Bridges and Beers - Great Loop Adventure

 Well, I am finally on my way after months of repairs and setbacks. I left Boynton Beach on Wednesday morning with my friends Kurt, John and Jim. Jim is a ship's captain and was a very valuable asset on the journey. We ran into a few technical problems along the way, but my crew are all very knowledgeable in mechanics and electrical. We dropped Jim off in Key Largo to meet a friend and they drove a car to Key West and we met up with them when we got in yesterday evening. We caught our first fish yesterday, a Spanish Mackerel, and it was delicious! If you havent had fresh sashimi, it is fantastic. Literally ate the fish 2 hours after we caught it.  The weather was nice enough yesterday to get out on the ocean. We cruised all day on beautiful water, but after 10 hours, we were all a little tired. We rolled into Key West right at sunset and decided to reward ourselves by staying at the Opal Key Marina. After anchoring out the night before, we thought a shower and shore power was ...

As the official beginning of my Great Loop trip approaches, I wanted to update everyone on the current status of everything as well as share some of the challenges I have encountered thus far. The whole idea of this trip sounds exciting and fun, but there definitely have been many challenges that have made me question my decision to make this trip at all. Don't worry, I am still going through with the trip, but I think it is important to share more than just the positives that go along with an undertaking of this magnitude.  I had planned on cruising around the Florida Keys and the Bahamas from early November through mid March. Instead, my boat has been docked almost the entire time while waiting on repairs and maintenance. Both Detroit Diesels and the generator have had to have work done, and are still not fully operational. This trip is much less exciting when you live on a boat that doesn't move for over two months. I am also without a car here, so my radius of activity is a...

The first day out was amazing. we cruised over 11 and a half hours and made it 110 miles to mile marker 0 in Norfolk, VA on the Intercoastal. We stopped at Fish and Ships restaurant and bar where we met Jenny the bartender and had taco Tuesday and beers. It was a great day with no issues along the way.  Day two proved to be a little more challenging. We were planning on changing oil in the morning before leaving, but couldn't get the pump out to work properly to remove the oil. So after a couple hours, we decided to move on and stop somewhere to get help down the way. Around 3pm we stopped for fuel, but ran into issues with the diesel full burping back up the fill. It took an hour an a half to slowly fill the tank. We were originally going to anchor out for the night, but decided to stop in Coinjock, NC for the night and see about help with an oil change in the morning. We found Brian Scott through is wife Candice at the Coinjock Marina Restaurant (which has the famous 32oz prime r...

 After much anticipation, I have finally begun the adventure! My friend Randy Brown has decided to come with me on trip from Coles Point, VA to Lighthouse Point, FL. Originally, we were going all the way to Miami, but last Friday, I met an amazing woman named Collette who offered to let me keep the boat for a month at the pier at her Air BnB. Thank you so much Collette! We plan to cruise long days the first few due to good weather and open waters. We are trying to get to Lighthouse Point in 10 days, and at an average of 8mph, we need a lot of hours when we can move faster (10-12mph).  Backing up a little, I flew into Baltimore yesterday morning (9/13). Randy picked me up at the airport with his brother n law, Norm, and we drove into Coles Point so make sure we had everything we needed for the journey. Although we found most of the supplies, we are having to cruise 12 hours to find the right oil filters to do the oil changes on the diesel engines. I am a little nervous not maki...

 I have been hard at work on the boat the last 10 days. We finally got the port engine running. It was just a clogged fuel line. Replaced the line and she runs smooth and strong. Took her out for a couple hours on Saturday morning and it was a fantastic time. I went out by myself and was able to get her in and out of the slip with no issues. There is nothing like cruising from the fly bridge. It is so peaceful and fun and exciting all at the same time. I think that is where I will spend the majority of my time while driving the boat. See the video below. Friday night I went to Coles Point Tavern for dinner and met some really great people. We sat and talked about boats, the Great Loop, Florida, retirement, and just how to live your best life. The food and the staff there are great. If you are cruising through the area, be sure and meet the owners Chris and Anne. Anne works the bar and Chris is a fantastic cook. The picture is of me in front of the restaurant. It is located on the V...

Right after I finished my last blog post, I took the boat out by myself for the first time. I was very nervous, but if you don't take the first step, you never make the journey. Although it was my first time to drive a boat this size and one with twin engines, I exited the slip and the marina with no problem. I maneuvered around the docks with no problem. I have always been told that twin engine boats are very easy to control, and they were right. It didn't take long to feel comfortable driving.  About 20 minutes into my maiden voyage, the port engine shut off and would not restart. I immediately turned the boat around to start back in the direction of the marina. I was surprisingly calm and went through the checklist of what I needed to do to stay safe. I brought the starboard engine down to idle and slowly made my way back toward the marina. While a twin engine boat is easy to control, a large twin engine boat with only one operational motor is not nearly as easy! I knew once...

 I left Austin at 7am 7/5 to make the 22.5 hour drive to the boat at Coles Point Marina, VA. I made it almost to Bristol, TN the first night. Arrived at the hotel a little after 1am EST, about 17 hours with stops for food. I got up at 6:30am and made the last 6.5 hours by 1:40pm to meet with Pete, the previous owner. He graciously spent over 4 hours walking me through many details of the boat and how to operate her. I have many videos and will be studying the videos all month. There is a lot to learn, and he is coming back later in the week to continue my education. I can't thank Pete enough for taking the time to make my voyage a success! I spent most of the evening cleaning the kitchen and unpacking the basics. I still haven't changed clothes from Monday! I didnt get much sleep as I havent changed out the mattress yet and still havent showered, but plan on doing so sometime this morning. The photo is of the sunrise on Wednesday morning on the beach next to the marina. To see ...

 Now that the excitement of finally purchasing the boat is calming down some, it is time to prepare for the Journey. Although the boat is beautiful, there is quite a bit of work to do to get her ready for the journey. Most of it is cosmetic to make the trip comfortable for me and for any guests that come along for part of the ride. So, I am loading up my truck and will be driving out to Coles Point Marina in Virginia in the next couple weeks to start working on the boat.  I will start with completely redoing the V-Berth bedroom (sleeps 3), including all the existing carpet and wall coverings, as well as replacing the old mattresses. I am taking out all carpet and replacing it with waterproof laminate that looks like hardwood. I have ordered all new furniture for the salon that is modular so it can be easily changed from a sofa, love seat, chairs, 2 single beds or 1 queen bed. This video is of the inside of the boat as it currently looks. I will be posting pictures and videos o...

 After many years of dreaming of buying a 70s style motor yacht to take around America's Great Loop, I have finally achieved that goal! I closed on the purchase of a 1976 40' Pacemaker power yacht today. She is currently named 'Dorothy Scott', and although I appreciate her history, I am planning on renaming her for this trip. I invite your suggestions, so please post them in the comments. For those who are not familiar with the Great Loop, it is a trip around the waterways of the Eastern half of the United States and Canada (optional). Here is a link to a map of my planned route.  Planned Route   You can follow along here on this blog, which I will be posting on Mondays and Thursdays throughout the trip. I also have a website set up on our company site  Bridges and Beers  where I will also have a podcast where I will be interviewing leaders in the transportation industry on the boat. It will be a relaxed, free flow conversation about transportation, life, and ad...