"THE GREAT LOOP"
/
One sunny day last June, Meredith and Jack Rogers waved goodbye to family and friends in Kennebunkport, Maine and navigated down the Kennebunk River in their 41-foot ocean cruiser.
Their destination: Kennebunkport, Maine … one year later.
The Rogers were embarking on the adventure of a lifetime — a 6000 mile “Great Loop” cruise aboard their own boat. Every year, fewer than 200 people complete the Great Loop, a network of protected waterways passing through 15 states and provinces, including the New York State canals, the Great Lakes, the Canadian Heritage Canals, the Mississippi and other inland rivers, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The journey lasts from nine to 12 months.
“Loopers” typically travel 50 miles daily while maintaining a speed of eight or nine knots (10 MPH). Their ports of call are yacht clubs and marinas where they restock their little refrigerator, launder sheets and towels, and visit with friends in that area. Loopers are primarily retirees but, Meredith said, “We’ve met everyone from senior citizens to young families who are home-schooling their children.”
Meredith, who grew up in the Boston area, was the motivator for this year-long jaunt. “Our family did a lot of boating,” she said. “I also had summer jobs working at a marina on the Cape. I’m very comfortable on the water.” After retirement several years ago, the Rogers spent four winters ski-bumming in Beaver Creek, Colorado. But thoughts of tackling the Great Loop simmered while schussing Grouse Mountain.
“Meredith really wanted to do this,” Jack said. “That’s why we named our boat ‘Her Idea.’ It was!”
Two weeks ago, the Rogers moored at the Vero Beach (Florida) Yacht Club for a two-night stay. Mr. Wonderful and I were tickled to have dinner with them and friends Chris and Sarah Gurry, during which we marveled and laughed at their sea (and river) tales. Meredith described being “blown away” when entering New York Harbor, passing the Statue of Liberty and heading up the Hudson. “I’d never seen Manhattan from that perspective,” she said. Jack added, “Every day, you go around a corner, and you never know what you’ll see!”
And then … a surprise invitation, asking us to join them for a 50 miles stretch of the Great Loop from Vero Beach to Cocoa Beach on the Intracoastal. The next day at 7:45 AM under steely skies and a light wind, Mr. Wonderful and I and Sarah boarded “Her Idea” to became “day Loopers.” (Note: Chris opted out, muttering something about his “sea legs.” Plus, we desperately needed a driver to pick us up in Cocoa, Florida for the 50 mile drive back to Vero.)
“Oh God, thy sea is so great and my boat is so small” are words Captain Jack and his first mate believe and practice. “Her Idea” is 41-feet long, 17 feet high, and features every possible nautical device. Jack studies Waterway Guides daily (“you can’t read these often enough”), checks NOAH constantly and declares the “Wind Predict” app on his cellphone is “crucial.” (“Her Idea” features two hotspots that provide connections for TMobile and ATT, the internet and television. They also have the NEBO app which allows their two Colorado-based daughters to track their nautical path.)
When Meredith sits at the helm (“Which is a lot of the time because she loves steering the boat,” Jack says), he snaps photos with his Canon Rebel, keeps an eye out for low-lying crab pots, or edits his bi-weekly blog. (He’s also lost 20 pounds on the voyage so far.)
Within an hour after leaving Vero, the sun sparkled on the Intracoastal beneath Windex blue skies. During our seven hour ride, we passed under five bridges, spotted dolphins blithely swimming around channel markers, and felt constantly refreshed by a steady sea breeze. All too soon, we arrived in Cocoa at the marina where Chris Gurry stood, waving and video-taping our pinpoint mooring.
The Rogers are now on the east coast and final stretch of their Great Loop. They plan to sail up the Potomac sometime in April, and then head north to Maine. “Living’ large!” Jack says with a smile. Oh yeah!
