1/15 The Hydrophilic crosses her wake in Wilmington, NC

Today, we crossed our wake at MM 295.  We are now Gold Loopers!!!

April 27, 2016, the Hydrophilic cruised past Mile Marker 295 on the Intracoastal on a voyage of a lifetime.

This morning, we welcomed our last sunrise of the loop.

As we entered the mouth of the Cape Fear River, the reality of completing the Great Loop hit.  What was our favorite part?  It was special to have some family come aboard.  Passing the Statue of Liberty in New York, passing the Arch in St. Louis, cruising the Chicago Sanitary Canal were all exciting.  In Canada, cruising through the locks of the Trent Severn, especially the Big Chute, and anchoring in the North Channel, and eating butter tarts were all memorable.  Did I mention cherries in Michigan and oysters on the Gulf Coast?

The best part of the loop was being part of the looper cruising community where you never meet a stranger.  As we approached a new dock, someone would call out, "John, Ann Marie, I will get your lines."  We would discuss where we have been and the next place we wanted to go.  We thank all of you who shared your lives and your loop with us.  You made our voyage so special.

I have three people that I have been thankful for on this trip.  My husband, John, became interested in the Great Loop first and we got to share this voyage together.  Alan Lloyd's Navigation Notes were out the whole trip and we really appreciated his way points on long crossings.  Lastly, Rocna, our anchor, held each and every time we dropped him overboard, so I could sleep well at night.

Some of John's colleagues from UNCW, came out to meet us on the Cape Fear.  They took pictures of the Hydrophilic with her gold burgee flying. 

Then, we were escorted up the river.

 We passed MM 295 for the official crossing of the wake.

 Here we are coming into our dock.

Finally, we opened the bottle of Gentlemen's Jack that we had etched with our names and the loop at the Jack Daniel's Distillery in Lynchburg, TN to celebrate.

Here's to our voyage and all our friends.  Cheers!!