Water Dancer and crew complete the loop

We cruise by the Sunshine Bridge in St. Petes and we know we're close to finishing the loop.

Dolphins swim with Water Dancer as we cruise the Gulf water

Sunday December 10

Dad and Joanne and Norm and Jan drove to Tarpon Springs and spent the day with us Finished up most of my Christmas shopping. Lots of cute shops with some very nice and unique clothes. After shopping, we had dinner at Hellas. Good day.

Monday December 11 Went to leave and the engine wouldn’t start. Oh, no, we haven't had any trouble with the engines all year and now just when we are about the close the loop! Jim A mechanic diagnosed the problem as a bad lead onto the battery and had it fixed within the hour. Then we were on our way. Decided to go into Gulfport which is near St Petes.

On Tuesday Dec 12, Water Dancer and crew sailed past the Sunshine Bridge, crossed Tampa Bay and cruised by the Manatee River thus completing the loop at 0950

Here is the posting we put on the AGLCA email listserv:

On Tuesday Dec 12, Water Dancer and crew sailed past the Sunshine Bridge, crossed Tampa Bay and cruised by the Manatee River thus completing the loop at 0950. We met so many wonderful people along the way who made our trip unforgettable. Whether we shared a meal, enjoyed happy hour, cruised with you for an hour, the day or a week; or stayed with you at the EMS shelter on the Erie Canal – we thank you all. We loved the big cities like St Augustine, Norfolk, Baltimore, NYC and Chicago – and also the small towns, like Solomon’s, Charlevoix, Aberdeen, Apalachicola and Tarpon Springs. We were continually amazed at the different scenery along our waterways; each is unique with so much to offer. To those of you contemplating the trip, we say “just do it.” Your memories will last a lifetime. We know ours will. We gained invaluable seamanship skills and much confidence. Jim and Sue along with our pets, Linus and Sneakers, will winter at Legacy Harbor in Ft Myers from now till mid-February and then on to Marathon Cay Club for the month of March. If you are in these areas, please stop and say hi. We also plan to attend the Charleston spring rendezvous. Thanks to the Stob’s who founded the AGLCA which provided such great support during this trip, and also to those that maintain this site. I’m sorry we can’t thank Skipper Bob since his books were invaluable along with those of Fred Meyers and the Dozier’s. The trip was also made more interesting by those who preceded us and provided us their wisdom along with some great web logs of their trip. Such resources made the trip more fun by providing information about where to stay and what places not to miss! Remember that this is a trip of one’s lifetime. There is so much support out there. We feel the “looper power”.Jim Brown and Sue Hamel and crew Linus and Sneakers