Starting the Great Loop - Punta Gorda to Fort Myers, FL | Great Loop Cruising, Ep 1
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- Опубліковано 13 жов 2024
- We are very excited to share with you our maiden voyage along the Great Loop aboard m/v Y-Not. The adventure we've been gearing up for!
The first leg of our journey takes us a whooping 49 nautical miles with two amazing anchorages along the way!
Join us for the start of this journey in our first ever 'travel video' documenting leaving Burnt Store Marina and arriving to Fort Myers, Florida.
We hope you enjoy!
For the full blog post version:
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Cherie & Chris have been full time technomads since 2006. In the winter we explore land in our 1961 GM 4106 bus conversion. In the spring/summer we move aboard our 1999 Bayliner 4788 slowly exploring America's waterways along the Great Loop.
We share for fun in our spare time. We have full time jobs that fund our adventures - running www.MobileInternetInfo.com - where we track mobile internet options for RVers and cruisers.
We love sharing a slice of our life with others at www.technomadia.com, Facebook and Instagram. Come join the adventure!
© Technomadia 2017
For entertainment purposes only. See our website for a full disclaimer.
Your videos bring back such fond memories of our boating years. We are now f/t rvers as of Nov. '16 and enjoying it. Your blogs and videos have helped tremendously. As newbies in anything we pursue, we are bound to make mistakes. Your swim ladder reminded us of our first mistake pulling our motorhome from the dealer. Entrance door wasn't secured and one of the bay doors was left open. We won't do that again.
All the very best with your beautiful boat. We are so excited for you. God bless and keep you safe.
We only learn from our mistakes, right? All the best to you guys in your new adventures! Thanks for being such awesome supporters of ours.
I can see the excitement all over your faces. I would be excited too! A great boat and you are going to have so much fun.
What a great adventure. Thanks for bringing us (virtually) along.
oh my goodness the smiles on your faces are wonderful. have a fun time and be safe
You two are so inspiring! Thank you for taking us along on your adventures. I hope to do this myself soon.
I'm really looking forward to joining you on your journey. Keep up the great work!
That was me last night running outside almost naked trying to prevent my awning from flying away in the storm. lmao, so funny your mentioned that
Love this, Pray you all stay safe and I look forward to more updates.
I didn't know I had a "Bucket List" till I saw this video. :-) Long time watcher and subscriber,... First time posting. Cheering you two on from afar.
Thanks for sharing in our excitement!
I have to say, at first I thought, eh? Why? We get it now! Your water voyage has become riveting. Thank you always for sharing.
Thanks for sticking around... we love having you along for the journey! We're finding the repositionings in a boat to be so much more a part of the journey than driving the RV.
Can't wait for the next one !
You guys should have a blast as long as your OK with boat repairs along the way. I would suggest wrapping your fenders with a garbage bag and then wrapping them with duct tape to keep them from getting damaged from the lock walls that you will encounter along the way. You guys just learned a valuable lesson, secure everything before you leave the anchorage/dock, the wakes will get much greater when your in the ditch heading north out of Florida. Good luck, have fun and stay safe. I look forward to seeing the full trip unfold. Also double check the "minimum air-draft " on the Hudson River (route) guillotine bridge (if that's the route you guys are taking). I've had to take down the radar antenna to clear the bridge (but its been years since I've been up that way).
With our custom folding arch, our bridge clearance can easily get down to 12' in under 10 minutes. :)
Your excitement is contagious. Will be waiting for more videos. Have fun!
I'm more of a water person than land...so this raises the bar for me. Reminds me of mid-2000's; spent 14 days on friend's yacht in Puget Sound....didn't rain until return an hour from Seattle. Joyous Travels you two!
I can hear the enjoyment in your voices...enjoy your adventure!
MAN, im 3 years late to the party, but you guys are doing great with this!
yes!! I spotted the ladder as well!! Price for me too.... which is keep up the good work on producing good quality videos of your great experience! Can't wait to follow the complete Loop journey.
Wow guys, that was one of your best videos. Following you on this adventure will be a lot of fun.
Aww.. thanks! I had fun putting this one together.
👏 👏 👏!! You guys did awesome! Great to see another video, and you said Jason and Nikki are pros! Love it loved it! Can't wait for the next one! 😉
Awww.. thanks. Jason & Nikki are pros indeed, and keep a much higher level of video up on a weekly basis (we just binged on their past 4 videos... love them!). Thankfully we'll be stopping for a month or two at a time to spread the production out :)
Technomadia looks awesome and can't wait to follow your adventures.
