America's Great Loop Cruisers Assn Fall Rendezvous

Sunday, Oct. 20, I left Sally, my house guest Tom Treece, and friends Tom and Nancy Thomas before 8AM to drive to Rogersville, AL (northern AL between Huntsville and Florence, AL) for the AGLCA (America's Great Loop Cruisers Association) Rendezvous  The Fall Rendezvous is held at Joe Wheeler State Park at MM278 on the Tennessee River, that's 278 miles from the confluence of the Tennessee and Ohio Rivers.

The AGLCA holds two or three Rendezvous each year--the two big ones are the Fall Rendezvous and the Spring Rendezvous. These Rendezvous are held in northern AL and somewhere along the mid-Atlantic coast during the spring.  The Rendezvous in AL is held a 60 miles east of the Ten-Tom Waterway enterance at MM215 on the Tennessee River.  The Fall Rendezvous is held at this location because the Loopers heading south all congregate in this area because of the great fall weather and the fact their insurance companies won't allow them to travel south of Columbus MS during hurricane season which doesn't end until November 1.  Conversely, the Spring Rendezvous is held north of Charleston, SC the point where Loopers must be north of when hurricane season starts if they like reasonably priced insurance.

There were 50-60 Looper boats of all sizes and shapes at the Joe Wheeler State Park Marina which probably berthed 120-130 Loopers; the rest of the over 300 Rendezvous attendees were vendors, speakers, past Loopers, and wanna be Loopers stayed at the Lodge.  Joe Wheeler has nice hotel and convention facilities.  The Loopers were from any and everywhere--Yakima, WA, Joplin, MO, Brazil, Australia, and Canada--even Kansas.  Clay got an award at the "recognition" banquet for being the most tenured first-timer at the convention plus a cap and the table centerpiece!

During the two afternoon "Dock Crawls" events,  Loopers open their boats to others to admire.  This is great for the 100+ wanna be Loopers who haven't purchased a boat yet.  It gives them an opportunity to see what different models and brands look like inside and out.

I met Ric Robinson who has a 2003 Mainship 430 Trawler a year newer than SaSea Sally during the first Dock Crawl.  I spent over an hour looking at modifications and electronic upgrades Ric had made to his boat that day and another 45 minutes the next day.  Ric purchased his boat the NANSEANN in FL several years ago.  Ric is from south-central IL and kept his boat at Green Turtle Bay Marina in Grand River, KY.  I picked up some valuable information and tips from Ric which will save me more money than it cost to attend the Rendezvous.

The informational sessions were put on primarily by other Loopers who talked about safety, what to expect on various segments of the Loop, how to go to the Bahamas, etc.  Experts from various marinas also gave talks on topics like life raft use, medical issues on the Loop, new electronics, and boat electrical systems.  How many of us know that a refrigerator purchased from Sears will totally screw up your boat's AC electrical system?  That is because for home use, the neutral wire and the ground wire are connected?  On a boat, this connection must be cut to avoid shocks in the water around your boat.

No folks, that isn't a backdrop from a Sears portrait studio!

I had a chance to visit with John and Pat Pitney, friends from Kansas City, and their friends, Larry and Lois Wheeler, who also live in Kansas City but keep their boat in Portland, OR.  Larry and Lois are contemplating doing the Loop in the future (anyone want to truck a 50' boat from OR to the midwest?). The Pitenys started the Loop in early October from their home port in Grafton, IL and are proceeding down the Ten-Tom as I write this blog.

I've purchased three TVs for the SaSea Sally which we are in the process of mounting in the salon and bow and aft staterooms.  As soon as I can choose a satellite TV service provider, I'll order the satellite antenna and have the marina mount it like Ric Robinson's.  My carpenter touched-up some bad spots on the woodwork and I am in the process of starting the winterization process on both boats now.  The list of "to dos" is only three pages long now.

At the Rendezvous, I learned a lot about how inverter/chargers work and how to wire them into my boat--unfortunately, I need to add additional battery capacity which wasn't on my "definitely needs done" list originally.  I'll wait till the Miami Boat show in February before deciding on my major navigation system upgrades.

For wanna be Loopers, the Rendezvous are excellent opportunities to get a better feel of the boats, the people and the dream.  Right up my alley!