Great Loop Adventures Aboard Next Chapter: To Be Continued

We arrived in Brunswick Landing Marina after a short 10 mile cruise from our anchorage. This marina is well known for it’s hurricane protection and for it’s lively community that is heavily supported by management. They provide a Happy Hour every Monday, Wednesday and Friday with free beer and wine.

The small historic section of Brunswick had their First Friday where at 5:00 they block off the streets. All the shops stay open and some provide adult beverages. There was music, food trucks and even a small car show. We had a great evening that was shared with the crew from Unplugged. Late that night our nephew/house squatter showed up with our car.

Saturday we took him over to St Simons Island and visited Fort Fredricka and later climbed a light house. Dan is also a lover of the seafaring life so he was in seventh heaven. Sunday morning we put him on a plane and sent him packing with a stern warning to get the house and yard ship shape before our arrival!

Our last guest was one of Sue’s high school friends, Kelly. Kelly actually introduced Sue and I back in the day. So I guess she is the one responsible!

So after 400 hundred days, 7959 miles, 3335 gallons of diesel fuel, 989 hours at the helm, 112 nights at anchored and more fun than any 10 life times deserve, Sue and I marked our Great Loop accomplished when we pulled in to Brunswick Landing Marina. Next Chapter will get a well deserved rest for the next five months as we head back to Virginia Beach by car on Thursday June 8th. When we set out on this journey we were sure we would have fun along the way but what we greatly underestimated was the fun we would have every single day. A Odyssey like this can’t help but change you in some way and it certainly did with us. For me it restored my faith that humanity is still 99.9% good unlike what we are lead to believe from all the nonsense media outlets pump into our consciousness on a daily basis. It was the moments of need where total strangers stepped in without any expectation of renumeration and helped us continue our journey. The brother/sisterhood of the Looper community is unlike any other. We always felt comforted by the camaraderie generated by flying the white burgee. This journey has taught me that I am not defined by the personal trappings of “stuff” that filled our lives. It is the human connection that is the essence of what makes me feel fulfilled and whole. I feel as I have found my tribe being in community of other true cruisers. Finally, being able to experience our country, Canada and part of the Bahamas from the water was simply magical. The landscapes, geography and vistas that we devoured with our eyes has filled our memories to the brink. The personal connections we made have overflowed our hearts.

We would also like to send out a special thanks to all of you who took time out of your busy lives and met up with us along the way to share a small part of our adventure. It meant the world to us. We would also like those who travelled along us on the blog. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed putting words the experiences and emotions we encountered along the way. Also thanks for being kind on “typos” and grammatical errors. Rest assured my editorial staff has been put os sea rations and keel hauled for their transgressions. The biggest thanks goes to my Admiral/first mate/ galley chef/ wife Sue. This trip was so out of her lane but she not only did it but did her best at every turn. Without her none of this was possible. I am eternally grateful for the leap in faith she took in me to be able to pull this off.

We don’t yet know what our “Next Chapter” will be but I can say for certain it will at least in part involve cruising and the boating lifestyle. For now we are excited to reconnect with our family and friends back in Virginia Beach. We hope to see many of you soon and catch up on what has transpired in your lives over the past year.

For now this is captain and first mate of Next Chapter signing off. See you at the Beach!