Jennifer and Eric Hamman went on a boating trip throughout various U.S. waters. Photos provided by the Hammans.

By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — In November 2021, Eric and Jennifer Hamman began a boating journey throughout multiple U.S. waterways.

The Hammans began their journey on Nov. 1, 2021, in the “Miss Mossa,” a Rinker 370 ex boat.

Their trip started by launching their boat in New Buffalo, Mich., traveling across Lake Michigan to Chicago, porting for the night at Burns Harbor. The couple then got off to an early start on Nov. 2, 2021, entering the first of 25 locks at Navy Pier in Chicago.

They journeyed their way through the city, entering the Illinois River and then the Mississippi River. They traveled for about one week until reaching Paducah, Ky.

While in Kentucky, the Hammans encountered an F4 tornado. They tied their boat to a concrete wall on the Mississippi River’s edge and waited out the storm in the boat.

Upon leaving Paducah, the couple prepared to enter the Ohio River and head north to Lake Kentucky. With the “Miss Mossa” only having the range for traveling 155 miles before needing fuel, the Hammans bought two additional gas cans for 10 gallons of extra fuel.

However, they were about one gallon short of being able to make it into Lake Kentucky’s lock and had to contact a sea towing company to get where they needed to go.

“This is a very common happening due to the distance between fuel stops,” said Eric.

After traveling the entire length of Lake Kentucky, they entered the Tennessee River.

“It’s hectic, to say the least, with commercial boating,” said Eric about navigating the Tennessee River. “It was very populated with dredging projects and numerous other river projects so between 600 to 800 foot barges and dredging equipment…navigating with commercial boats is nothing like navigating your local lake or river. This is serious business, and these boats are carrying millions of tons of cargo to supply the United States.”

The Hammans then traveled on the Tennessee River for about two days, entering the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway before arriving at Mobile Bay in Alabama.

“It was very difficult to navigate our way through Mobile Bay due to sandbars and extremely shallow water,” said Eric.

Once leaving Mobile Bay, the group traveled across the southern edge of the Gulf of Mexico, staying in locations like Destin and the Gulf Shores of Alabama.

“One of the coolest things along that particular journey…we just happened to catch the Blue Angels put on an airshow in Pensacola,” said Eric.

The group eventually traveled 177 miles straight across the Gulf of Mexico to Clearwater, Fla. However, prior to making this trek, they spoke with a captain about rough waters.

“We were 100 miles offshore and about 100 miles out to sea, in the middle of nowhere, with no communication and not a human in sight, when we encountered seven- to eight-foot waves for the remainder of our journey,” said Eric. “This was a very unnerving journey as we did not see land for over 7 1/2 hours.”

When they finally saw land, the Hammans entered a harbor in Clearwater only to run out of fuel on their portside engine, limping into the marina on just one engine.

They put the trip on pause for about 30 days, leaving their boat in Clearwater and returning to Indiana to spend time with family for the holiday season.

Upon coming back to Clearwater, the Hammans continued their journey south, making their way through Port Charlotte, Fla. However, they lost an outdrive on an engine while going past Marco Pass in Marco Island, Fla.

With assistance from a relative, they found an outdrive in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and had to rent a truck and drive to Fort Lauderdale and back in one day to get the boat pulled out of the water for the outdrive to get changed.

The group found their home for the winter, porting in Islamorada, Fla., in the Keys. At that point, the Hammans met with Kim and Susan Slocum, friends from back home who were in the area waiting on them.

Upon meeting with them, they journeyed to Key West and around the bottom of the Florida Keys.

“This trip could’ve never been possible without the reliability and craftsmanship of our Rinker 370 Ex built in Syracuse,” said Eric. “We traveled 2,888 nautical miles, burning 3,600 gallons of fuel along the way. I could continue on and on for days about this trip as it was an experience that I’ve never encountered before, and anyone looking to make this journey is in for the trip of their lives.”

Pictured below are photos from the Hammans’ trip.