Cruising the Inland Waters of The Great Loop

SV Cavalier and her crew of 3 will soon begin a new era of sailing the tranquil waters of the Inland Waterways along selected routes of the 6000+ nm of "The Great Loop".

Vessel Name: SV Cavalier
Vessel Make/Model: Island Packet/41'SP Cruiser Motor Sailer
Hailing Port: Langston, AL
Crew: Vic and Kathy Martin, Jake (the Boat Dog)
About:
We are a ' 70-Something' cruising couple from No. Alabama, sailing with our sea-loving Golden Retriever Pup, Jake. We are seasoned sailors of 40+ years aboard 4 sailboats accompanied by 3 dogs. Our mission is to explore the historical inland waterways along The Great Loop. [...]
Extra: SV Cavalier is currently located on beautiful Lake Guntersville (the Tennessee River) in NE Alabama, ready to begin another era of sailing the Inland Waters of The Great Loop, hopefully covering much of the Great Lakes and beyond!
Home Page: Kathleen Martin
Social:
12 October 2019 | Langston, Alabama
02 October 2019 | Langston, Alabama
22 August 2017 | Squalicum Harbor, Bellingham, Washington USA
21 August 2017 | Squalicum Harbor, Bellingham, Washington USA
21 August 2017 | Bennett Bay (Mayne Island), Vancouver Is., BC
19 August 2017 | Comox Harbour, E. Vancouver Island, BC
16 August 2017 | Heriot Bay (Quadra Is.), Desolation Bay, BC
15 August 2017 | Forward Harbor (W. Cracroft Is.) to Heriot Bay (Quadra Is.), Desolation Bay
09 August 2017 | Kwatsi Bay Marina (Broughton Is.), BC
08 August 2017 | Sullivan Bay (No. Broughton Is.)' BC
07 August 2017 | Blunden Harbour, BC
05 August 2017 | Rock Inlet, BC
05 August 2017 | Allison Harbor, BC
04 August 2017 | Namu Harbour, BC
03 August 2017 | Codville Marine Park, BC
02 August 2017 | Gunboat Lagoon Cove
02 August 2017 | Gunboat Passage
01 August 2017 | Shearwater, BC
31 July 2017 | Klemtu, BC
30 July 2017 | near Quigley Creek Cove, Laredo Inlet
Recent Blog Posts
12 October 2019 | Langston, Alabama

Change of Plans

Dear Followers:

02 October 2019 | Langston, Alabama

Preparations Well Underway

WELCOME TO THE MARTIN FAMILY'S FIRST BLOG POSTING ABOARD S/V CAVALIER:

22 August 2017 | Squalicum Harbor, Bellingham, Washington USA

Vic's Last Tribute to Capella III

As taken from Capella III's 2017 LOG BOOK, Vic's final entry:

21 August 2017 | Squalicum Harbor, Bellingham, Washington USA

The Great American Eclipse

TO JULIA who asked over FB: "Where's Skipper??" This photo portrays him as just drying out in the cockpit after a swim in 69 degree water, being preoccupied with our latest shrimp catch. He's a busy Boy aboard Capella III!

21 August 2017 | Bennett Bay (Mayne Island), Vancouver Is., BC

Customary Crisis

The nostalgia is already beginning to set in. We're nestled into a rather 'suburban' setting here in Bennett Bay, a Local's Playground featuring kayaking, swimming, paddleboarding, general boating, beachcombing, hiking, golf and now, sailboat-anchoring (ours). We've obviously seen the last of our REMOTE [...]

19 August 2017 | Comox Harbour, E. Vancouver Island, BC

COMOX, a City "DownUnder"

We sorely deserved this R&R in the lovely, manicured city of Comox just after coming off a taxing week in the Labyrinth of the 'Back Route.' It's our first landfall under the 50th Parallel (Latitude) in Capella III so we're pretending we're Explorers Extraordinaire since we made it 'down-under something'! [...]

The Great American Eclipse

21 August 2017 | Squalicum Harbor, Bellingham, Washington USA
Kathy/absolutely gorgeous
TO JULIA who asked over FB: "Where's Skipper??" This photo portrays him as just drying out in the cockpit after a swim in 69 degree water, being preoccupied with our latest shrimp catch. He's a busy Boy aboard Capella III!
Our 'out of the way' segue to Port Roberts to clear customs resulted in a lovely morning sail into a quiet harbor and a successful 35-minute custom-clearing process. From there we sailed onward to Bellingham with a favorable current, averaging an EXCELLENT speed of 7kts and experiencing a 91% total eclipse of the sun in the Strait of Georgia through a homemade pinhole camera! Who could ask for anything more?! We arrived in Bellingham at 1:30pm with heavy hearts, as usual, sharing a kleenex as we pulled into Squalicum Harbor. These final moments at the end of a memorable 3-month, an-almost 2000nm journey always leaves us with bittersweet sentiments and gives us pause to reflect on all the fabulous adventures along the way. This indeed is a personal eclipse for us, a transition from our beloved Capella III, an end of an era, into another era of adventure in ANOTHER boat traversing the Great Loop. Leaving Capella III is hard to write about, but the 'Ecliptical Change' we're embarking upon holds an excitement that somewhat helps to temper the loss.
For those scratching your heads, unaware of our change of plans, here's the update. We leave Capella III with our broker in Anacortes' WA to sell her, to pursue our next dream of "trawling" the Great Loop, a 6000+mile LOOP from the Great Lakes around and down the East Coast, through the Gulf of Mexico and back up the river systems to the Great Lakes. This journey requires a vessel that handles low bridges and multiple locks...and a captain with good river and shore navigational skills! So our Capella III will be traded in for a trawler to do the job more effectively. Meanwhile, we will spend our winter in our cozy home on Lake Guntersville in Langston, Alabama in search of 'the right boat', and planning and staging our new era of adventure through the Great Loop.
A heartfelt THANKS is sent out to those who sailed with us and to those who have followed us on the blog so faithfully. We thoroughly enjoyed having you along for the ride and reading your supportive comments. See you next summer on "The Great Loop"!
s/v Capella III Crew, Vic, Kathy and Skipper Martin

P.S. Vic's final tribute to Capella III as taken from his last entry in his Capella III LOG BOOK will appear as our Very Last Blog Posting, following this one. You won't want to miss this one:)! km
Comments
Route of Capella III, 2017
SV Cavalier's Photos - Main
1 Photo
Created 2 October 2019
No Photos
Created 23 June 2017
Seward to Dutch Harbor back to Seward, May 5-August 1, 2015
35 Photos
Created 27 May 2015
random photos of trip from Seward to Geographic Harbor and Prince Wm. Sound
1 Photo
Created 27 May 2013
photos from May 15-Sept 1 in western and southcentral Alaska
No Photos
Created 31 July 2012
a movie presentation of the prolific bears and beautiful scenery in Kake
2 Photos | 3 Sub-Albums
Created 6 June 2011
12 Photos | 1 Sub-Album
Created 4 August 2010
composite of pics of Capella III, various locations
7 Photos | 6 Sub-Albums
Created 28 March 2010

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The 11th Voyage of Capella III, 2017