Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Fall 2006 Great Loop Rendezvous
October 16-19, 2006: What a treat it was to gather with 200-plus other Loopers under the wings of Ron and Eva Stob, who inspired many of us to undertake the Great Loop adventure with their delightful book, Honey, Let’s Get a Boat. Again the Fall Rendezvous was held at Joe Wheeler State Park, near Rogersville, Alabama. We met new cruising friends and quickly became overloaded with vital information from cruising masters such as Claiborne Young (author of cruising guides for the southern coastal region), Fred Meyers (grand master of cruising guides for the Tenn-Tom Waterway and the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers), and Skipper Bob Reib, (author of numerous respected guides to everything along the Great Loop and the Bahamas.) We were also happy to meet Tom and Patsy Conrad, who have lots of advice and knowledge about the Florida coast, especially getting around the Big Bend of Florida.Since we are actually ready to start our own grand adventure, this time we hung onto every word. Even though the weather was pretty awful (cold and rainy), we had fun. Bob ran kayak races and Vessel Safety Inspections with the help of the Florence Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Huntsville Power Squadron, we visited other boats, and we stayed really busy helping with various events. This was also the first time we were able to test the new back canvas bimini and Stratoglass enclosure on the flybridge. Lynn of Toucan Canvas did an excellent job!
