GL: Cruising routes of North America

[Rich Gano]

Georgs, this is not a loop in the technical sense, but Wayne Wert did it a
few years ago, and it is something I have log wanted to do.  It is much less
than the Great Loop, but for those of us on the NW Gulf coast without the
time and/or desire to complete the larger loop the Dry Tortugas run can be a
diverting cruise.

We hope to leave our home in the Panama City area for this run on 1 March
2009 and be gone about six to eight weeks.

We plan to depart the Florida Panhandle waters in the Apalachicola area and
run the 130 nautical mile open water passage to that other state, South
Florida.  We will re-enter the ICW in the Anclote Key area and run inside
down to the Fort Myers area where we will exit interior waters and run in
open waters in several daylight legs to the middle of the Keys.  From there
we will run westerly along the Keys until we get to Boca Chica Naval Air
Facility's marina were we retired military can get 85-cent a foot transient
mooring.  This is five miles from Key West.  From there we plan to travel 70
NM west to Fort Jefferson National Monument at Dry Tortuga.  Rather than
retrace our route, our plan will be to head 109 NM northeast to the Marco
Island area, weather permitting.  A single day run after that will see us
back in protected waters until the jump back to the state of Northwest
Florida from Anclote Key.  Round trip distance about 1100 NM.

Rich Gano
CALYPSO (GB-42 #295)
Southport, FL (near Panama City)