|
The circumnavigation of Eastern North America by water is known as the Great Loop. Also referred to as the Great Circle Route, the trip varies from depending on the options used. The boats used range from personal watercraft to yachts. Both sailboats and powerboats are used but the most common boats are recreational trawlers. The main factors that govern the size of the boat are the limited draft () in some locations on the loop and the height of one bridge () in Chicago. People traveling the Great Loop are known as "loopers." The number of people attempting this voyage is growing with the baby boomers reaching retirement age. In 2007, more than 150 boat owners notified America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association (AGLCA) that they were planning to attempt the loop in the coming season. ==Routes== Most Great Loop cruisers travel the loop counterclockwise, taking advantage of the downstream currents on the Illinois, Mississippi, Tombigbee and Black Warrior rivers to Mobile, Alabama. To avoid summer hurricanes and winter ice, most Loopers head north in the spring, spend the summer in the Great Lakes region, and head south on the rivers in the fall, arriving in Florida after the beginning of November. Starting on the east coast of Florida at Stuart the route heads north on the Intracoastal Waterway along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Chesapeake Bay offers many different locations to visit and some loopers go up the Potomac River to Washington, DC. At the north end of Chesapeake Bay the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal connects to Delaware Bay. The Intracoastal Waterway resumes at Cape May and ends at Manasquan, New Jersey. There is a stretch of open Atlantic Ocean to New York Harbor. From this point a few loopers continue up the coast, around the Gaspé Peninsula and up the St Lawrence River to Lake Ontario. This adds about to the loop. Most loopers go up the Hudson River to Waterford, New York, and then take the Erie Canal to Lake Ontario or Lake Erie or the Champlain Canal to the St. Lawrence. Canada's Rideau Canal, built in 1832 from Ottawa to Kingston, is frequently chosen. Most loopers will take the Trent Canal from Trenton, Ontario, to Port Severn on Georgian Bay. The North Channel is one of the highlights of the loop. This is the most northerly point on the loop and has the shortest season, just eight weeks of good warm weather from July 1 to August 30. Lake Michigan is next with most loopers taking the east side of the lake to Chicago. From here it is down the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, up the Ohio and Tennessee rivers, then down the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway to Mobile. The route then joins the Intracoastal Waterway going east to Carrabelle, Florida. The waterway now extends to Fort Myers where loopers can cruise the Okeechobee Waterway to Stuart on the east coast of Florida or turn south to the Florida Keys rounding the southern tip of Florida, returning north to Stuart. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Great Loop」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|