A LONG BUSY day cruising from Miami through Fort Lauderdale with OVER 20 bridges

Hailing and navigating bridges can sometimes be challenging, so today, while we cruise almost 50 miles we share some tips and tricks to navigate safely and efficiently! We kick off the day leaving No Name Harbor, Key Biscayne and travel through Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and more on the way to Delray Beach!
Thanks for watching!
Cheers from the Loop,
Jennifer and Elliot
#greatloop #boatlife
🎥 Episode 210 | Filmed on March 14, 2022
🇺🇸 America's Great Loop | No Name Harbor, Key Biscayne, Florida
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ABOUT US
Hi! We are high school sweethearts from Atlanta, Georgia who decided to take a year off to travel around the world. Together we decided to create vlogs for our journey as a fun way to remember it. On September 15, 2019, we left Atlanta with 3 bags, 2 one-way tickets, and 1 goal of traveling for a whole year. Little did we know, 6 months later we would find ourselves in a nationwide lockdown in India. After spending 5 months in India, we came back to the United States and decided to purchase a 34’ Trawler, dive head first into boat life, and kick off America’s Great Loop.
The good, the bad, the ugly - and most importantly, the real and real funny. We’re not here to tell you “how it’s done.”, just how we’ve done it. And that whatever it is that’s calling you - the way you’ll do it is much more attainable than it may seem.
Thank you for following us along our journey!
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[@pblarus]

Been watching since the boat buying episodes. Been boating my whole life, 63 years, have lived and loved many of the same places you’re traveling. You guys are doing so great, impressive how much you have learned, so fast. And learning what matters and what can slide, because on a cruising boat, some stuff must slide sometimes, you just can’t do it all at once! Most boaters use their boats a few times a year. When you run one every day, all day, day after day, stuff is going to need fixing. And you either need to be resourceful and handy or have a lot of money to pay others to be handy for you. You’re born cruisers. Keep going, you’re doing great.

[@SchoandJo]

Aww thanks for the kind words Preston! Exactly right about the idea some stuff having to slide... We just installed white board to help keep track about the stuff that shouldn't slide to make sure we get it done! 😁 Cheers!

[@aqeelkhan2909]

Awesome guys 👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿. Top adventurous video 👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿

[@carpediemwithLesli]

This was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@tmac709]

It's beautiful on that stretch of Florida....all of those superyachts!

[@SchoandJo]

It’s a different world! Really fun cruising though, albeit more tiring 😁

[@purifiedgold_]

Love your channel! Find myself watching for hours! It’s a beautiful thing to see a married couple enjoying life doing the things they love! Keep it up!!! ✨🌊🩵

[@paulcoombs6517]

My wife and I cruised as well, but unlike you two, we cruised in a Ford 350 hauling a 40ft 5th wheel trailer. Our Gordon Setter, "Buster" HATED driving through urban areas, and especially when going under overpasses. Sounds like Ollie has the same bias to bridges!

[@frankrice5364]

Awesome job guys like the fact you guys are smelling the roses by going slow

[@SchoandJo]

No reason to go fast! Trawler speed!!

[@AdventuresofAplusK]

Two thumbs up 👍🏼👍🏼 for brave Ollie conquering her fear of bridges!

[@SchoandJo]

Woohoo for the pupper!! 🐶☺️👏

[@hueandsteve1989]

Well, we’re back from Ireland & it’s great to see you again. So, back to commenting to help out. You guys are so authentic & we love the channel.

[@SchoandJo]

How was the trip?? 😁

[@hueandsteve1989]

@@SchoandJo wonderful, thank you!!

[@SchoandJo]

@@hueandsteve1989 Glad to hear! Cheers

[@qaannat]

that pasta and salad looked amazing

[@cmichaelhaugh8517]

What an exhausting day!

[@jhoda141620]

Ya’ll just passed my grandparents’ place in Highland Beach! Miss vacationing there when I was a kid. Hope you waved to them, haha!

[@jhoda141620]

Oh, and yes, I love Delray too!! Glad ya’ll liked it!

[@carpediemwithLesli]

We gave a condo off of Commercial Boulevard!🥺 You're giving the different view of my FL neighborhood!! Can't wait to get my girl Carpe Diem on FL waters!!!

[@SchoandJo]

Oh super cool!! You’ll really know the area when you come around on Carpe Diem 😁

[@suzanneaydelotte801]

I love Ollie…she’s so cute! Great video…so much to know when traveling by boat but timing the bridges is crazy! Love watching you three! Safe travels!

