The Last Leg
By Lloyd Walton
I said good bye and good luck to Jim McLarty and his boat, Biuenoser, last September in Chicago as he was about to enter the Illinos Waterway with a new crew. Many more crew changes would follow as family and friends would hop aboard to help him on his dream quest of boating through the United States, out to the Gulf of Mexico, around the tip of Florida then over to spend a carefree winter in the Bahamas, hopping from island to island.
It was not an idle dream. Fulfilling it took planning, fortitude, diplomacy, nautical wisdom, courage, an overriding sense of good humour and Bluenoser. It’s a good boat. Jim lived his dream, a blur of turquoise ocean island and beach pleasures.
Alas, on March 24, 2014, Bluenoser’s diesel engine was fired up, lines untied, and she turned north, north through places with names like, the Dismal Swamp, the Coastal Waterway, Chesapeake, Delaware Bay, Cape May, the Hudson River, and the Erie Canal. On May 25, he re-entered Canada. The 48 locks of the Trent Severn Waterway, then home lay ahead.
I rejoined Jim and the boat for the last leg of the trip at the Big Chute Marine Railway, on the Severn River. As Bluenoser drifted into position, a giant cradle on railway wheels emerged from the depths, then lifted and carried the boat down a steep incline to the river 53 feet below.
Jim proudly announced to the railway operator that he had just travelled 8,000 miles.
“Were you lost ?” the operator answered back.
I’m back at the helm again in the winding narrow speedy gorges of the River Severn. It feels good. Standing waves shot Bluenoser ahead in a few spots reminding me of shooting rapids in a canoe. As the current mellowed out, a gondolier poled by, all decked out in full costume. Huh?
We pulled away from the last lock, and coasted under Highway 400, then it hit us, that familiar musky scent of sky and water. We were back on the precious giant, glassy, Georgian Bay. The engine seemed to change its tune from a working rhythm to a happy, happy song. It was like it could feel its home waters.
Jim has been very quiet for this last leg of the journey. He has left so many beaches, rivers, lakes, swamps, canals and heavy seas behind. Then there were the countless fleeting friendships from fellow loopers, boaters, bystanders and beach buddies. All journeys must end.
He mutters, “Bittersweet.”
There’s no place like home.
Up ahead is the spot on the chart where we cross our departure track. We slow down to take pictures. Jim has completed the loop. Family and friends await him on the dock in Penetanguishene.
But what’s next ? Bluenoser will be put up on land for the rest of the season. There will be gardening to do, a wife to please, and grandchildren to cuddle. But how to top that amazing journey ?
Just wait. Jim is an inventor. He always has been . He is a master of invention as a matter of fact and what lies ahead is the reinvention of Jim McLarty. Just you wait.
Attention all, Jim tells me he’s got one more story to tell about his Great Loop Adventure … please stay tuned and keep following BluenoserJim! Sandy Campbell 4June2014
"BluenoserJim" Great Loop Adventure 