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Traveling the Great Loop

Long-time MarineMax customers (since 2004) Gerry and Sue Levy recently set out to navigate the Great Loop with their two dogs. The crew is no newbie to traveling the seas, having taken their previous yachts to New York and back, as well as having competed in racing sailboats in Long Island and Block Island Sound. Now Gerry and Sue are ready for their longest trip yet.  

They began their Great Loop aboard their Azimut Magellano 53 in Fort Pierce and headed north towards New York. Follow along as they make their trip and share in their adventures. 

 

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  • the crew of the capace
  • sunrise in savannah over water
  • new york harbor
From Palm Beach Gardens the Capace headed north. They enjoyed an evening in Savannah with a spectacular sunrise. The crew includes Suki and Bandit, two adorable dogs who love their time aboard Capace. From Savannah the crew continued north spending a beautiful day in Ocean City, Maryland. They ran up the west side of the New York Harbor into the Hudson River, with the gorgeous view of Bear Mountain in the background. The Capace and crew stopped at River Front Dock, Newbugh, New York before going on to pass under a 17 foot fixed bridge. To be able to pass under a bridge this low, Nick Campbell at MarineMax Yacht Center designed the mast of the Azimut Magellano 53 to lay down. It worked seamlessly!

Sue and Gerry traveled from Burlington, Vermont to Plattsburg, New York, on Lake Champlain. From there they rented a car to drive down into the Adirondacks and meet up with their entire family for a weekend. The crew also took time to ride bikes along a trail and enjoyed time at Lake Balfour.

  • sue and gerry with their family
  • sue and gerry
  • sue and gerry on bikes
From Plattsburg, New York, Capace entered Canada and headed to St. Jean, Quebec. They traveled through nine locks, including Champly Locks, to reach Sorel and enter the St. Lawrence River. The locks are very manual and it took seven hours to go ten nautical miles through the Champly Locks. The navigation was tricky but the view was amazing. Next Capace is headed to Montreal.

Capace headed towards Montreal after navigating the Champly Locks. The crew traveled through Sorel, Quebec on the St. Lawrence River enjoying a beautiful sunset at Marina de Sorel. Reaching Montreal, Caprace stopped at the Montreal Yacht Club in the Old Port enjoying views of the clock tower. The crew took time to see the city on a carriage tour. 

From Montreal, Capace and crew headed to their next adventure - the Peterborough Lift Lock. Located on the Trent Canal, in the city of Peterborough, Ontario, the lock raises boats 65 feet. This was a high for the crew! This unique lock opened in 1904 and designated both a National Historic Site and Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. 

After finishing the Trent Servern Waterway at Port Severn, Capace began cruising the Georgian Bay and headed to Parry Sound. In Parry Sound, Gerry and Sue took flight on a float plane seeing some of the 30,000 islands of Georgian Bay, channels and pristine anchorage from the air. From Parry Sound, Capace directed her route to Killarney, Ontario, in the north channel, where they stopped at the Killarney Mountain Lodge. After this stop, it was time to head back to the United States. Check out the pic of Capace half in the US and half in Canada on the Raymarine screen! Once in the United States, the crew docked at Drummond Island, Michigan.

 

Upon returning to the United States and stopping at Drummond Island, Michigan, Capace and Crew headed for Chicago. Unfortunately due to illness, the crew was delayed in Chicago but after a couple of weeks they started down the Chicago River, going through the Chicago Harbor Lock.

From Beardstown, IL, Capace continued down the Illinois River to Grafton, IL, where the river meets the Mississippi River. Stopping here they enjoyed music all day and into the night as well as wonderful local craft and wood furniture shops.

Ready for the next leg of their trip, Capace traveled down the Mississippi River through the beautiful quarry lined shore to Alton, IL, about 25 miles north of St. Louis. Upon reaching St. Louis, Gerry and Sue explored the city by land and then headed to Hoppies Marina, which is the last place to get fuel and dock for 225 miles. The dock is three old barges and the owner of Hoppies Marina gives a briefing of the Mississippi River at 4:30pm - a highlight of the stop. In preparation for the long trip ahead, Gerry and Sue created "Capace Park", a place for their two dogs (the Havanese Navy) to relieve themselves since they would not be able to stop for walks.

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From the Mississippi River, the Levy family headed to the Ohio River with the goal of making it to Green Turtle Bay Marina, a beautiful facility in Grand River, Kentucky. Green Turtle Bay Marina located on the Cumberland River (Lake Barkley) and is considered a "Must Stop!" by the America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association, offering a full service marina, on-site restaurants, store for marine parts and accessories as well as gifts and more. Unfortunately Lock #52 was broken so Capace was not able to make it through. They anchored by the dam overnight, hoping the lock would be fixed the next morning. The two dogs, Suki and Bandit, were happy to be able to visit "Capace Park" during the delay. Luckily the next morning Lock #52 was fixed and off Capace went to Green Turtle Bay Marina. 

While at Green Turtle Bay, the crew took time to rent a car and tour Nashville, enjoying the festive life on Broadway and a Saturday night at the Grand Ole Opry. On the way back to Green Turtle Bay Marina from Nashville, Gerry and Sue made a special stop at Fort Campbell, where Gerry completed Basic Training 48 years ago. 

Stay tuned as the Capace crew continues their adventures!

  • capace at green turtle bay marina
  • grand ole opry
  • gerry on trip back from nashville
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