Category: America’s Great Loop

Stay and play – an endless summer adventure – Myrtle Beach, SC

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes – SBFL* Stop 29 – Planned – Hold on tight, fellow adventure seekers! We’re continuing our nostalgic journey down memory lane as we compare two epic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) trips, chronicled in National Geographic. We compare and contrast the observations made by Dorothea and Stuart E. Jones in their 1958 article, “Slow Boat to Florida,” and Allan C. Fisher Jr.’s 1973 book, “America’s Inland Waterway (ICW).” We have been uncovering the ways in which the ICW has been transformed over the past few decades. Our journey along the ICW started at our very own Milliarium Aureum – Golden Milestone, the Mile Zero. We embarked on our own Slow Boat to Florida...

6 tips for the Atlantic ICW journey and the story of Makau

Estimated reading time 18 minutes – We recently had a great time talking to Captain George Bentz and his wife, First Mate Lisa Bentz, about the lessons learned from their semi-prepared cruise up the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) from Port Charlotte, Florida, to their homeport in the Chesapeake Bay this past spring. By the way, they definitely don’t suggest anybody do it the way they did it, “semi-prepared” being the operative word.  The 6 tips they shared with TripsOfDiscovery.com readers and anyone contemplating a future trip on the ICW was most compelling.  Excellent communication with your crew at all times is a must Let’s start with Tip Number 1: Excellent communication with your crew at...

Tips for cruising through America’s Great Loop – Part 3

If you can dream it, you can do it. —Walt Disney … Estimated reading time 17 minutes  –  In Part 1 of this story, perhaps you started to dream about America’s Great Loop and got a glimpse of what it is to be a Looper through Phyllis and Dick Radlinski’s eyes and experiences. They left the Chesapeake Bay in the summer of 2014, went north to New York, and from there passed on to Canada’s great canal network. After piloting through Canadian waters, they transited through two historic canal systems and 90 locks—yes, 90 locks—then Georgian Bay and the North Channel of Lake Huron down to Michigan. In Part 2, vicariously, through the Radlinskis’ experiences,...

Tips for cruising through America’s Great Loop – Part 2

It doesn’t matter where you start, as long as you begin . … Estimated reading time 16 minutes – In Part 1 of this story, perhaps you started to dream about America’s Great Loop and got a glimpse of what it is to be a Looper through Phyllis and Dick Radlinskis’ eyes and experiences. They left the Chesapeake Bay in the summer of 2014, went North to New York, and from there passed on to Canada’s great canal network. After piloting through Canadian waters, they transited through two historic canal systems and 90 locks—yes, 90 locks—then Georgian Bay and the North Channel of Lake Huron. In September 2014, they finally traveled down the west coast...