VIDEO: From armchair to adventure

By Soundings Editors

Many a cruising boater has dreams of completing all or a portion of the famed inland waterway route known as The Great Loop.

A smaller loop focuses on the Hudson and St. Lawrence rivers, Nova Scotia and New England.

Author Cheryl Barr of Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, has written the definitive guide to what she calls the Down East Circle Route. This beautiful cruise through idyllic waterways includes some of North America’s most historic and spectacular destinations, including Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

Preparing yourself and your boat for the trip will be explained in detail at the International Cruising Boat Expo in Essex, Conn., in early June.

The expo, an event in the tradition of PassageMaker magazine’s TrawlerFest series, will be held June 2-7 at Brewer Essex Island Marina.

Barr will present her “Down East Circle Route” seminar on June 5 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The boat show portion of the expo, which will feature dozens of new and used power cruisers and sailboats, will run from June 4-7.

Barr’s cruising slideshow will take attendees from New York City up the Hudson River and the Erie Barge Canal to the St. Lawrence River. Cruise with her along beautiful inland waterways to Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula, through the spectacular Canadian Maritimes and into the Gulf of Maine.

Barr’s book contains harbor and navigation information, charts, current and tide data, and short articles about the region’s wildlife, historical sites and geology.

“I wrote whatever I thought would pep up a navigation guide, which tends to be dry,” she says. “My second edition includes waypoints, more harbor and navigation information and better charts, tide and current tables. Some improvements were suggested by cruisers, dozens of whom have made the circuit.”

For information about the International Cruising Boat Expo, call (954) 703-4789 or email us at [email protected].