The Great Loop

We have a designated route to complete, we are called Loopers, and we belong to a Loopers association. 

Twelve Stones: Great Loop November 6, 2013 - December 13, 2014.

The Great Loop

The circumnavigation of Eastern North America by water is known as The Great Loop. Also referred to as the Great Circle Route, the trip varies from 5,000 miles to 7,500 miles depending on the route options. We traveled 5375 Nautical Miles/ 6185 Statute Miles. Of those miles: 180+ NM/207 SM were in the Atlantic Ocean & 342 NM/394 SM in the Gulf of Mexico.

Loopers can start anywhere on the route. We crossed our wake in Ft. Myers, Florida on December 13, 2014.

Most Great Loop cruisers travel the Loop counterclockwise, taking advantage of the downstream currents on the Illinois River, Mississippi River, Tombigbee River and Black Warrior River to Mobile, Alabama. We boated through 17 States and parts of Canada (Trent-Severn Waterway, Georgina Bay, & Northern Channel).

A typical route example: Start at east coast of Florida at Stuart the route heads north on the Intracoastal Waterway  (ICW) along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Chesapeake Bay offers many different locations to visit and some loopers go 95 miles up the Potomac to Washington. At the north end of Chesapeake Bay the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal  connects to Delaware Bay. The Intracoastal Waterway resumes at Cape May and ends at Manasquan, New Jersey. There is a 30-mile stretch of open Atlantic Ocean to New York harbor. Most loopers go up the Hudson River to Waterford and then take the Erie Canal to Lake Ontario or Lake Erie or the Champlain Canal to the St. Lawrence. Canada's Rideau Canal, built in 1832 from Ottawa to Kingston, is frequently chosen. Most loopers will take the Tent Canal from Trenton, Ontario to Port Severn on Georgian Bay. The North Channel is one of the highlights of the loop. This is the most northerly point on the loop and has the shortest season, just 8 weeks of good warm weather from July 1 to Aug 30th.

Lake Michigan is next with most loopers taking the east side of the lake to Chicago. From here it is down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, up the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers, then down the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway to Mobile. The route then joins the Intracoastal Waterway going east to Carrabelle, Forida. The ICW now extends to Fort Myers  where loopers can cruise the Okeechobee Waterway  to Stuart on the east coast of Florida or turn south to the Keys rounding the southern tip of Florida, returning north to Stuart.

Duration of Loop:

Some Loopers, such as us, chose to complete the Loop within a year. Others take longer as they travel, put the boat up for a few months, then return at a later date to continue. Our trip lasted 401 days. Of those 401 days we stayed in marinas 290 days (72 days in the Florida Keys), anchored 39 days, stayed on free walls/free marinas 61 days, and 11 days on paid walls (most no electric). Twenty-nine (29) of the days were spent in Canada. 

Looper culture

Many loopers retire, sell everything, and live on their boats. Some complete the loop every year. Many spend the winters in the Florida Keys or the Bahamas on their boat.  Other loopers complete the loop in stages, storing the boat at various locations while they return to work.  

America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association (AGLCA)

We would encourage anyone interested in completing the Loop to join AGLCA. The knowledge and friendships are invaluable. 

AGLCA assists Great Loop cruisers with various needs such as safety, sharing navigational and cruising information, and networking among loopers. The networking through the daily e-mail blast provides updates and local advice. The boaters can broadcast information requests for anything such as docking, anchoring, water depth, hazards, repairs, fuel prices or dinner reservations.   http://www.greatloop.org