Great Loop Progress Report – 67 Days In

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January 9, 2023: A quick update on my current progress.

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I might be behind on blogging about my trip, but I’m not behind in keeping track of data on my master spreadsheet of progress and related expenses. I thought I’d share some of that with readers who are curious about where I’ve been, where I am now, how many miles I’ve traveled, and what this adventure is costing me.

Where I Am Now and Where I’ve Been

I’m writing this from the comfort of my galley table at the Steinhatchee Marina in Deadman Bay in Steinhatchee FL. The marina is relatively new — it opened on July 4 weekend — and it’s very nice, although not particularly set up well for the kind of influx of loopers they should expect every December and January. (I’ll go into details about that opinion when I eventually blog about my stay here.) I arrived with a buddy boat, Ted and Kim’s Pony, which I first hooked up with on my second day on the loop in Chicago IL. We’d traveled together for a few days and then separated due to various off-loop travel plans. We just met up again the other day in Apalachicola and have been traveling together since. We came to Steinhatchee to reunite with other Looper friends, Michael and Connie on La Principessa.

One of the best things about being on the Loop is meeting other Loopers — something I’m not very good at because I prefer the less expensive, less populated marinas than most Loopers like to go to. I’m a loner at heart, and although I do like to socialize, I also like time on my own. Also, until recently Do It Now was one of the very last boats coming down the inland rivers so I’d often arrive at places where there were no other boats, let alone other Loopers.

As for where I’ve been, the trip started in Chicago, IL on Lake Michigan. From there, I went mostly south down the Chicago River, the Chicago Sanitary Canal, the Illinois River, and the Mississippi River. At Cairo IL, I turned up the Ohio River, Cumberland River, and Tennessee River through Kentucky Lake. Then it was down the Tombigbee River and Mobile River to Mobile Bay. Then mostly east on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and across the Gulf of Mexico.

The total distance traveled so far is 1,464 miles in 36 active cruising days.

My Crew

I should mention here that I’ve had two crew members with me on this trip.

Janet joined me in Chicago back in October and stayed on board until I parked the boat in Alton IL (near St. Louis) for a trip home in November. That part of the trip lasted 22 days and was taken at a relatively leisurely pace with lots of stops that lasted more than a single night. Together, we traveled a total of 321 miles.

Alyse joined me in Alton when I returned after Thanksgiving. She was on board until we arrived in Fairhope (near Mobile, AL). That part of the trip lasted 25 days and was taken at a much quicker pace, with fewer multi-night stops and more anchorages. Together, we traveled a total of 830 miles.

I’m in what I’m calling Phase 3 of the trip, where I’m traveling solo with just my pups and the occasional buddy boat. I started that on December 20, when Alyse left, so I’ve been at it for about 20 days. My pace varies. There’s no schedule, although I’d like to be on the east coast of Florida by the beginning of February. We’ll see how that goes. So far, I’ve traveled 313 miles by myself.

Expenses

Everyone always wants to know what a trip like this costs and I’ve been keeping tabs on it. I record the costs of fuel, overnight stops at marinas, and ground transportation. I do not keep track of meals since I’d be eating the same way at home, too. (I buy groceries and cook most of my meals on board and that saves a ton of money over eating out all the time.)

The other thing I didn’t include are the costs of owning and maintaining a boat. So far on this trip, I’ve had the oil changed once, replaced five batteries, and had the engine packing nut adjusted. The oil is due for another change soon; I have the parts, fresh oil, and equipment to change it myself and may do it here. Add that to the cost of buying a suitable boat. These expenses can easily eclipse the cost of doing the trip. The only difference, however, is that I can eventually sell the boat and get back most of my investment; travel expenses are dollars I’ll never see again.

Fuel Expenses

That said, I’ll start with the cost of fuel. This boat takes diesel and has a 145 gallon tank. I like to top it off when the fuel level falls below 100 gallons, especially when heading into an area with expensive or hard-to-find fuel stops, but that’s not always possible. With proper planning, I can fuel up at cheaper stops and save literally hundreds of dollars. For example, I added 105 gallons at Alton IL after a long run down the Illinois River from Peoria IL and paid $6/gallon; if I had waited until the next stop at Hoppie’s on the Mississippi, I could have paid just $5/gallon. That’s a savings of $105!

So far, the boat has taken 921 gallons of fuel at a cost of $5,070. Fuel is my biggest cost.