Congrats on starting this new adventure. Thanks for sharing!
wow! I'm hooked😉so excited for this new adventure! thanks for sharing your life with us❤😏
I live on Sanibel and will follow you and your trip.
Looks like you are already have a bunch of wonderful new experiences. Your yacht looks absolutely beautiful on the water!
Enjoy the vids. The 2 of you make a great team & it takes teamwork to properly run a good sized boat. Had a class C rv & relatives in Cape Coral, so spent a lot of time in Ft. Myers & Sanibel. You'll love it. Stay safe, while keeping the informative vids coming. Oh yeah, keep that swim platform out of the water. :)
It is such a beautiful area.. perfect training ground for us newbies too!
sounds like you are really enjoying yourself. glad to see you are loving boating.
Oh man! That looks like so much fun! I found myself kind of bobbing with the picture. I felt like I was onboard! But next time you need to get in there and give that manatee a hug. It looked lonely.
Nice video. This is great I am excited to watch you too as you make your way on the Loop. Nice boat by the way.
so excited for you two.
First of all, great drone video it really makes it so interesting! Loved it when you guys were on the bow and the drone over flew you! (great shot) The mantee was probably looking for you to feed him some fresh water, they love that. I used to keep a couple of gallons at the ready to pour into their mouths and they just love it. They will never hurt you they are so docile! Sorry to be writing to you so much but I'm just enjoying getting caught up on your videos! Bill S.
As a local in this area I'm already hooked , and will follow! Super interesting and super cool to be able to do this.
Exciting! Thanks for sharing your journey!
Looking forward to following your new journey, and love the format you are using at the end of the video to give us a breakdown of expenses and travel recap.
found your videos today, really loving them and the both of you !! planning on my own great loop adventure in 10 yrs.
Enjoyed your video - thank you for taking us along! Can't wait to see your journey unfold. Travel safe.
Great video, very happy for you all. Good luck!
I love you video, thanks for watching to us. The boat is completely my dreamboat as well. That's how I find you guys. But what a great trip your on now. I will see all the videos, look forward to each of them. Thanks for now. And god trip to you.
Thanks for sharing your story.
Love following your new adventure!
Nice job! We charted a catamaran out of Burnt Store a few years back and loved Pelican Bay. Our trip through the Miserable Mile was not as nice as the current was ripping and nearly pulled us into the shallows. I'm looking forward to watching you do the great loop.
Ahh.. yes... we've heard that the miserable mile is more miserable for sailing vessels for that reason. No noticeable current on our three passes through so far - but would imagine after all the rains we've had this week, that probably has changed.
Thank you for sharing, you guys are so cute! Really neat seeing the manatee footage!
I had not seen your videos when you two joined as a couple living together in the RV years ago. But I'm betting, the happiness you two show in this video is similar. After all of the current rains, traversing across the state would be easy. Stay dry and remain safe. :-)
Not sure I'm following... 'join as a couple in the RV' ? Lake levels still not quite high enough to safely cross, but will be soon.
Meaning excitement when you first met (beginning RV adventures together). (use "joined" instead of join) :)
Thank you for sharing your experience----the great AND the not so great!!!
Fantastic!
Very cool! Looking forward to this trip. Hope you enjoy it too 😁
I am so excited for you. What a perfect plan, too.......looping in the spring/summer, rving during the fall/winter.
Love your boat and sharing your journey!!! Happy Sailing!!
Great video and understanding what you are experiencing. Like it!
Best wishes on having a great adventure!
July/August - Okeechobee equals mosquitoes! Take the Keys! Not to mention no-see-ems! The water looked so glassy! Nice video! Thanks for posting. Smile :) & Be BRAVE!
Just found you channel and by now you are done with the Loop, but I still have some questions. How did you pick the boat you purchased? Was the boat near your home? I loved the log you displayed at the end. Great idea. Wish everyone did that.
We haven't completed our loop yet.. and we have a video specifically on selecting our boat (Why we Selected the Bayliner 4788). We were full time RVers before we got our boat.
lover your kitty. a big boat is the way to go. good video.
OK, I'm a newbie to boats but will be selling my big home and buying a vessel on the west coast. Plan to live aboard in the Ventura Marina area. Researching like crazy, and planning tours of Marinas in the coming month. I stumbled upon your channel and loving every moment,,I feel I know your guys. I am techy and run an ebay and amazon store so every bit of sharing is awesome!! Staying on an airBnb 48 foot vessel as a test run, but really not needed, because I am doing this. Motor yacht 42 to 52 is my range. You guys make me feel at home,,I will be watching! :)))
Welcome aboard! :)
Ventura California and the Channel Island Harbor Marinas:))
Gosh this is going to be so much fun. Looking forward to the trip with you. Wish I could be there to "help" you. LOL Play safe. God Bless.
