MacGyver
08-29-2009, 01:32 PM
For Issaquah, Wash., sisters Katie McPhail and Elizabeth McPhail, sailing the Great Loop on a 16-foot Duraboat add up to lifetime of memories.
MENASHA — Boater Doug Ales of Greenville never has met sisters Katie and Elizabeth McPhail, but he thinks their summer adventure is one for the record books. "As far as I can tell, this is the first time that the Great Loop has been done on a vessel with only girls," said Ales, who has followed the McPhails through their "Small Boat, Big Summer" blog.
The Great Loop is a boating journey that circumnavigates Eastern North America. The McPhails, who hail from Issaquah, Wash., completed the 6,000-mile trip in less than three months.
Even more impressive, they did it on a tight budget in a 16-foot Duraboat.
Ales said most people make the trip on a trawler, which is considerably larger and better equipped.
"To do this on such a small boat is unheard of," Ales said. "This is just a little open-bow aluminum boat with a couple of people with a lot of determination."
Katie, 26, and Elizabeth, 22, finished their trip Thursday after traveling up the Fox River from Appleton to Fremont and onto the Chain O' Lakes, where their family has vacationed for generations.
They will have a reception at noon today at Channel Cats Bar and Restaurant, 204 Wolf River Drive, Fremont.
Katie got the idea for the trip after reading "Only in America," a book by John Mirassou that chronicled a similar journey.
The sisters left from Chicago in early June after Elizabeth graduated from college. They started on Lake Michigan, headed downriver to the Gulf of Mexico and traveled up the Eastern Seaboard to New York City.
They took the Hudson River to Vermont and entered Canada before returning through the Great Lakes.
"The circle for us was to start in Lake Michigan and end in Lake Michigan," Katie said.
Katie said the trip was filled with unforgettable memories, from riding out rough weather to floating by the Statue of Liberty. She said they made many friends along the way.
"The boating community is amazingly friendly," she said. "Everyone we met was helpful."
The McPhails slept in a small tent on their boat, stayed with college friends or checked into a hotel when the weather was intolerable.
They figured the trip cost about $8,000.
"That's pretty much all we had," Katie said.
39817 http://www.duroboat.com/images/CampinginAlton.JPG
MENASHA — Boater Doug Ales of Greenville never has met sisters Katie and Elizabeth McPhail, but he thinks their summer adventure is one for the record books. "As far as I can tell, this is the first time that the Great Loop has been done on a vessel with only girls," said Ales, who has followed the McPhails through their "Small Boat, Big Summer" blog.
The Great Loop is a boating journey that circumnavigates Eastern North America. The McPhails, who hail from Issaquah, Wash., completed the 6,000-mile trip in less than three months.
Even more impressive, they did it on a tight budget in a 16-foot Duraboat.
Ales said most people make the trip on a trawler, which is considerably larger and better equipped.
"To do this on such a small boat is unheard of," Ales said. "This is just a little open-bow aluminum boat with a couple of people with a lot of determination."
Katie, 26, and Elizabeth, 22, finished their trip Thursday after traveling up the Fox River from Appleton to Fremont and onto the Chain O' Lakes, where their family has vacationed for generations.
They will have a reception at noon today at Channel Cats Bar and Restaurant, 204 Wolf River Drive, Fremont.
Katie got the idea for the trip after reading "Only in America," a book by John Mirassou that chronicled a similar journey.
The sisters left from Chicago in early June after Elizabeth graduated from college. They started on Lake Michigan, headed downriver to the Gulf of Mexico and traveled up the Eastern Seaboard to New York City.
They took the Hudson River to Vermont and entered Canada before returning through the Great Lakes.
"The circle for us was to start in Lake Michigan and end in Lake Michigan," Katie said.
Katie said the trip was filled with unforgettable memories, from riding out rough weather to floating by the Statue of Liberty. She said they made many friends along the way.
"The boating community is amazingly friendly," she said. "Everyone we met was helpful."
The McPhails slept in a small tent on their boat, stayed with college friends or checked into a hotel when the weather was intolerable.
They figured the trip cost about $8,000.
"That's pretty much all we had," Katie said.
39817 http://www.duroboat.com/images/CampinginAlton.JPG