Many have been asking about our trip and the blogging is long overdue. Where do I begin... we bought a sailboat in March 2019 to start working on our dream (more like a crazy fantasy), which is to complete America's Great Loop.


After numerous internet searches, we went to see about a dozen. We found Inspiration pretty early on in the search but wanted to explore all of our options before making the leap. She captured our eye from the beginning as she was the second boat we went to visit. Every boat had its pros and cons and the decision was not easy. After all, we are planning to live on this boat. It will be home for the next 2-3 years.

Inspiration is a 36.5 ft Pearson, sloop not a ketch, for all you sailors. She is a classic and dates back to about the 1979. We bought her from a couple in the Cape Coral area of SW Florida. She was purchased by them in Virginia. Her original bill of sale is on the boat. She was originally purchased by a man in Connecticut and her name was Barnacle Goose. Inspiration is a much better name and she will keep that name. She has all of the comforts of home, a refrigerator, air conditioning, heat, bathroom w/shower and a fairly spacious main V-berth. We had her inspected and made an offer and now she is ours.



Bruce and I started this crazy discussion a while ago but we weren't sure that we could actually pull it off. How could we leave our home, family and job to set off on this crazy adventure? Bruce thought that I would never go for it, but after a few bumps in health over 2018 and 2019 we decided we can't keep waiting for the perfect time. We needed to make it happen! We went to a Looperpalooza in Fort Myers in Jan 2019 to get our plan in place. What, you ask, is Looperpalooza? It is an annual gathering of individuals who are planning, in process or have finished circumnavigating America's Great Loop. Bruce joined the America's Great Loop Cruisers Association (AGLCA) over 2 years ago to investigate this pilgrimage and he sucked me in with his nonstop talk. His dream became our dream and now we're making it happen.


Rather then make you read pages of details I'll outline the last 12 months for you:

Jan 2019 -- Looperpalooza in Fort Myers, FL. Looked at boats while here and found Inspiration.

February 2019 -- Put in an offer on Inspiration, survey done.

March 2019- started the labor intensive task of getting house ready to go on the market. First on the list-- purging 25 years worth of stuff. In the meantime plans continue for the purchase of Inspiration.

April 2019 -- finalized deal and we picked her up on April 11. Bruce made arrangements for her to go to Glades Boat Yard for new bottom paint. The first leg of our journey took us East on the Caloosahatchee Waterway with our first stop at W. P. Franklin Locks Campground and Marina for 3 nights (April 12, 13 and 14) while we wait for our scheduled arrival date into the boat yard on 4/16. I was to fly back home on April 14th but my flight was cancelled due to a snow storm in Chicago. What a nice surprise to be stuck in hot Florida for a few extra days. It took another 2 days for me to get on another flight with Spirit. We made it to Glade Boat Yard on Monday, April 15 in the evening as she was scheduled to be hauled out of the water at 0900. Bruce lived on the boat while in the boat yard. Better him than me cause that place is rough.

May 2019 -- Bruce remains in Florida, working in horrid conditions. High humidity and hot! I continue to purge and prep house and plan my exit from work.

June 2019 -- House listed in early June. Offer accepted on June 16th.

July 2019 -- Bruce continues to work on the boat with occasional trips back home for family events. Resignation letter handed in at work.

August 2019 -- Done working! Closed on house. The hardest part is all of the good-byes. We were nervous about the first road trip with dogs and they did just fine. I accepted a 12 week assignment consulting. I will be going to West Virginia the first week of September. We moved the remaining belongings that we didn't sell or give away, which amounts to only items that will fit on boat and my work clothes. We went and picked up Inspiration from the boat yard and moved her to a very small marina a couple of miles away while I go to WV to work. I had less than 2 weeks to get unpacked and ready to leave for WV. Hurricane Dorian started to brew in the Atlantic at the end of the month and that really got us hustling. We were unpacking, packing for work and then we had to get Inspiration ready for the possibility of a hurricane. We took down all of her canvas and packed it away. Bruce put extra lines out in case some should happen to break. Dorian was supposed to hit as a Cat 4 or 5 so we wanted to prepare for the worst. Discovered refrigerator isn't working as it should, not cooling. We have tried all reasonable attempts to fix. So sad about that one.

September 2019 -- I left for WV and flew back every weekend until the end of the month. Bruce came up with the dogs and stayed with me in WV for about 4 weeks. We had a great time exploring the mountains and small towns of WV.

October 2019 -- Air conditioner stopped working, another repair. Needed a new thermostat. Still no refrigerator.

November 2019 -- completed assignment in WV, back to FL for good. Went back to IL for Thanksgiving. So good to see the kids and grandkids!

December 2019 -- went to Disney World and met up with Taryn and Dave. Came back to boat to continue prepping for trip. Now the water heater is broken! God help me. Every big ticket item is now in need of repair or replacement! It certainly hasn't felt like the holidays. I'm not used to weather in the 80's in December. Back to IL for Christmas.

January 2020 -- finally able to get a mechanic to come to boat to look at oil leak in engine. Cha-ching, Chac-hing!!