We love having you guys along for the ride!
I am so excited for you !! I would love to do something like this but I am just not emotionally capable to do that, taking the RV for a long trip is excitement enough ! lol
We totally empathize.. we approached the cruising lifestyle several years back and just didn't feel ready yet. RVing is such an awesome lifestyle too, and we love it. The most important part, is stepping a bit outside our comfort zone and experiencing! Go you!
Good luck and have fun. You guys should do the Texas part someday. It's nice in winter, I only go for fishing but the intercoastal is something that I liked since seeing it in Port Aransas.
Do you follow Sean & Louise of Our Odyssey? (Blog, not UA-cam)? They just did the Texas coast in their trawler... fascinating to follow along!
Technomadia I'll take a look thanks. Also forgot to mention, y'all might want to equip a lightning dissipation anode. It's good to keep static down and helps prevent strikes. Forspar lightning master.
An additional note on lightning for your motor yacht, it would strike the radio antenna probably. If someone has or could develop a slip over static dissipater made of aluminum and with a non corrosive wire to ship electric ground would be ideal.
Awesome video you seem to be enjoying your new adventure.
Again great story, and video, I like you both!!!!!
All righty! We're on our way. :-)
Have you heard about "Flopper Stoppers"? They do require modifications to the boat but are VERY effective on taming roll at anchor or storm conditions.
Ironically, another commenter mentioned it yesterday too... we had to look it up. Interesting contraption, but indeed - a bit of modification to make!
Love your Channel! really helping me decide whether I want boat or motorhome for retirement.
Fantastic.. glad our experience can help. Which are you leaning towards?
Was hoping to run into you two before you left. I work in the maratimo power boat you can see in the video as you left. Cayo costa is a great place to set on the hook. I did it for three days last week. We also spent a night by ding darling also. Great area to be on the water. Enjoy your trip
Cool... we were there over 6 weeks... but it is a BIG marina!
love your well done vidios. keep making them.
Really enjoy your videos and looking forward to following along as you navigate the Great Loop. I am curious how you plan on moving between RV and Boat will you dock the boat and fly to RV and visa versa?
We'll more than likely rent a one-way car to move between them - as we'll also have the cat and l likely a bit of 'stuff' that shuffles between them.
Living the dream. Last time i lived on a boat i drank way too muuch and fell into the ocean too much
Thanks for sharing.
To help reduce roll while at anchor you could consider a flopper stopper or similar product. (I have never used one but have seen them demonstrated on youtube...and it looks like they work)
Interesting.. had to look that up. Seems like a bit of modification to make to the boat.
I live in port charlotte. It's funny that I found your channel.
now you are in SW FL In May, we just moved to our daughter's house in Illinois. we were just a few miles from Burnt Store Marina
I've been following you guys since you got the boat vids. We recently move aboard and live in Cape Coral not too far from where you guys are. This is our first powerboat. We are a family of 4 and our plans include traveling with our floating home. Listening to your boating experiences is like listening to ourselves. Since we are new to this lifestyle I can relate to the stress of docking and my wife to the stress of handling the lines. Are you guys still in Ft. Myers?
that seacow wanted freshwater I don't know if its illegal to give them freshwater or not be safe can't wait for the upcoming loop vids
good luck.....your living my dream.....
You guys seem awesome. Cats and a MINI Cooper. 😺😺
Fun!
Excellent video, as always.
Do you find that you get sick at all from being on the boat, with all of the motion that's going on? I'm asking this because I haven't seen many of these videos, compared to the bus.
THanks again!
I (Cherie) have been in the past prone to motion sickness. But so far on the boat, I think I've only felt slightly queasy once (yesterday morning after 36 hours of rolling during a storm.). I've been amazed at how well my body has adapted to the constant motion - I was worried about that.
That's great!! Looking forward to watching your adventures on the boat! Best of wishes to you two!
👍Yay! Wishing you guys the best. 🤗💞🤗
I've never heard the term "sea rayed" but as a lifetime sailor/boater I get it!!
Congratulations and best wishes.
Looks great. Will be looking for you in the Chesapeake!
Good to see you under way. Our RV group at Platinum Point Yacht Club sends you our best. Need any recommendations for the area, let us know. You may have run across one of our members on A B Seas returning to Burnt Store after a spring trip up to Baltimore.
Thanks so much for making our time at BSM more memorable!
Jeff Hawley qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq
Congrats on your 'maiden voyage'!😊
In looking at your map.....at some point you'll be at the mouth of Old Tampa Bay (Clearwater, FL). Will that be on your return trip?
