5 months and 14 days of nonconsecutive travel time later... we returned to Sebastian, FL and crossed our wake!

At 10:10 AM on July 16, 2025, the Carters became gold loopers! ✨️ 

We started the Great Loop on June 2, 2023. Spending June and July of 2023, June and July of 2024, and June plus the first two weeks of July 2025 to cross our wake. (5 and a half months on the Loop.)

How it started...

How it's going...

We anchored to commemorate the moment adequately, changed into our AGLCA '25 shirts and grabbed our Cartermaran Crew polos for a quick wardrobe change, and ensured the gold looper burgee was secured in hand. We ceremoniously swapped the white burgee for the gold one while taking a million photos with the tripod, hoping to capture a few good shots without our hair being whipped every which way before the tripod got knocked over by the dogs or the wind. 🤓 It is what it is. The wind was an undeniable part of our loop, and really, who ever has good hair days on a boat?!

Then we turned around and headed south. We knew we wouldn't make it to Saint Lucie Lock before the last lock at 4:30, so we decided we would anchor just outside it for the night. 

While we made our way back down, we started making lists. Everything that needed to happen before haul-out tomorrow... What to close up... What stays on the boat... What comes home... What gets tossed... What needs to be repurchased for next summer... Departure checklist... Lists upon lists on both my phone and Ben's phone to split tasks to end this season and prep for next.

 

We clocked 24 knots of wind at the bow on the way back south on the ICW. The waters at Port Saint Lucie Inlet were very vivid and had a contrasting beautiful blue section. It always blows my mind to think about the colors being so distinct and not mixing, especially in such a fluid medium!

Coming into Stuart, we got cleared for the Old Roosevelt Bridge and then almost immediately heard the railroad bridge was lowering in three minutes. We knew we wouldn't make it under in time, so we waited (in the crazy current area) for it to lower, the train to cross, and the railroad bridge to lift again before asking Old Roosevelt, once more, to open for us. 

No locks today. We anchored just east of Saint Lucie Lock, across from Phipps Park Campground, saw the moon's reflection in the water- wondering what it was- before looking up to realize it was the moon, and spotted a gator in the water before settling in for our last night aboard for 2025.

Moore Haven to Vero Beach, FL

The lock said it opened at 7. When we looked outside, the gates were open and it was only 6:35! There wasn't much of an elevation change and both gates were open a little bit the whole time. We were through the Julian Keen Jr. Lock and entering Lake Okeechobee at 6:58 AM.

As we entered the lake, we still had 107 miles to travel before we'd cross our Great Loop wake. (When a boat "crosses their wake" it means they made it back to the point where they started, completing their loop.) The girls were still asleep. Moose and I stood on the bow counting alligators. We spotted 87 before we even hit open lake. 🐊 87! It was fun to spot them in the smooth water ahead as we approached, then watch them duck under and disappear as we got closer. That was how we could tell they weren't logs!

The lake itself was a surprise. I expected it to be all swamp, and it wasn't. It was wide open water, nothing like what I'd pictured my entire life. The crossing took about 5 hours from Julian Keen Jr. to the Port Mayaca lock on the east side. 

The gnats were absolutely awful. We busted out the cedar oil in an attempt to keep them off of us and it worked, surprisingly. They stayed off our skin, but they were still all over the boat. Most of them were gone after the Port Mayaca lock.

A note for anyone planning this route: of all the locks we've gone through, in two countries, the locks on the Okeechobee Waterway were run by the rudest and most stringent people we encountered. Just something to know going in.

63 miles to our wake by 2:40. We were out of the St. Lucie Lock at 3:05. Fifteen miles to the AICW from there. We were thankful to be through the locks because the sky was starting to look angry.

Happy Days, a 2007 Endeavour 44, was docked here. We found this out and communicated by yelling across the marina with each other. This marina also took our recycling, which is severely lacking on the loop, so it was exciting to know all our hard work paid off. They also took our trash, but the recycle being recycled always makes me happy.

Stuart has three bridges back to back to get through to the ICW, and the current was strong, but the storm looked like it had moved around us, leaving a double rainbow behind. We anchored at Fritz Island in Vero Beach for the night before our big day tomorrow. 

Locks today: 3

Locks of the summer: 47

Locks of the loop: 161

Saint James City to Moore Haven, FL

Back to locking! Franklin Lock, our first lock in the Okeechobee Waterway on the Caloosahatchee River, raised us up 2 feet.

One of the doors to get into the lock was broken, so we had to fit our 19-foot beam (width) through a 26-foot opening instead of the full width. Not a problem at all.

