Traversing the Great Loop, a system of waterways that encompasses the eastern portion of the United States and part of Canada, is a bucket list item for many boat owners. The trip demands navigating dozens of locks and passing under scores of bridges. Most, but not all, “Loopers” make the passage aboard powerboats, thereby avoiding the height challenges faced by vessels with masts. But Chesapeake catamaran sailor Jim Donnelly and his family circumnavigated the “The Loop” on their catamaran.

In 2016, tired of our stressful jobs and long hours, my wife Jan and I quit our jobs, sold our house, pulled our son AJ out of seventh grade, and moved aboard our PDQ36 sailing catamaran Serenity, with Sid, our ancient cat, and Lucky the dog. In May of 2017, we pushed off our dock at Herrington Harbour North in Deale, MD, for a 13-month, 6500-plus mile journey. We decided to use our sailboat because it provided us plenty of living space, had a shallow draft, and, best of all, would allow us to sail in the Bahamas during the winter.

At two places (the Erie Canal/Canadian waterways and Chicago), we had to unstep the mast and transport it, turning our sailboat into an underpowered trawler until the mast was re-stepped. In the Catskills, NY, and Chicago, unstepping was done quickly and professionally. We removed our sails, marked the locations of our turnbuckles on the shrouds, disconnected electronics, and made a temporary (and shorter) mast for our anchor light and VHF antenna.

Transport was done differently at each place. In New York, we had the mast placed in cradles on our deck. You can bring one, or have the marina pull some from their yard (for a nominal fee). Through the liberal use of ratchet straps, our mast was secured to the boat, where it rode in the cradles for a month, as we went through the Erie Canal and the Trent-Severn Waterway.

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