[@SchoandJo]

Aww thanks so much!! Ollie and Kona are the best travel companions 😁🐶❤️

[@steveandereggen3182]

Seems like that was a very long day, so many bridges. Were you traveling mainly North on the inland waterway? A camera glance at your compass once in a while would help knowing direction you are traveling. I think Ollie really wanted to go ashore towards the end of your day. Always nice to know you are always thinking of Ollie, dogs are our children of course. Love the video, take care and Aloha!

[@SchoandJo]

Got that right! It was a long day for Ollie, she was very excited to go to shore! Yep we were inland for all of this video and should be for the next few months heading North on the ICW! Aloha!

[@basedinbrooklyn]

Going to Miami in a few weeks, this video makes me excited! New subscriber here!

[@SchoandJo]

Sweet!! Thanks for joining! 🤙

[@stahpit1971]

love that boat! I would take a trawler over a yacht any day.

[@gilbertoperez8530]

Love watching your videos 😀 I’m playing catch-up since your videos a year ago.

[@SchoandJo]

Hi Gilberto! Thanks for coming along and saying hi 😁

[@fredbrillo1849]

MIAMI!,,, My home town! I now live in Ft. Lauderdale.

[@SchoandJo]

Woot woot!

[@frankrice5364]

Past the GRITS

[@HopeOfJoe]

Totally enjoyed this video. And, yes, I did subscribe and clicked the bell 👍🏻 ✨ 🌊 💨 🛥🏝👙🌞✨

[@SchoandJo]

Awesome!! Thanks so much Richard!

[@tetsuyanagada]

Running the ditch gives you calm waters when it's rough outside but comes with bridges and traffic. That's a decent trade off I think. Fair winds!

[@SchoandJo]

Very true! Also this is the first time I've heard the phrase "running the ditch" - very apt! Cheers

[@robertframpton5373]

I continue to thoroughly enjoy your videos and adventures. They keep getting better and better and you are doing a great job getting them out so quickly. I particularly like your detailed approach to routes, and especially the anchorages. We made it as far as Fort Lauderdale last year with hopes to get to the Keys next time. The last few videos have been really helpful with our advance planning for that. Video resources are extremely valuable to me and I'm sure to others traveling the ICW as well as the Loop. The written guides are great and must-haves, but a picture/video really is worth a thousand words. Our boat goes back in the water in two weeks up here in the Chesapeake and we start cruising again. I hope our paths cross once you get up this way.

[@SchoandJo]

Awesome! It will be a great feeling to splash soon and start heading South. We appreciate the support and glad we are helping to share what it's really like! Cheers and it sounds like our paths will cross somewhere along the way!

[@kath4264]

Belated welcome to Delray Beach! Enjoying your videos so much. Good luck on your journey north.

[@SchoandJo]

Thanks so much!!

[@louismdecoste]

Nice to see the trip from no name arbour. Nice for us to see it with great camera . Guys from love and luck. Mark and louis

[@SchoandJo]

Thanks for commenting y’all! The dish was fantastic… safe travels!

[@johnprentice7387]

Hi guys, we are John and Renee from the Red Nordic tug that passed you. We have enjoyed your videos and how much you have learned in a short time. After we left you we went to No Name and spent a few days and now are heading to Islamorada and Marathon before turning around and heading back north. Good luck with your loop.

[@SchoandJo]

Hi John and Renee! Awesome! Thanks so much for waving hi and also reaching out here - it was fun passing by 😁 Sounds like you are having a good time in the Keys!

[@pap91rt50]

Yep...gotta be on your toes in that area..

[@SchoandJo]

Spring Break + Fort Lauderdale - would be interesting to see how it is on a sunny Saturday instead of a windy Monday!

[@jmartini2387]

The missus and I came across your channel (we're in our 30's and thinking about doing the loop), and we absolutely love your content! One question I have for you, especially relevant with this episode, would you still prefer a flybridge boat, or would you prefer a sedan style (non-flybridge) boat to make air draft concerns basically irrelevant?

[@SchoandJo]

Cool! There are pluses and minuses to having a flybridge, but air draft isn't really too much of a concern here. It would matter only a couple of days on the Loop so I wouldn't make my decision on that unless you wanted to do the Western Eerie and some of the finger lakes. Driving from the flybridge is much better than driving inside, but it does rock quite a bit more. Our next boat will be a non-flybridge because of the stability mainly (unless we had stabilizers). I'd recommend renting a few boats and trying it out, but we enjoyed having a flybridge for the Loop.

[@jmartini2387]

@@SchoandJo Thank you so much for your expedient feedback, loving the channel, keep up the great work!

[@michaelhensley4102]

Love the videos, thank you for your hard work.

[@SchoandJo]

Thanks so much Michael!

