TRIP OVERVIEW: America's Circle Route, sometimes referred to as The Great Loop, is a fun-filled adventure that takes the cruiser over 5,500 miles through over 100 locks, traverses 3 of the Great Lakes and visits 16 states and Canada. A map of the route is attached to this document. We will begin our journey on Ocean Flyer in Jacksonville , Florida in April 2006 and follow the spring weather northward as we proceed counter-clockwise around the circle. The Circle Route is completed almost entirely in protected waters with only a few open passages. Starting in Florida , we will proceed up the East Coast of the U.S. , mostly on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway . Upon reaching Chesapeake Bay , we will take a side trip up the Potomac River to Washington , DC . Then at New York City , the route proceeds up the Hudson River to Troy , NY , and then west from Troy via the Erie and Oswego Canals to Lake Ontario . A side trip will take us down the St. Lawrence River to visit the “ Thousand Islands ”. Then it's into the remote northern reaches of Lake Huron and down Lake Michigan to Chicago . Next the route heads south down the Illinois River to the Mississippi , down the Mississippi to the Ohio and up the Ohio to the Cumberland to its junction with the Tennessee River near Paducah , KY. We then head south from Paducah via the Tennessee River to the Tennessee-Tombigbee Canal (the “Tenn-Tom') to Mobile , AL and the Gulf Coast . From Mobile , we turn east following the protected waters of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway much of the way to Fort Myers , FL. At Fort Myers , we will decide whether to continue south to the Florida Keys and then up Florida 's East Coast or, alternatively, to cross central Florida on the Okeechobee Waterway. In any event, by mid-December we plan to be back in Jacksonville (our home port) where we will leave the boat and head back to Cape Cod for the remainder of the winter. We plan to stay at marinas on the trip up the East Coast and in more populated areas, but much of the time will be spent tied to canal walls or at anchor. |
