Sunday Summary #80

Georgian Bay, AGLCA Presentation, and July Budget

Hi ,

Welcome to Scho & Jo’s 80th Sunday Summary. This edition of the Sunday Summary was written in quite possibly our favorite anchorage to date. We are sitting in Covered Portage Cove in Ontario, Canada.

Last Week.

We have been off grid for the past week and although keeping up with an online business is extremely challenging (when we have zero bars and can barely get the weather report) it’s also been beautiful. Without having access to a slow connection, we took more time out to explore and see the places we were in. It was really nice and we enjoyed the past few days, but it's time to get back down to business. We have an email inbox we have yet to tackle and a to-do list off the rails, but one by one they will get tackled. Thanks for your patience in the meantime!

We traveled over the infamous Big Chute Marine Railway! As we arrived at the lock the night before, we were met by four of our viewers! It was such a treat to meet more people who have been following along our journey and have a similar interest in boating, adventure and traveling. We heard so many great stories that left us with a big smile that evening. It was one of the coolest locks we’ve been through and was such a fun experience. We had a few delays on the day of the lock crossing due to a power outage the night before and some thunder and lighting in the area, but were thrilled to go cross and we even had a front-row seat. It was by far one of the coolest locks we’ve ever been through.

Following our stay at the bottom of the marine railway, we completed our time on the Trent Severn Waterway with our final lock, lock 45, and made our way into the Georgian Bay! We then had a generous invitation to stay overnight with one of our viewers and a future looper, Michael and Shaun, at their dock. We enjoyed a family dinner around their table, which is always such a treat for us. Sometimes we forget how the usual for some people is so unusual for others. Our day-to-day life aboard PIVOT and the loop may seem out of the ordinary or really special to some, while we see it as our normal, everyday life. Whereas sitting at a dinner table with family is a real treat for us as it’s not something we get to do every day. Perspective and change is a beautiful thing!

Starting the Georgian Bay was almost surreal. On this cruise, Elliot and I were talking about how amazing it felt to reach the Georgian Bay and all of the hurdles, challenging days, and difficult decisions we’ve had to make to reach this point. We recollected to the first attempt of our loop in 2021 as a blessing in disguise as it gave us the perspective that life doesn’t go according to plan. If we had gotten here just as we had planned last year, without the hiccups and challenges, we may not have appreciated it as much. We were so happy to be this far north, enjoying all that this region has to offer. We have a saying by boat each time we’re impressed with how far we’ve made it and it’s “We made it here by boat. On our boat. We did it!”

For those of you who may not know, the Georgian Bay is also known as the 30,000 islands and is very rocky. Most of the rocks are underwater making it extra challenging as a mistake here can be costly and very destructive to a boat. So being extra cautious and vigilant about following the markers, double checking our navigation software, and watching our depths. All of this high concentration cruising has been balanced with a lot of fun. We’ve enjoyed some wonderful anchorages along the Georgian Bay, have swam in the cold water, jumped off rope swings, gone hiking, floated down rapids, and enjoyed the summer sun in our pool floaties with some of the most incredible views surrounding us. It’s our Canadian Summer Camp in full swing!

This Week.

We just passed Killarney, Ontario, which was only accessible by boat until the 1960’s when they built a road to the town. Now it’s known as the gateway into the North Channel. Unfortunately, we won’t have any new videos this week. Our upgraded connectivity system will be awaiting our arrival back in the states, so we’ll be back on track with videos. We’ll be enjoying our last two weeks in Canada before heading back to the US and completing our time in the Great Lakes region.

"In an age of speed, I began to think, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow."-Pico Iyer, The Art of Stillness

 Videos. 

In case you missed it, here are all the vlogs we’ve released since our last Sunday Summary:

Touring Annapolis before Crossing the Bay Bridge to Kent Narrows

Leaving PIVOT for the Weekend in Kent Narrows (21 Days since we were last at a marina)

Finishing the Chesapeake Bay (Cruising to the start of the C&D Canal and Chesapeake City)

Exploring Chesapeake City, learning about the C&D Canal, and Fixing our Old Autopilot

Leaving at 3:30 to Cruise the Delaware Bay from the C&D Canal! (2 More States on the Loop)

Helping Multiple Boats that Dragged Anchor in Cape May, New Jersey (An anchorage we WON'T FORGET)

In our most recent video, #264 in Cape May, NJ, our boat buddies, Bill and Margie on Crustacean write a blog about their experience around America’s Great Loop. If you’d like to hear Margie’s recap of the day their anchor chain was tangled with a neighboring boat, you can read their

blog here

. The excitement begins with "June 5. We woke up to a thud on our boat and then knocking to find that a sailboat had gotten tangled in our anchor rode..."

 Blogs. 

In case you missed it, here are all the blogs we’ve released since our last Sunday Summary:

• Great Loop Monthly Expenses - July 2022

You'll notice it was our most expensive month on the Great Loop yet!

 July Stats. 

As July has come to a close, here is our Nebo travel log... It looks pretty wonky because we have an old Nebo Link (tracking device for our boat) that doesn't include the international, roaming SIM card. No fear, once we get back to the US, our Nebo will return and our map will continue!

Nights at a marina dock: 10

Nights on a marina mooring ball: 0

Nights on a free dock: 8

Nights on a paid dock: 4

Nights on a free lock wall: 1

Nights on a paid lock wall: 7

Nights at anchor: 1

 Updates. 

After having a fabulous experience at the America’s Great Loop Cruisers Association (AGLCA) Spring Rendezvous in Norfolk, Virginia this May, we’ll be attending the AGLCA Fall Rendezvous in Paris Landing State Park in Tennessee this October! We’re excited to announce that we’ll be giving a presentation on Anchoring and Loving It! and are so excited to share our love of anchoring with prospective loopers. Some of our favorite days on the loop have been spent on anchor. If you’re planning on attending the rendezvous (I believe there are still spots available), make sure to stop by PIVOT and see the crew. Our welcome committee (Ollie) will be ready to greet you with a big smile!

 Great Loop Recommendations. 

We are looking for recommendations for destinations and spots along our Great Loop to go see, visit, and enjoy. It's been a real challenge for us to keep track and stay organized with the many wonderful recommendations we've received thus far. So we've created a Google Form to help us stay organized. Thank you to everyone sending us recommendations so far! We really appreciate it.

 Gratitudes. 

We’re so happy to have made it this far north. When we think about the 2,500+ miles that took us to get here from Key West and the many more miles in our boating journey to reach this section of the loop, we’re so grateful for the ups and the downs that lead us here. It’s been a journey, but an unforgettable one at that!

Peace and love,Jenn + Elliot