Resuming the Conversation: 2026 Great Lakes Cruise I

Dear Dear Honorary Loopers, original and new,

I’m so happy to welcome you all to another season of Looping on the Affection!  Yes, we are back onboard – still unpacking, settling in, and fixing things, but ready to share what life is like on our precious floating home.

As most of you know, Affection was pulled out of the water at Keewaydin State Park in Alexandria Bay, NY on October 1, 2025, and trailered to heated storage in Thousand Islands YachtSpa.

There she rested until she was “splashed” on July 15, 2026, while Jeff and I were in the air between Fort Lauderdale and Syracuse, NY, the closest airport to Alex Bay. 

During the fall and winter, Affection sat quiet and empty.  In early spring, the YachtSpa mechanics began the huge task of replacing both fuel tanks with new ones, as well as a myriad of other projects on Jeff’s long list. That’s a story in itself…

During those nine and a half months without our boat, Jeff and I resumed our life in South Florida. We made the most of the months on land by trying to recognize and appreciate both small and large joys. 

Some of our joys revolved around life at home. We gloried in unlimited running water, a huge capacity washing machine, and the spaciousness of our house. 

We enjoyed daily walks through our neighborhood, noting house renovations and greeting dog-walking neighbors.  We were even home for mango season this year, which yielded almost daily joys in the form of fallen mangoes from the various trees overhanging the road. Mmmm…

Some joys emerged from connecting with friends: we shared more than twenty meals and hosted Thanksgiving (I loved using my Deruta Italian serving dishes – there are no ceramics on the boat! ). We also made time to attend concerts, ballets, Renaissance festivals, Halloween in Wilton Manors, and contradance sessions.

We expected to be land-based til about May 3 (right after our traditional May Day celebration at the UU Fellowship – I couldn’t miss that!), since the boating season up north doesn’t get going until early to mid-May.  That didn’t mean we stayed at home the whole time; after all, the dock behind our house was empty – what was the point in staying home when every glance outside reminded us of what was missing? 

So we also traveled:

-by land, including taking a road trip to tour the Frank Lloyd Wright buildings at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida.  

-by sea, including a weekend onboard Alebrije, the sailing catamaran belonging to our friends Hector and Lucy, a Celebrity cruise to the Bahamas with our friends from Jeff’s dealer group, and a Baltic Sea cruise on NCL.

-by air, including Christmas in New York, a girls’ trip for me in Portugal, and three ski trips. 

With an early May planned departure, why did it take til mid-July to get back on the boat?  Glad you asked…

Our three ski trips took us to Quebec, Colorado, and the Italian Dolomites, yielding precious family time with our son William, Jeff’s brother and sister-in-law, and Jeff’s sister, his niece and her children.  Two friends joined us for the Italian trip, adding another dimension of fun.  Happily, there were no significant ski injuries – but Jeff did tear his right bicep while wrestling with a heavy suitcase.  The resulting “Popeye deformity” didn’t impede his skiing, merely making him look like he was perpetually making a muscle – but it did change our departure plan.  

By the time he had surgery to reattach the bicep (and while the surgeon was at it, he reattached one of Jeff’s rotator cuffs), patiently waited for the incisions to heal, and did the required weeks of physical therapy, 14 weeks had elapsed. The good news?  Jeff’s shoulder is healed and strengthened, and except for a few temporary restrictions on arm movements, he’s better than ever.   Last Monday, July 13, we got the “all clear” from Jeff’s surgeon in the morning. We shipped 3 boxes to NY in the afternoon, and Wednesday we flew up to Syracuse, rented a car, and drove to Alexandria Bay.  

In my next email, I’ll describe the process of starting this year’s boating season, and our transition back to life onboard.  I just wanted to reach out to let you all know that after long months apart, we’re finally reunited with Affection… and I’m finally reunited with all of you. 

It’s worth noting that both reunions are significant. It’s easy to understand the significance of being back on the boat.  For me, there’s also meaning attached to resuming the ongoing conversation I got used to having every week or ten days with all of my Honorary Loopers.  I missed you while the conversation was on hold!  So many times, I thought about reaching out… but it seemed inappropriate.  We were not onboard the boat; we were not in control of the various repairs, replacements and upgrades being done; even the departure date was unknown.  What was there to tell?

During this first week, I’ve been rediscovering the joy of recording not only what we do but how it feels and what we learn doing it.  Thank you all for showing up again and giving me a reason to follow Mary Oliver’s wise advice: “pay attention, be astonished, and tell about it.”  

Affection-ately,

Judy

PS For those who don’t have Nebo bookmarked on their computers (and I’m impressed at how many of you do!), here’s the link to the tracking software so you can tell see where we are any time you are curious: is it a go or no go day? 😊

https://trackme.nebo.global/?link=B37UC0EUWKQDCEUL491VVML0L

PPS I’m only attaching a few photos to this email; my next email will have more visual enrichment.  With any luck, it’ll also inaugurate a new format of short emails with links to my online blog posts. That will keep your hard drives clear and allow me to post photos inline so you can tell what I’m talking about. Bear with me as I navigate this new-to-me technology while simultaneously navigating the St Lawrence River and Lake Ontario.