island
Three weeks after leaving The Great Loop, I still have a hangover -- to borrow a phrase from one of my readers. It's strange, because I was eager to leave it in some ways. That last month was pretty tough on me, for reasons too complex to share here. A hangover refers to the lingering … Continue reading Loop Hangover
The Great Loop, plus. Done! After 345 days under way, Mainship Many Moons returned today to her homeport of Huron Bay in Michigan's Upper Peninsula with Jeff's son Josh and grandson Jaxtyn on board for the final leg. It was a big family event and milestone for the three of them. Congrats to three generations! … Continue reading Many Moons Comes Home – The End
