NFM resident completes 76-day 6,250 mile Great Circle Tour
Sabal Springs resident George Sinko has returned from a long sea journey. He completed “The Great Loop” tour, a 6,000-plus-mile voyage circumnavigating Eastern North America via the Intracoastal Waterway.
ICW is the Intracoastal Waterway, a 3,000-mile waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Sinko did the trip up and back in 76 days – 6,250 miles in a 26-foot pontoon boat.
The experience was tremendous, he said.
“I was lucky or blessed daily. I never had a bad day on the water, only wind delays. It was like being in an IMAX movie everyday,” Sinko said.
He said three major storms brewed when he was on the water, but they were either in front or aside him, or at night when he was bunked at various marinas.
He met many friends along the way while promoting his cause, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
“The main goal is to contribute to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation,” he said.
It is a group that has earned its fifth consecutive four-star rating from the nation’s leading charity watchdog group.
The Special Operations Warrior Foundation, an educational fund, was founded in 1980 to provide support and assistance to the families of fallen and wounded Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps special operations forces. This includes Army Rangers and Special Forces, or Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Air Force Combat Controllers and Special Tactics, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and Marine Corps special operations personnel.
The SOWF provides the surviving children of fallen warriors with a full college education, including tuition, books, fees, room and board, and a computer and printer. Today the foundation supports more than 850 young adults attending college.
Before Sinko left, he had individuals sign pledge forms. Now all they have to do is fill in the pledge amount. He is asking for 1 cent to 5 cents per mile, or more or less – whatever anyone can contribute. It is a tax free contribution.
He is also looking for new people who will pledge.
To learn how to make a donation, go to: specialops.org. Add “In recognition of George S. Sinko’s Great Circle Tour” and mail to Special Operations Warrior Foundation, c/o Edie, P.O. Box 13483 Tampa, FL 33681-3483.
On his journey, he was joined by wife and supporter, Jean, and had a constant companion in Chase, his chocolate labrador.
“He’s a water dog. He swam every day once we got out of Southern waters,” he said.
Sinko kept a log which he e-mailed to numerous area friends. His last entry has a surprise ending:
HMS Patriot
Great Loop Boat Log
9/01/2011: We shoved off at 10:30 a.m. and headed out through the back channel at low tide. Yes, we touched bottom on several occasions and this reminded me to stay very close to the sticks. I rounded the north side of Pine Island and entered the Matlacha Pass between Pine Island and north Cape Coral.
The going was very slow because of the low tide and manatee warnings. I passed through the Matlacha Draw Bridge at 11:45 a.m. and headed for the bottom of the pass and the main part of the Caloosahatchee River that will lead me west to Fort Myers boat launch.
The main channel was narrow and very shallow and of course we touched the sandy bottom a few more times. After making the river we headed west and were about to arrive at Fort Myers when we ran out of GAS! Yes, all that way around the Loop and 50 yards from the dock we run out of gas. With laughter by all we had to paddle the rest of the way home. Yes, no matter what, I was glad to be HOME!
Jean and several friends were there to welcome me home and again we all had a laugh, over the gas event that will never be forgotten.
The Great Circle Tour took me 76-cruising days to complete, with 11 layover days due to the wind. The weather was very good to me on every cruising day and even the windy days we had plenty of sunshine. I also passed through the following lock and dam systems:
Fort Myers to the St Luce Canal – 4 locks
Erie Canal – 26 locks
Oswego Canal – 7 locks
Trent-Severn Waterway through Ontario, CA (242 miles) – 38 locks
Two Hydraulic Lifts; Peterborough Lift 19.8m – the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world – and the Kirkfield Lift Lock 14.9m. Here is where the water starts running down hill. 1 Big Chute Marine Railway that transports boats over land in a huge open carriage.
Illinois Waterway from Chicago to the Mississippi (333 miles) – 8 locks
Mississippi River (210 miles) – 2 locks
Ohio River (48 miles) – 2 locks
Tennessee River (190 miles) – 2 locks
Tenn-Tom Waterway (253 miles) – 12 locks
Tombigbee & Mobile Rivers (217 miles) – 2 locks
To learn more about The Special Operations Warrior Foundation, go to: specialops.org.