I had the fenders and line ready to hook up at the center of the starboard side. We noticed that they had their own lines, which I had to quickly swap out for ours. We also had to tie up at bow and stern instead of just at the center. The parts that go in and out of the water were slimy and I didn't have time to grab my gloves before making the exchange. Ew. Once again, our well-oiled machine has to change when we finally got it down. The rules constantly change on us. Such is the boat life.

A manatee locked through with us, which made the time go by faster. We all kept watching for it to surface. The kids got activity pages from the lockmaster. They were not as impressed and said it was nothing like the Parks Canada booklets they loved last summer. We shared the chamber with one other recreational boat.

Worth noting: these locks have their own set of rules that are different from everywhere else we've locked. No passing boats in the chamber, bow and stern ties required, and if lightning strikes, they shut the locks and stop operating. (I'm pretty sure there were similar rules in our other locks this summer, but they weren't enforced to the extent they are here.)

We pulled up to Ortona Lock at 2:20 to find it was shut down due to a lightning strike. We anchored to wait and see if they'd get us through before the end of the day. We got through at 3:00, so it wasn't too long of a delay. At that point, we knew we wouldn't make it to Julian Keen Jr. Lock before the last lock of the day at 4:30, so we backed off the throttle a bit to save some fuel and arrived around 5:30.

The water level was too high to anchor, so we tried to tie up to some pilings. I had a heck of a time with a vertical cleat and got Moose to help, but the line kept slipping off. Ben was trying to manage the boat while simultaneously planning for any water level changes, fender placement, parts of the boat rubbing on the pilings, and the bow position. He had a lot of changing variables to predict and process all at once, and was frustrated. He even wondered about doing an anchor and stern tie instead.

While Ben was maneuvering the Cartermaran, the boat hook we were using fell in the water. Fortunately, it was the floating one. We used the other hook to work it close enough to the back step to grab it. I was terrified that my hand would come back missing a few fingers due to all the splashing attracting alligators. Luckily, there were none!

Eventually, we ended up tied to the lock wall at Julian Keen Jr. Lock in Moore Haven for the night. 

Locks today: 2

Locks of the summer: 44

Locks of the loop: 158

Crystal Springs to Clearwater to Saint James City, FL

It sounds really dramatic to say we have had our last open water day of the summer, until you realize we've only actually been on open water for three days, plus that one day at the start of this leg (May 31) when we were on Lake Michigan for a few hours.

We docked at Clearwater Harbor Marina and walked to an area with several dinner options so everyone could see what sounded good. It was a Friday night but oddly quiet, kind of eerily so for what should've been a bustling area. We ended up at Downtown Pizza, which was delicious. We came back to the boat with a ton of leftovers, which we normally don't mind, but finding space in the fridge on the boat is always a challenge. For dessert, four of us got cannolis and Moose got a cookie a la mode. Whose kid is that?!

The next day, we met up with my uncle (who I hadn't seen in about 30 years!), his wife, and their youngest son for breakfast. We showed them the boat, ate, and walked around Clearwater together. It was one of those visits that feels both long overdue and like no time had passed at all. Really glad we could make it happen.

After saying goodbye, we cooled off on the boat and got ready for round two of visitors. Our friends from Colorado moved to Florida this year and have made it a point to drive to check out various beaches near their new home, so they were excited to meet us at Clearwater Beach. 

We took the ferry over to the beach and played for a while before heading back to shower and go to dinner. Downtown Pizza again, but different meals this time. Back at the boat, the kids fished off the dock and spotted a seahorse and a baby puffer fish, which was a huge hit. Our friends stayed overnight on the boat, and it was so fun to have guests aboard once again. 

The next morning, we were up and off the dock by 7. There was no wind, which made the hot feel even hotter. Lots of dolphins to watch, so that was fun for our friends. Some noticeable hurricane damage along the way, which is a good reminder of what this area has been through.

Hattie has officially figured out the dolphin thing, we think. She hears them before we see them and barks to scare them away. Protective? Terrified? Both? We're not sure, but she is very committed to her job. It makes us sad when she scares them away before we can enjoy them, though!

We dropped our friends off at a wall near Sarasota and said our goodbyes after a really nice time together. Then we continued on to anchor off Chino Island at Pine Island Sound Aquatic Preserve in Saint James City. Our last sunset over the Gulf of Mexico for this trip was beyond beautiful and a good one to go out on.

