Ashore for the winter – November 5, 2005 After finishing the Great Loop trip at the end of August, “Reverie” is in storage in Mackinaw City, Michigan and Jim and Bobbie are spending the off-season in Georgetown, Texas. When last we wrote, we were back in the North Channel and nearing the end of our trip. Right after the last web update, Jim’s laptop failed. It’s been a real experience getting the website software and pieces all put back into working order on a replacement machine; but it looks like we’ve finally made it. After leaving Little Current on August 15, we anchored out five different nights then returned there for the last time. With the refrigerator full, we headed out to more of our favorite anchorages and spent a night in the marina at Gore Bay. Good winds held for an all-day sail northwest to Hilton Beach on St. Joseph Island. We reentered the United States at Drummond Island and took our time getting back to our home port at Duncan Bay on August 31. We had left here to begin our Great Loop trip on August 12, 2004. Here are some statistics from The Loop: 385 days – 239 nights at a dock, 145 nights at anchor, we were off the boat 14 days Food - $6250, Meals out - $5567, Boat Costs (dock, fuel, maint….) - $21,368 Distance 5700 nautical miles and roughly 570 gallons of diesel fuel Laundry - $512 or 2048 quarters fed to machines By the time we arrived back in Michigan, we had pretty much decided to return to Texas for the winter; but first we needed to get a car as we had sold ours before leaving on our trip. With that accomplished, we proceeded to finding a home we could lease for 7-1/2 months. We’ve always wondered if we would enjoy the “Active Adult” community idea in our retirement years, and were pleased to find that we could test this experience. So here we are in Sun City Texas until we head north for another sailing adventure next May. We spent the month of September living aboard at our dock near Cheboygan. Great weather allowed Jim time to retouch all the exterior teak and thoroughly clean the outside of the boat. Bobbie was busy below deck cleaning and applying Tung Oil to the teak surfaces. “Reverie” was moved into storage the end of September and we have enjoyed wonderful weather for the trip down and our first month back in Texas. The reality of Katrina and Rita reminds us how fortunate we are to have been able to complete this great adventure with no problems. We would encourage anyone who is contemplating taking their boat on the Great Loop to do so; and we will be more than happy to answer any questions you might wish to ask of us. (email ids are ‘up front’). Bobbie and Jim Wooll
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