Geoff Schultz wrote:
Congratulations! That must feel good. However, it looks like you did the
entire 5000-7000 mile trip in 7+ months...Amazing! That's 700-1000 miles a
month. Did you ever stop?
Well, yeah... we anchored or docked every night except one
Actually we took many 2 or 3 day stops in enjoyable places; waited 4
days for weather and 4 days for a flood; took a couple weeks off to
rent a car & drive back home (once for Thanksgiving, once for another
family event)... When underway we usually made 40 to 60 miles a day;
early in the cruise we pushed harder and made a number of ~80 mile
days.
We also observed first-hand the sharp divide between slow cruising and
fast cruising. Many people make the Loop in boats that make 80+ mile
days with a much shorter time commitment; this reduces their need for
weather windows and influences them to skip a lot of potentially nice
spots in between major ports... it also increases their expense for
fuel dramatically!
Best Wishes for a Great 2008!
Doug King