Crossing the Gulf of Mexico to Steinhatchee to Crystal Springs, FL

It was our big day for the Gulf crossing and we'd been watching the weather closely. It was pretty uneventful, which is exactly what you want when you're cutting across open water. We hung out, played games, watched shows, and tried getting up-to-date with Ryan Trahan's 50 States in 50 Days on YouTube. 

We pulled into Sea Hag Marina in Steinhatchee, docked, and went straight to bed to prep for another early morning on the ocean.

Once we got back to the Gulf, we got to see dolphins again, swimming in the distance at first, and then they came to the bow and jumped for us a few times. Every single time it happens we all rush to watch them for as long as they stick with us.

We made our way to Buzzard Island in Kings Bay, Crystal Springs, and anchored. The kids got to swim in the river and cool off, so they were thrilled. We planned to stop here because we'd been hoping to see manatees. This river, in particular, is one of the best spots in Florida to see them, but I think the water was too warm. Manatees tend to congregate there in cooler months when the springs feel warm compared to the Gulf. In the summer, they don't need to huddle up in one spot to stay warm. We kept our eyes open but no luck. That just means we have to come back another time!

Pensacola to Fort Walton Beach to Dog Island, FL

Traveled from Pensacola to Fort Walton Beach, resulting in a short day. Sunset Isle Marina was not responsive on the radio or by phone. We eventually just tied up to the fuel dock and waited. When we finally tracked someone down for the pump out, we found out the system was broken. Apparently five boats had used it before us and it just gave up. They're waiting on a replacement.

Docked and stayed at new marina that opened in October. After getting settled, we walked over to the beach just east of the marina. A family who was already there wound up leaving and passed their boogie boards along to our kids and they had a blast on those together for the rest of the afternoon.

Some teens nearby started casting fishing lines right into the water where everyone was swimming, so I pulled our kids out for a bit while Ben went and unhooked one of the lines they got tangled in the marina dock. 

Then, a guy on a rental pontoon intentionally drove the boat head-on straight into the crowded swimming beach and proceeded to unload about 20 people and all of their stuff, while leaving the outboard motor running. In the swimming area. With kids playing right next to it. Ben yelled that they were going to kill someone. They seemed completely oblivious. It was one of those moments that you genuinely cannot believe what you're watching and can't turn away.

The whole time we were at the beach, we'd noticed a tender making its way slowly along the shore with flags flying, that we spent a lot of time trying to decipher. We could finally read them as it got closer. One said ice cream, the other said pickles. Yes. Pickles. A lady in a thong bikini pulled up on a tender loaded with coolers full of ice cream and pickles, plus tourist apparel for sale. Ben and I convinced Moose to go over and ask how much for a pickle. Five dollars. This woman is probably out there every single day making an absolute killing. I couldn't help but think that might be the perfect post-retirement plan. Kind of like Ken in the Barbie movie — my job could be beach.

We played, snorkeled, and dipped in water for about 3 hours before returning to the boat for the night. On the way out, we paid it forward and passed the boogie boards along to another family with kids. Good beach karma all around.

One of our favorite things that never gets old is seeing dolphins at the bow, which happened near Santa Rosa. Hattie, our 11.5-month-old Boxer, heard them and was barking like crazy before any of us saw them. (Turns out dogs CAN hear dolphins before humans can. What a fun fact!) She went out to the bow and then immediately retreated when one came up and blew right in front of her resulting in the splash from the blowhole getting her wet, and now she's suspicious of the bow. We thought it was hilarious. Poor girl just wanted to keep us safe from the scary dolphins. Ha!

We anchored at Dog Island, which is the island separating the end of the GICW from the Gulf of Mexico, for the night. Dinner, sunset, bed. Nice and easy.

At 2:18 AM, the boat went silent. All of our sound machines and the running air conditioner keep us asleep, so when those turn off, we automatically wake up. Ben had turned off the auto-charge of the battery at some point during the day, and forgot to turn it back on. The boat battery drained down to 4%. Everything shut off including the fans, which on Cartermaran are basically always running no matter what. Ben had to start the engines just to get the battery screen to turn back on. He ran them long enough to get to 10%, which was enough to kick the generator on, and everyone was able to go back to sleep. Crisis averted, but it was not the middle-of-the-night adventure anyone was expecting.

In the morning, we're crossing the Gulf of Mexico to Steinhatchee on the west coast of Florida, cutting out the northern edge of the Gulf and leaving the panhandle behind.