I’m still learning about the boat’s fuel efficiency. It has an onboard computer that calculates my exact minute-by-minute miles per gallon. If I go very slowly — too slowly to travel — I get very good mileage. A more reasonable speed of 6 to 8 knots gets me about 2 nautical miles per gallon. It drops off considerably when I speed up — getting was low as 1.1 nmpg — but then gets more efficient at around 14 knots as the boat’s hull rises out of the water (but never actually planes). I can get 1.3 to 1.5 nmpg at those speeds. The speed I choose depends on where I am and how eager I am to get to the next place. I normally cruise at about 8 knots on a day where I don’t have a long distance to cover, but yesterday I cruised at 12 to 14 knots while crossing the Gulf of Mexico because it was a long, boring ride. Of course actual mileage also varies with conditions; I got excellent mileage traveling down the flooded Tombigbee River because of the 3 mph current.

Overnight Expenses

My overnight expenses are my second biggest expense, but also the easiest to minimize. Basically, when I stay at a marina, I’m paying anywhere from 75¢ to $3 per foot per night. My budget is $2/night but I’ve paid more. I’m lucky that my boat is “small” because I can fit anywhere and it’s cheaper to park than some of the monsters on the loop.

Point South marina in Port St. Joe was so new that the regular docks hadn’t even been set up yet. I had the honor of being the first overnight guest; they parked me adjacent to the fuel dock and I was there alone all night.

I consistently shop around for the least expensive marina in a destination — if there are options — and take advantage of any discounts they offer. For example, in Carrabelle the other night, Pony paid $3/foot at the Moorings because friends recommended it while I paid just $1/foot at C-Quarters because I knew we’d be leaving early in the morning and I didn’t need anything fancy. C-Quarters also gave me a discount on fuel so I only paid $4.45/gallon while they paid more than $5/gallon at the Moorings. In Orange Beach, I stayed at the Wharf for a full 7 nights to take advantage of a discount for Loopers that brought my nightly cost down to $1.67/foot instead of their regular rate of $3.25/foot. (Ouch!) These little savings can really add up.

The way to minimize overnight expenses is to take advantage of free docks and anchorages. Free docks have been few and far between and you usually get what you pay for. Anchorages are somewhat plentiful, but they’re often unsuitable for foul weather situations — give me a slip in a marina on a day with high winds or thunderstorms in the forecast! Anchorages can be extremely pleasant — there were two I stayed at that I would have spent more than just one night at if I could. The big drawback about anchorages for me is my pups, who usually won’t take advantage of the special mat I bought them to pee on when I can’t get them on land. That means launching the dinghy to take them ashore, which I’ve only done once so far.

All that said, here’s how the costs for this trip break down so far. It’s in my best interest to spend more time at anchorages and now that I’m in Florida where it’s a lot warmer and I’ve got my dinghy fully functional with its outboard motor, I will.

Ground Transportation

When you’re traveling by boat, you don’t have a car with you. While some marinas have courtesy cars that you can borrow as long as you top off the fuel, most don’t. That makes it tough to go on grocery runs or do serious sightseeing.

Most Loopers use Uber/Lyft and occasionally rent cars. I’ve done both. My ground transportation tab for this trip has been $415 so far — ouch!

I do have an electric bicycle with detachable trailer on board with me. I used it yesterday to take my pups for a ride and buy some bottled water at a local supermarket that was just beyond walking distance. I’ll likely do a full shopping there before I leave town. The bike is a bit of a pain to get on and off the boat — it weighs 60 pounds, I think — but once set up it’s a great transportation option. I’m just wondering how long it’ll last in this salt water environment; I keep it covered while under way, but the rust is spreading. WD-40 is my friend.

Plans

In addition to trying to stay at more anchorages, I’m starting to think about my route and stops over the next few months. I’d originally planned to go down to the Florida Keys, but given that I’m already well into January and want to be on the east coast of Florida in less than a month, I’m not sure I can make that happen at the leisurely pace I want. The alternative is to go through the center of Florida — did you know there are canals linking Okeechobee Lake to the Gulf and Atlantic coasts? — and skip southern Florida this year.

You see, other than most “Loopers,” my goal isn’t to “cross my wake,” which I could easily do if I didn’t really care about seeing anything along the way. My goal is to explore and see and learn about the places I travel through. I’ve already done too much of this trip at a pace much faster than I wanted to. It’s time to slow down and enjoy the trip.

That said, I have every intention of revisiting the southern states next winter. Maybe I’ll focus on the Keys then.

But who knows? I don’t. I’m making this up as I go along, like I so often did in my other travel over the years. And that suits me fine.

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Do you want to read more about my trip? You can really motivate me to catch up and keep up with my blog posts by commenting on the posts and sharing them with friends you think might be interested. And I won’t say no if you want to buy me a cup of coffee.