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The Down East Circle Loop July - September, 2004
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In the November 2005 issue of Passagemaker, an article we wrote described this adventure. For the full, unabridged version with a lot more detail and rambling, click here. |
| From | To | Total Days | Running Days | Miles |
| 7/1/04 |
9/26/04 |
86 |
58 |
3,087 |
Many committed cruisers bite off a year or more to do the "Great Circle Loop." It circumnavigates the eastern United States - up the Hudson River, through the Great Lakes to Chicago, then down the Illinois / Mississippi / Tennessee / Tombigbee River systems to the Gulf of Mexico, circling around Florida and heading north in the Intracoastal Waterway to wherever the cruiser started the loop. Not for us . . . yet. Instead, we did the Down East Circle Loop:
Thanks to www.yachtpilot.ca
In our first leg, we left our home waters of the Chesapeake in early July we cruised to the Big Apple and headed north to Albany, entering the legendary Erie Canal in Troy, NY.
Our
second leg had us crossing the state in the Erie
Canal and joining the Oswego Canal which ported us into Lake Ontario.
Crossing the lake we began our third leg as we entered
Canada, traveled the St. Lawrence River, and picked up a
nautical
'tailwind' to Quebec. Highlights along
the way included a visit to old friends Jeff and Dave's place
à at
Cedar
Island, passing by Mom and Dad's former hometown of Massena, traveling through
the Eisenhower and other locks along the St. Lawrence s
Seaway, and fascinating visits to the historic cities of Montreal and Quebec. This whole segment totaled 930 miles.
From Quebec City, on our fourth leg we traveled to the mouth of the St. Lawrence some 685 more miles round the Gaspe and to Prince Edward Island. There we put in for a week while we flew back to Connecticut to celebrate Roger and Marcie's wedding on August 14.
From PEI we had a great fifth leg as we visited the southern shore of Nova Scotia, connected with Dick and Karen, and ending by crossing the Bay of Fundy to Grand Manan and St. Andrews, New Brunswick. That leg alone was about 580 miles, filled with fascinating stops, 30' tides, and lots of whales along the way.
The sixth and final leg of our 'Loop' found us revisiting our favorite waters of Maine, enjoying visits with good friends along the way. We moved quickly through New England on our way home to stay ahead of the continuing threat from those hurricanes slamming Florida, logging a final 885 miles on the return Annapolis.
It was a cruise of a lifetime. So impressive that next summer we believe we will head straight for Nova Scotia and spend a couple months discovering the many places we could not this year. The friendliness of Canadians everywhere we traveled, the spectacular nature of our northern neighbor, and the excitement of discovering new waters all combined to make this an adventure we recommend without hesitation to any serious cruisers who yearn to get off the beaten path.
© Celebratecruising.com 2004