Cruising on Last Dance


This blog archives the adventures of Glen and Jill Moore and provides a means of communication for friends and family. Exploration and adventure have been synonymous with boats and water for centuries. The joy of adventures shared while exploring new places and meeting new people has built a strong bond for Glen and Jill. Last Dance is the platform for the exploration.

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." St. Augustine, 354 - 430

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain, 1835 - 1910

"There is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing around in boats." The Wind in the Willows, 1908, Kenneth Grahame, 1859 - 1932

"I've never believed speed and ease are conductive to living fully, becoming aware, or deepening memory, a tripod of urges to stabilize and lend meaning to life." River Horse: a log book of a boat across America, 1999, William Least Heat-Moon,1939 -

The Great Loop -- The current adventure is a circumnavigation of the Eastern United States, cruising north up the east coast through New York into Canada, across the Great Lakes to Chicago, navigating multiple river systems south to Mobile, along the Gulf coast to the Florida Keys and back to St. Augustine. This trip by boat is commonly referred to as the Great Loop. Progress and current location are indicated by the red line on the map to the right. It was titled the Traceless Path in recognition of a German sailor we met in St. Augustine who published booklets of his travels with hand-drawn, detailed maps describing his travels across the water as the Traceless Path.



Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Loop Completion - Part 1


When one on the Great Loop crosses the point where they began the journey, it is termed "crossing their wake."  Last Dance crossed her wake on January 22nd, at 3:30 pm, when she docked at the Heigel Dock in Venice Florida.  Last Dance left this Venice town dock on July 31, 1999.  So, the Loop was completed in:

12 years, 5 months, 23 days, and 6 hours

The map above provides a visual representation of this Loop -- the purple line denoting the 1999 trip and the red line the 2011 - 2012 journey.

July 31, 1999, 9:30 am
January 22, 2012, 3:30 pm























As we approached the Heigel dock, Bob and Barbara Dein were on the dock to greet the Last Dance crew.  The Deins were the previous owners of Last Dance, then known as Scenic Pathway, for the 12 years prior to 1999.  Bob even wore his Scenic Pathway shirt, with the name and the Passagemaker logo embroidered.




Since overnight docking is no longer allowed at the Venice town dock, Last Dance then moved to its previous home, the dock behind the Dein's home.  You meet wonderful people around cruising boats.  Bob and Barbara are just one example.



The unmarked, deeper water path (channel would be too strong a descriptor) to the Dein's dock is impossible to determine visually.  Bob was stationed on the flybridge to give advice, which made the trip successful.  As you can see, the route takes one very close to land and not necessarily where one would expect deep water.
(Barbara Dein photo)










Two more Loop completions are planned to be achieved during 2012.  Last Dance visited Little Harbor, Grand Abaco, Bahamas in 2007.  The photo at the top of the blog was taken there.  Somewhere near June, Last Dance should return to Little Harbor, completing a 5-year-long Loop journey.  And, hopefully, in August, Last Dance will cruise back into St. Augustine harbor, where she left, heading north, on March 1, 2011.  Then, the red line on the Traceless Path will join its beginning.

1 comment:

Steve and Beth said...

Where are you guys now? We are leaving Marco Island today for an anchorage, then on to Marathon on Thursday. Hope to see you along the way! Steve and Beth (Gemini)