Last Dance's first Great Loop was completed in 2011 - 2012 over a period of 16 months. The crew felt that pace was much too fast to visit and enjoy all the many interesting places along this path around eastern North America. So, a Second Loop was begun in the fall of 2012, taking Last Dance to Maine for two summers and five seasons into the Canadian side of the Great Lakes.
The northern waters have interesting towns and scenic anchorages, but the cruising season is very short. Some believe that spending two months in the North Channel (Canadian Bay in the north of Lake Huron) is stretching the season. In Maine, many businesses close the day after Labor Day. To facilitate the multiple-year northern cruises, Last Dance spent the winter in heated storage in Brewerton, NY (on the Erie Canal), and Charlevoix, Michigan.
Plans had been to continue the Great Loop, heading south to Chicago and taking the river systems down to Mobile, then to Florida and home. In considering the most interesting places to visit, the places along the river systems did not rank the highest. A path back east, through the North Channel, Georgian Bay, the Rideau Canal, and the U.S. east coast, held more beauty and interest. So, the decision to head back east, rather than gaining a new flag for completing the circle a second time, was made.
June 2018, began Last Dance's journey on the Loop, backward. UnLooping, we have termed the new pathway. Travel will be following close to the same paths as highlighted on the map of the "traceless path" shown in the Great Loop Two Map in the right panel of the blog. It would be impossible to document the Unlooping trip on the same map. Thus, the new map added to the blog.
One rule on a boat is: Plans Change. Even a trip of a few hours can change with weather or other circumstances. Last Dance's plans have changed, in an easterly direction.These photos are of Last Dance anchored and stern-tied in back of a cut on Fox Island, North Channel, Canada. One of the most scenic of anchorages, anywhere in North America. The trip east has found Last Dance in the North Channel early, before the visit of most boaters, leaving the best places in the favorite anchorages available. As of the date of this writing, the going-backward decision has brought good experiences.
