Do you have a bucket list? I do.
While my bucket list has a lot of adventures and experiences on it, the biggest thing on that list is to complete The Great Loop.
If you are not familiar with The Great Loop, let’s just say it’s a boating adventure that will take approximately a year to complete. It involves navigating several bodies of water, including the Atlantic, the Gulf, the Intracoastal Waterways, the Great Lakes, and major rivers throughout the United States and Canada. Since this article isn’t about the trip itself, you can do an internet search if you want to learn more about the details.
This article is about being prepared for such an adventure.
I have been boating practically all my life and have experience navigating several lakes, rivers, and oceans both inside and outside the U.S. I think I am pretty confident in saying that I am more experienced than your average recreational boater.
That being said, I still think about what else I can do to make sure I have the skills necessary to best serve my needs on this trip.
I realize there are so many variables that will affect my progress as I undertake this adventure. Some of these variables aren’t an issue in everyday life and aren’t even a concern when I reach for the ignition keys on my boat up at Lake Lanier.
Not only will these variables affect my progress individually, but the combination of them will have its own unique effect.
Maintenance and breakdowns
Boats are machines, and you have to take care of them.
When undertaking a trip that covers approximately 6,000 miles over a period of a year, the boat is going to need some maintenance. If you are lucky, there won’t be any major breakdowns, but you definitely can’t count on that.
Can you handle these mechanical challenges yourself, or will you need help?
That is something you need to think about before you leave. On a trip like this, you may find yourself hundreds of miles from home and in an area where getting immediate assistance isn’t always possible.
Weather
If you have been boating for a while, you know that weather affects your plans.
A line of storms rolling through the area can delay your lake outing or even cancel it for the day. When navigating the Great Loop, weather can delay your Gulf crossing or your passage through the Great Lakes by several days, or even a week or more.
In situations like this, flexibility and mental versatility are key.
You may have a carefully planned itinerary, but Mother Nature doesn’t care about your schedule. Sometimes the safest and smartest decision is simply to wait.
Tides and currents
Much of the water along the Loop route is what we refer to as skinny water. This means there isn’t a lot of depth.
Depending on the draft of your vessel, this can make a big difference in determining when it is best to navigate each leg of the route. In some cases, you may find it better to leave or arrive at a location on a rising tide rather than a falling tide.
Not understanding this concept can lead to running aground.
At best, it is an inconvenience. At worst, it could mean expensive repairs to your hull.
Some inlets may also have strong currents, and knowing how the tide affects those currents and which direction they flow is important.
The typical Loop boat is not a fast boat. That doesn’t mean you can’t do the Loop in a fast boat, but the faster the vessel, the more fuel you burn – and the more you miss along the way.
Fuel efficiency generally dictates running at around 8 to 10 knots. At that speed, you would much rather have a 4-knot current working with you than against you.
Locks
There are more than 100 locks along the Loop.
Each one operates on a schedule, and many prioritize commercial traffic over recreational traffic. This means you need to be ready when they are.
Arrive too early, and you may have to wait for an hour or two. Get there too late, and you may be waiting until the next day.
That doesn’t end your trip, but it can certainly be less stressful if you plan ahead.
The bigger picture
Each of the variables mentioned above can change your plans. Some of them can even ruin your day if they are ignored.
Now take all of these variables and put them together, with each one having a different pull on your timeline and your plans.
Sometimes they point you in the same direction. Other times, they pull you in completely different directions.
A competent skipper looks at all of these variables and makes a decision:
Go.
Don’t go.
Or pause.
Your effectiveness at making those decisions comes from being prepared. That means education, practice, and a level head.
Lake Lanier does not have tides, currents are minimal, and there are no locks. So, does all of this apply to the typical lake boater?
Not all of it. Not even most of it. But some of it does.
And the minute you go on vacation and take your boat to the coast, you add a few more variables to the mix.
Suddenly, things you may never have had to think about on your home lake become part of the equation.
Be prepared
At the beginning of this article, I mentioned that I have a lot of experience on various waters.
A lot of that experience came simply because I have been doing this since I was a kid. Much of it came as a result of joining America’s Boating Club many years ago. The rest came when I obtained my captain’s license.
You may not want to do everything I have done, and you certainly don’t have to.
But you can take a boating safety course. Both the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and America’s Boating Club offer them.
Trust me – you will learn something.
The Great Loop is on my bucket list, and I know that completing it will require more than just a capable boat. It will require a capable skipper who understands that things won’t always go according to plan. And honestly, that lesson applies to all of us.
You don’t have to be planning a 6,000-mile adventure to benefit from being prepared.
The next time you head out on the water, ask yourself a simple question: If something unexpected happens today, am I prepared to deal with it?
If the answer is yes, you’re already a better boater.
