Great Loop update: Phase 2 planning is underway!

Greetings! We've been home for a month now and have enjoyed the warmest winter on record in Minnesota. It's light past 6:00 PM and the temperature hit 70F today.

We have spent much our break getting my Mom settled into a senior apartment, but it has also taken this long to figure out our 2024 boating plans. Readjusting to dirt life took some time, as did getting over the minor sense of failure at abandoning the attempt to complete the Great Loop in one go. Stopping was definitely the right thing to do, since we weren't having fun, but I still felt bad that we hadn't stuck to our original plan. Those negative emotions have subsided, our achievements are in the proper perspective, my wanderlust has been restored, and we are actively planning the next segment of our adventure. 

One of the factors that motivated me was the publication of the 2023 Loop Completion Statistics. Here are the basics:

Wake Crossings: 249 boats (a record year)

Average Boat Size: 40',   Smallest Boat: 24',   Largest Boat: 94'

Boat Size Breakdown: Under 30' = 6%, 30-39' = 38%, 40-49' = 47%, 50' and up = 9%

These data were a great reminder that not only is completing The Loop a rare accomplishment, it is even more significant in a boat as small as Dragonfly (26'). We are going to continue, in segments, and are preparing for the next legs.

The current plan is to resume cruising in early summer in the northern waters of New York and Canada. Our intended route is to launch Dragonfly near Buffalo, NY, and transit the entire Erie Canal, then head down the Hudson River, stopping short of New York City. We'll then head north to Lake Champlain via the Champlain Canal, and cross into Canada, following the Chambly Canal and Richelieu River to the St. Lawrence Seaway and Montreal, QC. From Montreal, we'll go up the St. Lawrence to the Ottawa River and on to the Canadian capital. In Ottawa, we pick up the Rideau Canal, which goes south to Lake Ontario at Kingston, ON. There we'll take another side trip on the St. Lawrence through the Thousand Islands region, before crossing the top of Lake Ontario to the Trent-Severn Waterway, which takes you to Lake Huron. We'll stay on the Canadian side of Huron through Georgian Bay and the North Channel, ending up near Mackinac Island, where Lake Huron meets Lake Michigan. Our 1,750-mile proposed route is shown on the chart below. Stay tuned for more planning updates.

Bonus question: Who was the first U.S. President to be born an American Citizen?

Bonus Question Answer: Martin van Buren, our 8th president, was born in 1782. All prior presidents were born before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, making them British subjects.