Although we have yet to cross our wake (and we still have anywhere from 1,000-2,000 nautical miles left), we feel a major sense of accomplishment having made our way back to Florida after 4,000 nautical miles. Crossing from Alabama to the Florida state line literally felt like someone took a 100-pound backpack off our shoulders and said, “Breathe, you made it back.”

Once we dropped our lines from Turner Marine in Mobile, Alabama, we crossed Mobile Bay on another glorious weather window and anchored for a couple of nights in Orange Beach, Alabama. Here, we caught up on work after our fun in New Orleans and determined our next few stops before entering the Florida panhandle. 

The first chosen stop was Fort McRee, an anchorage in Pensacola situated just steps from the Gulf. We were joined by several other Loop boats for two nights and even shared a beachside dinner one evening. It was a unique group that truly captured the different journeys each Loop boat is on. Two boats were Gold Loopers, one had just started less than 400 miles ago, one was a Canadian couple, while we and S/V Slacker were the “freshmen” of the group. Although it was our first time hanging out with any of those boats, we all shared common friends and experiences, making it feel like we had known them for much longer than we did. 

Come Saturday, the sun was shining and the water was too clear to pull anchor and move on. Instead, we opted for a much-deserved beach day. I’ve found that one of the best parts of the Great Loop is finding yourself in places very few get to go. For us, this was a secluded section of the beach that’s only accessible by boat (or a very, very long walk). Out of the four hours we were there, only two people walked by, leaving the entire beachfront to our leisure.

The best part of the past week, though? All the dolphins! I can’t even begin to count how many we’ve seen playing in our boat wake, jumping near the beach or simply swimming by in our anchorage. It doesn’t matter how many we see — dolphin sightings never, ever get old. 

Sunday morning, we made a jump from Pensacola to Navarre Beach, where we were able to dock “for free” in exchange for a meal purchased at Juana’s Pagodas. This cool waterfront restaurant has been shared from Looper to Looper as a somewhat hidden secret. I’d say as long as you draft 4 feet or less (or come in right at high tide), you can make it to the dock just fine. 

Each day we move puts us closer to the infamous “Gulf Crossing.” We’ll touch more on this in a future post as we near the departure point. Until then, Happy Thanksgiving and cheers to continuing the adventure!