On the 300th day of The Great Loop voyage, Mainship Many Moons is "parked" inside a boat lift on the Cohansey River and sitting in mud about three miles inland from the cantankerous Delaware Bay. This is weird, but it works. A boat lift is for putting boats into the water and taking them out … Continue reading Parked In a Boat Lift (Day 300)
Whew. Almost 12 hours under way, and a new record for miles-in-a-day! This is what I get for leaving the boat to gallavant across the Atlantic Ocean (see previous posts about Egypt) while Jeff stayed put. We are anchored tonight at the north end of Chesapeake Bay, having cruised past many destination spots. He's eager … Continue reading A New Record: 95 Miles
Two weeks ago, I left the 230-foot M/S Nerfertiti on the Nile River to fly back to the U.S. Today, I return to the 34-foot Mainship Many Moons on the Patuxent River to continue the Great Loop. It took about 10 hours to fly 9,000 miles. It's taken 10 months to cruise about half of … Continue reading Onward! Nefertiti to Many Moons
Spring is a transition time for the world, and doubly so for me this year. In fact, the past nine months have been a series of transitions...from dirt to boat, then back to dirt, repeat. ("Dirt" is the word many boaters use for land; i.e., "my dirt home.") Unless you've lived long-term on a moving … Continue reading Transition Time (Again)
Many Moons is hanging out for awhile at an "island" which isn't quite that, just 56 miles south of Annapolis on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, at the mouth of the Patuxent River. Solomons claims the designation of "island" because a 20-foot-wide waterway (more like a ditch) separates it from the mainland. Never … Continue reading To Solomons Island & State #14
And he-e-r-e we go, up the big bay! It's hard to believe we are here already, but our bodies confirm it. They feel it. Cruising in rough waters takes a physical toll, even if it stops short of an up-chuck. Not all of the 74 miles we put under the hull today were like that, … Continue reading Into the Chesapeake
How strange to travel by boat from a remote swamp to a "concrete jungle" in the same day. It's quite the transition, from the narrow canal of The Great Dismal Swamp to the wide, industry-lined waterways of Hampton Roads (Norfolk/Portsmouth/etc.). One of the memorable days as we enter our 9th month on The Great Loop! … Continue reading From Swamp to “Jungle”
We're here! I've been looking forward to this for a long time, having heard about it for decades. We had to time it right to arrive at the southern lock at opening time, since the two locks that book-end the canal open on a schedule. We traveled in a parade of three boats...a Nordic Tug … Continue reading Great Dismal Swamp
This is what I hoped for from The Great Loop -- far from big marinas, mixing it up with the locals. Our home for two nights was this city of 19,000 on the shores of the Pasquotank River, just north of the Albemarle Sound and near the entrance to the Great Dismal Swamp. The city … Continue reading Elizabeth City
Are we ever glad to be tied up tonight to a tiny pier in Elizabeth City at the entrance to the Great Dismal Swamp. We should celebrate this milestone, but we're too tired after 10 hours under way. Only two day cruises during Many Moons' eight-month journey were longer than this one, and not by … Continue reading 85 Miles. Whew.
For Many Moons 