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.