[@malcolmrose5642]

Hi Elliot and Jen, really enjoying your videos!! We are starting our Great Loop journey up here in Canada (Thousand Islands) in June. Perhaps we will see you on the Trent Severn or up in the North Channel, if you are planning to include Canada in your loop adventure. Keep the videos coming, safe travels. Malcolm and Rachel

[@SchoandJo]

Oh how cool! When are you planning on departing up there? That is the route we are planning - see you on the loop!

[@malcolmrose5642]

@@SchoandJo Our boat comes out of storage in May and we will do our seasonal shake down going up the Rideau Canal in June and then start our official loop in the Trent last week of June

[@SchoandJo]

@@malcolmrose5642 Awesome - sounds great! Good luck!

[@fchck040]

Thank you for sharing. I am just now considering the loop. Perhaps a year or 2 from now. So I will tag along with you guys, & glean some knowledge.

[@SchoandJo]

Sweet! We are an open book, definitely let us know in the future if you have any questions!

[@bradirby2355]

Poor Ollie really doesn’t like bridge noise. With a dog’s hearing it must sound scary. Hopefully with time things will ease up for her.

[@SchoandJo]

It was a tough day for her but at least she got a good walk at the end of the day! Its interesting that she doesn't decide to stay inside away from the bridges and still chooses to sit right out the fly bridge... At least she normally gets extra treats on these days too 😁

[@buckpowers4837]

great video enjoyed the traffic was nasty.

[@SchoandJo]

Thanks Buck! Traffic was a bit much but it was a new experience so was nice in that aspect!

[@jacktyler7599]

Did we miss the 'training event' video where Ollie was coached on how to use the "alternative facilities" aboard PIVOT? I think you use a scrap of outdoor carpet; curious how the transition went. I'm guessing Ollie can't make it through 20+ bridges...and leaving at daybreak, he may even have missed out on his morning 'routine'!

[@SchoandJo]

We didn't really film too much of training Ollie to use the restroom aboard... we tried a few different methods but nothing has worked so far. I think I know what I need to do, and basically just not take her to shore for a week + lots of treats when she does her business but thats a lot of work... its easier to just take her to shore twice a day 😂 This morning we took her out to the city marina but didn't film it so she got her morning routine in! We take her out in the early am right before daybreak on these long cruises. Ollie will surprise you though, she holds her bladder extremely well, probably too well. When we were living in a condo, she would sleep in and chill until as late as the afternoon somedays. Shes gone over 36 hrs at one time on the boat but we aren't a fan of that... She does have a way to tell us she needs to go out but mostly we take her out before that happens... Thanks for watching Jack!

[@jacktyler7599]

@@SchoandJo Ollie: Half dog, half bladder! You got the right pooch for your travels, for sure. I'm going to have a talk with Pepper...

[@karlbass7895]

ICW in south-east Fla-la-la... bridge capital of the world??

[@SchoandJo]

Seemed like it for sure! Thanks for watching Karl 🤙

[@BobEstler]

Given the screw that failed on your canvas frame are you going through and swapping out the rest of the hardware? Looks like you got it fixed at the end there. Also, How do you like the electric motor for your dingy? Does it have the speed and range that you need?

[@SchoandJo]

That's definitely not a bad idea... I did go through the rest of the screws and hardware and it looked fine. I think we will keep an eye on it, and what I might do is just buy some spares... The electric motor has been fantastic, the way I see it is that you always want to go faster but the speed is adequate. Any slower and I'd say its too slow but right now its good enough! If theres no current or tide then its pretty nippy, and when you have a few knots against you its slow but thats life. The range has not been a problem, if you really needed to go far you could go nice and slow and it has a range of 21 miles! Otherwise we get about 1.5 hrs at max speed. Cheers

[@ClassXIRoads]

Olly definitely looked read when you were running fred to the dinghy dock. Not trying to sound mean but, It would look so much better if you were to clean up some of you Bimini lighting wires they don't look very ship shape. ( OK that was mean) I was tired just watching this video that was a lot of more work then cruising. Good job thanks for this posting

[@SchoandJo]

Thanks for watching James! Ollie was definitely done with the day haha… the biminy wires are on our list…. Maybe we’ll reprioritize and tidy them up sooner 😁

[@nedfolley2444]

Would you like some more fresh eggs

[@Easterwood67]

Not planning on the Erie Canal?

[@SchoandJo]

Yes, we’re planning on the Eerie 😁

[@Easterwood67]

Won’t y’all have to lower your Bimini?

[@SchoandJo]

@@Easterwood67 only for the western Eerie, but the Eastern until the Oswego Canal there is plenty of clearance

[@Easterwood67]

@@SchoandJo I’m living vicariously through you guys until I start the loop in about 2 years. Great videos, keep ‘em coming!!👏