George Hospodar - The Great Loop Experience: From Concept to Completion: A Practical Guide for Planning, Preparing and Executing Your Great Loop Adventure

The Great Loop Experience

From Concept to Completion

A Practical Guide for Planning, Preparing, and Executing Your Great Loop Adventure

By Captain George and Patricia Hospodar

The Great Loop Experience: From Concept to Completion: A PracticaL Guide for Planning, Preparing, and Executing Your Great Loop Adventure

Copyright 2014 Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.

1405 SW 6th Avenue Ocala, Florida 34471 Phone: 800-814-1132 Fax: 352-622-1875

Website: www.atlantic-pub.com Email: sales@atlantic-pub.com

SAN Number: 268-1250

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be sent to Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc., 1210 SW 23rd Place, Ocala, Florida 34471.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hospodar, George, 1946

The Great Loop experience--from concept to completion : a practical guide for planning, preparing, and executing your Great Loop adventure / by Captain George Hospodar and Patricia Hospodar.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60138-940-4 (alkaline paper) -- ISBN 1-60138-940-X (alkaline paper) 1. Boats and boating--East (U.S.)--Guidebooks. 2. Boats and boating--Canada, Eastern--Guidebooks. 3. Waterways--East (U.S.)--Guidebooks. 4. Waterways--Canada, Eastern--Guidebooks. 5. East (U.S.)--Guidebooks. 6. Canada, Eastern--Guidebooks. I. Hospodar, Patricia, 1946- II. Title.

GV776.E48H67 2014

797.10973--dc23

2014035824

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: All trademarks, trade names, or logos mentioned or used are the property of their respective owners and are used only to directly describe the products being provided. Every effort has been made to properly capitalize, punctuate, identify, and attribute trademarks and trade names to their respective owners, including the use of and wherever possible and practical. Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc. is not a partner, affiliate, or licensee with the holders of said trademarks.

Printed in the United States

INTERIOR LAYOU T, Insert & COVER DESIGNS: Jackie Miller millerjackiej@gmail.com

A few years back we lost our beloved pet dog Bear, who was not only our best and dearest friend but also the Vice President of Sunshine here at Atlantic Publishing. He did not receive a salary but worked tirelessly 24 hours a day to please his parents.

Bear was a rescue dog who turned around and showered myself, my wife, Sherri, his grandparents Jean, Bob, and Nancy, and every person and animal he met (well, maybe not rabbits) with friendship and love. He made a lot of people smile every day.

We wanted you to know a portion of the profits of this book will be donated in Bears memory to local animal shelters, parks, conservation organizations, and other individuals and nonprofit organizations in need of assistance.

Douglas and Sherri Brown

PS: We have since adopted two more rescue dogs: first Scout, and the following year, Ginger. They were both mixed golden retrievers who needed a home.

Want to help animals and the world? Here are a dozen easy suggestions you and your family can implement today:

• Adopt and rescue a pet from a local shelter.
• Support local and no-kill animal shelters.
• Plant a tree to honor someone you love.
• Be a developer put up some birdhouses.
• Buy live, potted Christmas trees and replant them.
• Make sure you spend time with your animals each day.
• Save natural resources by recycling and buying recycled products.
• Drink tap water, or filter your own water at home.
• Whenever possible, limit your use of or do not use pesticides.
• If you eat seafood, make sustainable choices.
• Support your local farmers market.
• Get outside. Visit a park, volunteer, walk your dog, or ride your bike.

Five years ago, Atlantic Publishing signed the Green Press Initiative. These guidelines promote environmentally friendly practices, such as using recycled stock and vegetable-based inks, avoiding waste, choosing energy-efficient resources, and promoting a no-pulping policy. We now use 100-percent recycled stock on all our books. The results: in one year, switching to post-consumer recycled stock saved 24 mature trees, 5,000 gallons of water, the equivalent of the total energy used for one home in a year, and the equivalent of the greenhouse gases from one car driven for a year.

Disclaimer

This book is designed to provide information about cruising Americas Great Loop, and is intended to act as a supplement to, and not a replacement for, complete marine travel guidebooks. Although every effort has been made to provide accurate information, the authors do not take any responsibility for errors, incorrect information, or omissions. Conditions at marinas, anchorages, and on waterways are constantly changing, so it is the captains responsibility to verify all information found in this book to ensure accuracy. The authors and publisher have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book. The purpose of this book, which is based on the authors own experiences on Americas Great Loop, is to give the reader some thoughtful guidance in making his own personal boating decisions.

None of the charts or maps in this book are to be used for navigation.

Authors Dedication