Sunday Summary #93

2022 Year in Review

Hi ,

Welcome to Scho & Jo’s 93rd Sunday Summary. This edition of the Sunday Summary was written on a Monday, edited on a Wednesday, and sent on a Friday on anchor near Panama City Beach, Florida.

Last Week.

Took a few days off from the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (aka the Tenn-Tom) to drive 1,400 miles (2253.082 km) back home to Florida (where our parents live) in 3 days to attend some doctor appointments. As we drove back to the boat, we were in a heavy rainstorm that dumped a ton of rain across the region. The aftermath of the storm resulted in strong currents, high water levels, and excess debris in the waterway we would be traveling on. As a result, we waited a few extra days before heading south toward Mobile on the Tenn-Tom.

We met up with two other boats who we started the Tenn-Tom with; New Bearings (42 Nordic Tug) and Salty Lady (42 Kady-Krogen). We enjoyed the extra speed thanks to the prior rain which bumped our cruising speed from 6.5 knots up to 10 knots. We were flying down the river! It was incredible, but the best part was that we weren’t paying for that extra speed with the price of diesel. We got an extra 3.5 knots for FREE!

We arrived to Mobile, Alabama just before the big winter storm crossed the US and Canada. We experienced the lowest temperature aboard PIVOT yet, 22 F (-5.5 C) and had a new first… icicles on our boat. It was a wild experience to say the least. Pipes broke at our marina, a boat sunk, and we had guests for Christmas, Jen’s parents. We enjoyed Christmas with family and 3 other loopers for a Christmas potluck and games. It was an excellent night full of some really fun memories.

Once the temperatures raised a little, we made our way across Mobile Bay and onto the Gulf ICW where we were welcomed by dolphins. It was a really incredible moment to be welcomed back to salt water! We anchored near Gulf Shores National Seashore, in Florida… where this whole journey began just 10 months ago. The feeling of being back in Florida was almost surreal. Last year around this time, we arrived back to Florida, but from the same waterways we left on. Now we’re back in Florida on new waterways with sight of crossing our wake and becoming a Gold Looper.

This Week.

We’ve been staging our Gulf of Mexico experience since we smelled the salt air. Our one and only goal in this region of the loop has been to have a safe and comfortable Gulf experience. There are two routes most loopers do this part of the loop: 1) The Big Bend or 2) The Gulf Crossing.

Since we arrived in Mobile, Alabama, we’ve been enjoying the protected waterways of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), which is a protected waterway that travels between barrier islands or manmade canals stretching from Brownsville, Texas to Carrabelle, Florida. Throughout the Gulf ICW there are inlets that connect with the Gulf of Mexico, but after Carabelle, you’re exposed to the Gulf. Each option has pros and cons. The Big Bend is done in 3 cruises (Carrabelle to Steinhatchee, Steinhatchee to Crystal River, Crystal River to Tarpon Springs) meaning we would need 3 comfortable cruising days while the Gulf Crossing is usually done (for our type of boat - a trawler traveling at 6.5 knots) during a 20-hour cruise overnight. The Gulf Crossing requires a greater amount of consecutive great cruising hours since it’s a longer cruise and the path is further way from shore.

One of the many benefits of being an AGLCA member is access to Edy’s Weather Wag. Edy Johnston is a local to the area and reads the weather conditions sharing his thoughts on good weather days for a "drama-free" Gulf Crossing. We’ve been looking at the extended forecast for this area since we arrived to Mobile, Alabama, and have had our eye on a few days that look really good for this section of the loop. 🤞🏼 If for whatever reason the forecast changes, we’ll happily wait for another weather window to safely and comfortably do this section of the loop. We’ve had the past two years practicing patience as we’ve lived ‘Life on Trawler Speed.’

 2022. 

As 2022 has come to a close, we wanted to recount the past year…

Miles traveled: 5,725 nautical miles (6,588 statute miles or 10602.7 kilometers)

Hours traveled by boat: 40 days, 7 hours, 49 minutes

States visited: 17

Countries visited: 1

We slept in a variety of cities, towns, and regions in 2022.

Nights at a marina: 96

Nights on a mooring ball: 26

Nights on a free dock: 51

Nights on a paid dock: 11

Free lock wall: 8

Paid lock wall: 7

Nights at anchor: 166

We grew our business and had the best year yet!

YouTube videos released: 104

Youtube subscribers gained: 9,000

Best performing video: We Stayed at a Lock Wall from 1918

Great Loop Expense Reports wrote: 9

Sunday Summaries sent: 40 

Days grateful for the life we’re living: 365

 2023. 

This year we’ll be completing our journey around America’s Great Loop (knock on wood). Just writing those words brings a tear to my eyes. It’s something we’ve been working on for the past two years and thinking back to where we started this boating journey two years ago has made this journey even sweeter. We’re not quite sure what exactly we’ll be doing after the loop, but we do know we’ll be slowing down to enjoy life in the Keys for a little while and enjoying some time with friends including Adam and Kathryn, Nate and Alicia, and Andy and Gwen. We want to focus on the present moment and savor these days as much as we can. We’re excited to slow down, catch up on editing videos instead of looping and creating videos, and work on some other projects we’ve been devoting our time to behind the scenes.

“Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time — past and future — the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.”― Eckhart Tolle

 Videos. 

In case you missed it, here are the videos we released since our last Sunday Summary: 

Cruising from Kingston to the start of the Trent-Severn Canal on the Great Loop!

High Winds Starting the Trent-Severn Canal

 Updates. 

After giving a presentation on Anchoring and Loving It at the America’s Great Loop Cruisers Association (AGLCA) Fall Rendezvous this October, we’ve been invited back to attend the AGLCA Looper-palooza in Fort Meyers, Florida this January! We’re excited to be sharing our Anchoring presentation again. If you’re planning on attending the event, make sure to find us and say hello. We’d love to meet you!

 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.

 From the Eyes of Ollie. 

A few weeks ago, my paws were cold and my nose was almost frozen. I spent my days inside our home under many blankets. I find all of the comfy spots on our boat and the best ones include blankets. My favorite blanket is named the “cloak of slumber” because it’s super soft and warm. Now the air smells different and the water tastes weird. We have sunshine and I’m back to walking around our home to check on everything. Especially those pesky dolphins. The dolphins like to swim at the front of our home even though I bark at them.

 Gratitudes. 

The start of a new year naturally is a time of reflection where we look back with smiles on how grateful we are to have YOU in our lives. Not a day goes by that we don’t appreciate you for reading these emails, watching our videos, commenting on the content we release, and supporting us. The truth is, we wouldn’t be making these videos if you weren’t here to watch them. Thank you for showing up and taking a part in our journey. 

Peace and love,Jenn + Elliot