MANY THANKS

THANKS TO ALL This trip would not have been possible if it were not for the help of so many people. We would like to say thanks, first and foremost, to the Great South Bay Power Squadron, who kept us safe and taught us everything we might need to know BEFORE we left the dock. A special thanks to Larry Postel who arranged it so that we could take so many classes in a relatively short period of time. To our family, friends and neighbors who we knew would be there to help our kids in any situation that would require it (and did when Christy had to have her appendix removed). To our employees who kept everything running smoothly while we were away. But mostly, to our son and daughter Christy and Steven. If it were not for them this trip would have been over the day we came up with the idea. At 19 & 21 they took on all the responsibilities of running and maintaining our house, properties and companies (which are all still here and in good condition : ). I don‘t think we could have done as good a job at their age. It was a lot of work and a tremendous amount of pressure and responsibility. What an accomplishment…you make us proud! Also, to all our internet friends across the country (in particular the CHB group and American Diesel). These people were my cornucopia of knowledge for my mechanical and maintenance questions. It gave me an amazing piece of mind knowing, that when I was on the Mississippi river 150 miles away from anything or an out island in the Bahamas, I had somewhere to turn if I couldn’t fix something. And last, but not least, to all the great friends and people we met on the Great Loop. Whether it was our fellow Loopers or a stranger in a small town…everyone was willing to help with whatever you needed. It is amazing how many people want to help you attain your dream… thank you to everyone who helped make our dream a reality!

THE GREAT LOOP COMPLETED

MAY 30, 2007 (GREAT LOOP- COMPLETED!) What an exciting year! We were very fortunate to have been able to take on such a great adventure. In the past 360 days we traveled over 5,691 miles, have been to 3 Countries, 17 States, passed through 103 locks, 12 rivers/waterways, 27 islands, 10 lakes and many other bays, creeks, sounds, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. We stayed at 179 marinas, 40 anchorages/walls and used 2,650 gallons of diesel fuel. How do you end a log of such an amazing journey like this? As you know, Joyce has been keeping in contact with other Loopers online by posting comments through the AGLCA (America’s Great Loop Cruisers Association) throughout our journey. I think her final posting is a fitting close: Trinity pulled into her home port marina on Tuesday, May 29th. She actually crossed her wake at the Jones Beach Inlet on Sat., but decided to relax at anchor for a few days over the holiday weekend with some local friends. This was truly a terrific ending to a spectacular year of cruising the loop. As some of you already know and others are still finding out, one day is better than the next. Thanks to all the wonderful people we met along the way, the very helpful lockmasters, the friendly marina staff, the USPS, and the online help and support of the AGLCA for making this the most memorable year of our lives. The experience will never be replaced for any of us. We all feel we are so lucky to have met such an awesome group of people from all over the US, Canada and the Bahamas. Jaycie, especially, will never forget any of you. For those of you out there now and the others we met along the way....keep in touch for years to come and hopefully one day we will all be able to do this journey again and enjoy it just the same. Safe cruising on land and at sea, Joyce, Matt & Jaycie Trinity At rest on Long Island in Great River, NY

Great River

MAY 29, 2007 (Great River) GREAT nights sleep! Woke up to a beautiful day. We checked in with the marina and scheduled to pull the boat (put it on land) tomorrow. Started packing up stuff and made a few trips home to drop off some things. Interestingly enough, it was exciting and not depressing like we had expected. We love being on the boat… but we love being home too. Both our parents came out to see us this afternoon. My Mom showed up with a sign that read, “Welcome home Trinity crew” . We went out to dinner with Joyce’s parents to…you guessed it…Tai Show. The food was great, as usual, but even better because they picked up the tab J. The boat will be pulled 1st AM, so we went home to sleep. It was nice to be home. I will say that our neighborhood is up there with some of the nicest small towns we have seen on the trip. Had we been coming back to a really congested neighborhood or apartment building, it may have been a little depressing.

Zach's Bay to Great River / Home

MAY 28, 2007 (Zachs Bay to Great River/Home) Christy and Billy came to visit and we picked them up on shore. Spent the day hanging out and relaxing. Slowly the boats left the raftup and headed for home….we did the same. Traveling back from Zach’s Bay was really interesting. It was as challenging as the skinny water down south. We eventually made our way into the Connetquot river. We had planned to anchor out for the night and go to dock in the morning. After setting our anchor we saw Bobby and Corey (our neighbors) and other friends on the dock waving. We took the dinghy and went over to say hi. They convinced us to come in to the dock and tie up… so we did. A lot of people from the marina came by to say hi and to congratulate us. Our daughter came by again, along with my brother and his friend. It was so good to see them. We hung out, answered questions and told stories and had REAL NY pizza for the first time in a long time. Christy and Billy drove me and Steven back to the house (but I didn’t go in) . I picked up my truck and headed back to the boat.