As some of you may know, my parents are about a week away from completing their Great Loop journey aboard their 38′ Marine Trader, Island Time. The Great Loop is the circumnavigation of Eastern North America, a continuous waterway connecting inland lakes and rivers with the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and the Great Lakes. For many cruisers, this is a trip of a lifetime and my parents were determined to do it. They left Cape Coral on March 1st, 2014 and have travelled almost 5,000 miles so far, taking them through 15 states and part of Canada. They are currently docked in Dunedin, Florida, after making the crossing from Carrabelle. They plan to “cross their wake” in Cape Coral next week and stay at the Cape Coral Yacht Club for a week or two before coming to Fort Myers Beach and Snook Bight Marina for the winter months. Randy and I are excited to have them near us in our marina after we had such a great time with his dad, John and April staying here this summer.

What’s interesting is that along my parents’ journey, they met up with fellow Snook Bighter’s and loopers Dick and Inge (on Bonfoeyage) and John and Jackie (on Eufloria) all on their way here at Snook Bight Marina. There is another boat traveling with my folks that plan to come to our marina this winter, as well. So 4 vessels are currently making their way down here and what a party it will be when they arrive!

During my parent’s Great Loop trip, my mother, Gina, has been documenting the journey on their blog, IslandTimeCruiser.com and has created a Google map that charts everyplace they anchored or stopped along the way. The map (below) can also be found » here «.

View The Great Loop – IslandTimeCruiser.com in a larger map