First, I'll start out with the stats, because it was a record day for us on a couple of fronts. 166.7 miles. 13 hours and 11 minutes. Three rivers. It was a long, terrific day. We knew we had a long way to go, so we got up early. Sunrise was at 6:27. Our plan … Continue reading Kaskaskia to Paducah: Stretching our Sea Legs

We are staying put for a while as I get back to work this week (I'm working on the loop), but that doesn't mean that we can't explore a little. I got on the ol' bike and trekked up the road to the Alton Marina and back. I haven't ridden as much as normal lately … Continue reading Grafton to Alton as a landlubber

Our time in Peoria had to come to an end. We pushed pushed out at dawn for the 75 mile trek to Beardstown with one lock to navigate. We got lucky at the Peoria Lock. When we arrived, there was a big tow in the lock heading north, one waiting behind it to go north, … Continue reading Peoria to Beardstown: Easy Sailing

We noticed two things a little awry as we've been underway. The first thing is that our AIS didn't appear to be working. We just had AIS installed earlier this year with a new electronics package and it was working fine. After a quick text exchange with Dave @ Nautilus (he installed the electronics and … Continue reading Boat life means fixing stuff all the time

It is difficult to imagine that our very first day looping could have gone any better. We left Port Washington, Wisconsin, just before sunrise and pointed our bow south toward Chicago. Lake Michigan can be an unforgiving lake, but it was cooperative this day. The wind was out of the S/SE at about 5 knots … Continue reading Port Washington to Chicago: All Days Can’t Be This Awesome

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We have had this burgee for a long time and installed it on the boat today. I can't tell you how valuable the AGLCA has been in helping us learn and plan for the last couple of years. We will proudly fly our looper burgee until we cross our wake. I can't wait for it … Continue reading Burgee On!

After helping daughter #2 move today, we got to work on our list of things to do before we start our Loop. Not all of the things are critical. Some of them are. Today we: Measure out our anchor rode and marked it every 25 feet with a different color tape so that we can … Continue reading The work is never done…

We went to dinner at The Steerage Dining Saloon in Port Washington with Daughter #2 the other day and saw this insightful placard. It seems familiar...