I can tell you where I’m going, I just can’t guarantee when I’ll get there.

Does this look familiar?  It is my “desk” filled with nautical charts, MapTech Embassy Cruising Guides, two books on cruising America’s “Great Loop” and a map of Florida.

These are just some of the items I am using to plan my cruise from Naples, FL (Actually, Wakely is in Marco Island, Florida) to Riverside, CT.  This cruise is the Atlantic leg of the Intercoastal Water Way (AICW).  The AICW is just one leg of America’s Great Loop, a 6,000-mile route.

The entire Great Loop includes the Atlantic leg, that I am doing, and then continuing up the Hudson River, into the Erie Canal System, into the Great Lakes and then down the Mississippi River back into the Gulf of Mexico.  Here is what the entire loop looks like:

Planning my cruise is much more complex than planning my past Motorcycle journeys.  One factor is that a boat cruise is greatly affected by the weather.  Rain and wind can keep you at the dock for days at a time.  Hence, I can tell you where I plan on going, I just cannot guarantee when I’ll get there.  Additional complexity is driven by the following:

• Maps versus Charts – Charting a cruise is not like planning a road trip.  Planning a road trip calls for assuring that the road(s) you select gets you from point A to point B.  You can tap into Waze or Mapquest to get the distance and time.

Charting a cruise is more complex as there are no roads.  There is no Waze or Mapquest that I have found.  There are Channels, Inlets, and Shipping Lanes to name a few that are designated on a chart.  However, they are not as clear as a road map because the names are not familiar.  We live on land and charts are based on navigating waterways.

• Roads versus Channels, Shipping Lanes and Inlets–  A paved road, for the most part, is a paved road.  Channels, Inlets, and Shipping Lanes can be greatly different based on their depth, width, location, and access to shelter.  As I posted previously, the draft of Wakely is 3′ 9″.  This means that as I chart the course from point A to B, I need to be sure that the depth along the entire route is a minimum of 5 feet.  This gives me room for error as depths are constantly changing, especially in the Florida Keys.

Inlets, needed to traverse from say big water to inland waterways, can be quite treacherous as they can be narrow with very strong currents.  These currents, along with wind can create large waves that can dash a boat against rocks or the shore.  Selecting which inlets you choose to traverse is a careful decision

• Hotels versus Marinas – Marinas also present their own complexity versus Hotels.  Hotels are either clean or not.  They have a bed or not.  With a Marina, you do consider the quality of the Marina, but you also look for floating docks versus fixed docks, can the marina accommodate Wakely’s 46′ length, does the dock offer diesel gas and, as a hotel, is it available.  There are far fewer marinas than hotels.  And, being left without a slip for even one evening can create its own problems.

Also, you can book a hotel month in advance and be confident you will arrive on time for your reservation.  You cannot book a marina to far in advance as you can’t guarantee your arrival date.

• Diesel versus Gas Station – Along the road, there is always a gas station within reach, unless you are in very remote areas (I have been in these areas).  On the water, Diesel marinas can be miles and miles apart.  Therefore, I need to be aware of how much diesel I will use and whether I will have enough to get where I want to go and if there will be a pump when I arrive.

• Crew Versus No Crew – When I was planning my motorcycle ride, I knew that I was going to be riding alone.  The planning process was simple as I needed to only take into account my needs.

Running Wakely needs a crew.  A second or third set of eyes and help departing and arriving at marinas.  I am lucky enough to have a great crew for the beginning of the cruise.  My wife Catherine, and Bob and Maria Dwyer will be joining me for the cruise from Marco Island, Florida, to Key West and up the Florida Keys.

Catherine has been on the water her entire life and I have so much confidence and respect for her judgment on the water.  And, Bob and Maria take it to an entirely new level.  They are avid sailors and for years they have sailed in New England for the summer months and in the Carribean for the winter months.  They know there way around the water.  I am so lucky that Bob and Maria have elected to join Catherine and me.

I am in the middle of planning our route from Marco Island, down to Key West and up the Atlantic Coast.  So far I have planned as far as the Florida/Georgia border.  From Key West to Norfolk, VA is 1,243 miles and then I will have another ??? to go from Norfolk to Riverside, CT depending on the course I plot.

As we are planning to depart the week of Monday, April 13, I still have a little time.  The rough schedule is to depart Marco Island on the Week of April 13 and arrive home the latter half of May.

Looking forward to continuing my posts and keeping you all in the “Loop”