Indeed... we'll be moving counter clockwise around the loop, so anything on Florida's west coast north of Punta Gorda will be on the tail end of the adventure (several years away).
Technomadia: We'll have to wait and see what develops to/at that point. I live on the water in the bay.....my location might become a good pit-stop for that stretch of your voyage😊
Congrats, safe seas to you. Do you do any fishing along the way?
If you get a chance you might talk about parking your boat, therefore, bow thrusters, dual screws, etc, as I would think that would make it a lot easier to park and to leave a harbor.
We do have bow thrusters and dual screws.
Bon voyage!
Thanks for sharing. Becoming a looper is my dream. I'm about 5 years behind you. From what I understand you're a little off schedule.. "spring up/fall down" and all that. Are you going to be able to get thru the canals and such up north without freezing issues in winter?
We're planning to take it slow over 3-5 years. We'll head north.. and once it gets too cold winterize/store the boat, and return to our RV for winters.
Safe journey!
Yay!!!! where's that bottle of champagne??!!!!
Congratulations & well done! So many firsts! How's your cat adjusting to the moments of roughness?
So far.. so good!
Great Video, I was wondering and perhaps I missed it in your previous videos but I was curious what your fuel burn is?
We're still figuring that out... have to burn enough fuel to know :)
To combat the lack of physical activity while on your boat, employ a exercise regimen of body weight movements; air squats, situps, pushups, and swimming, a few times per week.
We do... still nothing beats a long hike :)
This is a bit out there but here goes. Don't know what your taste in movies is but your anchorage talk reminded me of this ridiculously low budget sort of horror movie from the late 60's (I think). In the beginning there is some nautical jargon thats actually pretty accurate. Ex Coastie here. Movies cheesy and laugh out loud bad, but it can fall under guilty pleasure and it's worth it just for the seamanship tips. Killer Shrews. Or Attack of The Killer Shrews, can't remember. How the intrepid heroes escape their plight is Genius!! Best of luck and try to avoid any mad scientists you may run across. :)
Cool.. we'll look it up. We love fun quirky movies!
It's on youtube! Just checked it out. Yep, first 5-10 min has some hilariously good nautical tips. It's so funny because it's so out of place. The dialogue is so bad its good. But someone had some seamanship skills. :)
Interesting trek! One question - mosquitoes? Deal breaker for my hyper sensitive existence.
Haven't encountered any yet... but certainly had our share in the RV!
I have an unusual sensitivity to mosquitoes :) When I was in the Army overseas we used the heavy duty juice (deet a I guess) - You can almost see the plastic bottle on the left of my helmet band. www.bobwoolcock.com/images/415_01060c1.jpg
I don't have to do that now in the dry, High Desert of CA - But I must admit, your loop looks intriguing - especially at the relaxed pace you've adopted. Watching...
hey hey ! nice job
Good job keeping your engines running during the storm. When the anchor starts dragging is not the time to start engines.
Sorry, playing catching up after finding your channel. Pelican Bay ... both the north and the couple of entrances from the south look really shallow on the charts. I'm sure there are a lot of shifting bars in the area and the charts aren't anywhere near as good as local knowledge. Now, granted it was a year ago (pre-Irma) when you were there ... but did you feel squeezed depth-wise coming into and leaving the bay?
I don't recall it being shallow.. as long as you follow the entrance (which was very close to shore). We just researched Active Captain, and then waited outside the bay to watch someone leave/enter. It was our very first solo excursion.
😁Newbie mistake - the swim ladder is still in the water. 😁 No worries.
When I had the houseboat, everything was slow and steady. Thanks for the memories, but I am going to buy the RV, not another boat! *sigh*
I'll be lookinggor your boat, the one with a dinghy that resembles a Mini Cooper!😁
An amphibious MINI would be so cool!!
Technomadia We just got a used Mini for our Toad. Frankly, we wouldn't have thought about getting a Mini if it hadn't been for you guys. Really happy with it so far and we're a little quirky so it fits our personalities too.
We like a little quirky ;) Enjoy.. the Mini is a great little shuttle craft!
Hi guys Welcome To My City
Hopefully you do know that this is hurricane season through November 1st. Hope it's a quiet one for you this year.
Yes, we address hurricane season in this video: ua-cam.com/video/8clFrgggfrg/v-deo.html
I keep forgetting to ask: do you make your own fresh water or just fill at the marina? When at sea of course
We don't have a water maker - they're not overly useful in the places we'll be going.
Burnt Store marina........I grew up there!