Today was Day number One of Gooder Days on the Great Loop. We left Aqua Yacht Marina just before 8am and it was wet and overcast but looking up as the day would go on. We were the only boat leaving at 8am and when we got close to the first lock we met up with 6 other Loopers as the lock master was waiting on us. After this first lock, we spent the rest of the day waddling down the river like a mother duck and her ducklings with us taking up the rear spot as boat number 7. We went a comfortable pace of 7.5 kts and the sun peaked out and it was a fabulous day. We planned to anchor out tonight, but the whole group was docking up at Midway marina so why not, we pulled in and got the last spot on the end of the dock. I made us a gourmet dinner of hamburger helper then we joined the group for a campfire and good times. We met such wonderful people from Utah to Main, Florida, Arizona, and Texas, a true melting pot with common interests to do the Great Loop. As we all told our stories on how we started and where we are from, we swapped boat cards and called it a night. Tomorrow morning the plan is to rise and shine at 6am to check with lock master at Fulton Lock to see if we may pass thru EZ Peazy as group. Most of us will caravan again all day to the next marina in Columbus. We may stay one night or two, we will see what the weather brings. All in all, a fun and uneventful day and all went as planned with no hiccups. We did struggle with the Garmin Autopilot to learn how to program routes, but it is starting to make sense. We will see what tomorrow brings. More miles and more friends and good times to be had by all.
Todays Stats:
Time Underway: 6:47
Duration: 7:44
Distance: 47.9
Avg. Speed: 7.2kts
Max Speed: 19.7kts