Pensacola, FL

We started the visit in Pensacola on the 4th getting fuel and pumped out. The fun part was adding our boat sticker to the plank above the hut of the marina office. There's a tradition here, so when a plank fills up with stickers from all the boats that have passed through, it gets moved to the restaurant nearby (Jaco's) and replaced with a fresh one. One day someone's going to be sitting at a table eating fish tacos and will look up to see our Cartermaran sticker up there!

After that, we grabbed food at Jaco's and did a little walking around to explore and scope out a good spot for the fireworks. (While we were waiting for our food to arrive, Moose's orthodontic appliance fell out of his mouth while he was drinking ice water. Being a holiday, I couldn't contact anyone about it, so we held onto it to bring home with us.) The kids fished while we figured out the plan for the evening.

Bear's second grade teacher, Ms. Mac, moved to Pensacola when Bear moved on to 3rd grade and we have kept in touch ever since. I reached out to her to see if we could meet up while we were there. I hadn't heard back from her for a few weeks, and I told Bear I wasn't sure it would work out. A few days prior, I tried connecting with her once again and we figured out we could make it work. Bear never asked again about seeing Ms. Mac, so I decided to make it a little surprise. 

The kids were fishing off the dock, with the dogs on watch duty, enjoying some downtime. Bear decided to come inside for a bit to cool down. Ms. Mac let me know she had parked and was headed to the marina gate with her 2 year old identical twin boys, who we have enjoyed watching grow since they were in her belly! I snuck out to let her in at the gate while Bear was hanging out on the couch watching a movie.

Moose and Roo barely remembered her since they were so little when she moved out of Colorado. Because of this, we were able to sneak on the boat without a big commotion. 

When we got the twins onto the boat, I started to open to door to the cabin and put one of them in front of the glass door, so when Bear looked up she knew EXACTLY who was here! She immediately jumped off the couch and ran up to the cockpit for hugs!

The girls and I walked around Palafox Pier with them while the boys made a run to a parts store and picked up some milk. We stopped at the Pensacola Bay City Ferry dock and hung out on the steps catching up, snacking, and playing for a bit before walking them back to their car. Our hearts were so full! 

After we said goodbye, the 5 of us put bug spray on, grabbed ice cream along the way, and ended up over on Bayfront Street to find a viewing spot for fireworks. As the show started, we decided there were too many trees blocking our view, it was too people-y, and that we'd actually rather watch from closer to the boat, and honestly, it wound up being the perfect spot. The fireworks were great, the walk back was short, and we were all in bed at a reasonable hour. That's a win!

We knew we had to get up early the next day to go to the National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola. One of my unspoken agreements with Ben while on the Loop has been that we stop, explore, and learn as much as we want to. Although the 5 of us have varied interests, we continue to find and enjoy something for everyone- history, military, science, animals, exploration, nature, novelty... you name it! This is one of my favorite parts of our summer adventures.

Getting to the NAS was a small adventure in itself. Lyft and Uber aren't allowed on base, so we called a taxi company and stated that we needed a taxi driver who's base-approved. We hung out by Jaco's waiting for ours to arrive, which took a few tries to get one who had the right approval. 

When the approved driver finally arrived to pick us up, he took us to the east gate. The sentry turned us around and sent us to the west gate, which is exactly where we told him to go in the first place, but he insisted he could go through either gate. Apparently, once you have civilians in the car, east gate is a no-go, even for drivers with clearance for both. NAS Pensacola is one of only three bases in the world that allows civilian entry, so it was pretty cool to be allowed there at all. After a fatal shooting in 2019, access was tightened up significantly, which is why the west-gate-only rule is in place. Our driver gave us his number and told us to call him for a ride back to the boat so we didn't have to wait and find someone who had base clearance again.

The museum itself was incredible. So. Many. Planes. This was everything I expected the Air & Space Museum in DC to be and, IMO- wasn't. We watched two movies, wandered through more aircraft than I could count, and we all took advantage of the obligatory photo op- sitting in an old Blue Angel cockpit with actual controls. That alone was worth the trip.

Leaving, our driver tried to take us out the east gate again. The sentry turned us around again. The driver was unhappy with this and decided that he wanted to talk to someone to understand why. We didn't realize this meant he was going to park at the west gate and get out of the car, resulting in a different gate sentry approaching us in the car with his AR15 slung over his chest. Ben informed him that we just wanted to go home and we didn't know anything about the driver's intentions. The driver got back in the car, still grumpy about the situation, and drove us back and dropped us at Lucy's in the Square, where we had street tacos and played some games before walking back to the boat. We ventured out again a little bit later for boba and called it a night.