Great stories from the Great Loop.
Featured in the September 2024 issue of Lakeland Boating
The nearly 6,000-mile journey along the Great Loop is one that many boaters dream of embarking on one day. Traversing through the beautiful waters of the Great Lakes, down the Mississippi River, along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, and back inland through the Erie Canal, the Great Loop provides plenty of cruising ground for incredible stories. We asked a few “Loopers” to share some of their most memorable Loop adventures.
Loopers Help Loopers
The Great Loop is an amazing 6,000-mile adventure of seamanship, new destinations and, of course, some challenges. One of the things I have discovered is Loopers help Loopers. We share this experience and know all too well that at some point we’ll need help along the way.
During my Loop, I was on the receiving end of help in countless ways: Receiving advice and recommendations for routes and stops; a good Samaritan tow on Lake Michigan; being loaned a spare part until I was able to take delivery; and buddy boating across open water, such as the Gulf of Mexico.
But perhaps one of the greatest examples of this I had on the Loop was being in a position to save a fellow Looper from drowning. About six boats were anchored on the Illinois River waiting for a locking. A fellow Looper suddenly jumped in the river after his dog went overboard. The dog made it back okay, but the Looper struggled. Having a small boat, I was able to quickly raise anchor and maneuver to his side. Being a solo Looper, I could only manage the helm, grab his arm and slowly drive my boat to another anchored boat nearby where I had help lifting him out of the water. Gratefully, he was okay and recovered quickly. Any Looper would have done this because Loopers help Loopers.
—Nagui Matta completed his Loop on July 24, 2023 aboard his Rosborough RF-246 Boundless.
Photo Nagui Matta
Photo Nagui Matta
Photo Nagui Matta
Photo Nagui Matta
Top Photo: George and Meg Sanders
America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association
Most boaters who embark on the Great Loop are a member of America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association (AGLCA). The organization’s mission is to “assist boaters in all facets of their high-adventure, low-risk, long-distance journey around the Great Loop,” providing knowledge and support to its members who are planning for and voyaging along the Great Loop.
AGLCA members have access to an AGLCA-exclusive burgee, which most Loopers hang proudly; discounts on services and marinas along the Loop; a members-only discussion forum and Facebook page; the Great Loop Link digital magazine; webinars; the annual Rendezvous; and so much more!
To learn more about the AGLCA and its membership, visit GREATLOOP.ORG.
Log Jam on the Mississippi
Alton, Illinois, was the marina we needed to get to for taking on fuel and waiting for the Mississippi River floodwaters to settle down. It had the best fuel prices around, and you buy three days’ dockage and get three more for free. What a deal!
Alton is an extremely comfortable marina with a great staff and lots of convenient eateries, shops and grocery stores close by. We planned to use the time we had to enjoy the town of Alton and get prepared to make the journey from here to the next marina, which is Paducah, Kentucky, about 240 river miles away.
We spent six days at Alton Marina waiting for the flood warning to expire on the Mississippi. We got up [early] and called the Melvin Price lockmaster to check on barge traffic before untying our lines. The lockmaster said that a northbound barge had just hit the lock gates, and the primary lock was closed until they could assess the damage and get the Coast Guard in to make a report. The barge was carrying some dangerous chemicals, and they didn’t know the extent of the damage to the barge, so the primary lock was closed until further notice. The secondary lock was filled with trees, and they were attempting to clear it out to start letting traffic through. The upbound barges would need to be broken up to get into the smaller auxiliary lock and take twice as long to get through. Barge traffic was backing up both north and south of the lock, and we pleasure vessels would have to wait until things got cleared up
I called the lockmaster every hour on the hour until noon, and he said we (five boats) could start easing toward the auxiliary lock, and they would get us down. The catch was that we couldn’t tie up to the walls but would have to float around in the middle of the lock with all the tree trunks and branches that they were not able to clear away. It was up to us, though. Well, we all headed for the lock, picked our way through the debris and somehow managed to survive the locking without any issues. It was a huge mess.
The next tandem lock was the Chain of Rocks lock. They were just letting a huge tug out when we got there, so we slid in and took the 4-foot drop down, and this time we were tied to a bollard. After exiting the lock, we were free to go without any more locks to deal with for the rest of the day. We passed through St. Louis and right past the Gateway to the West Arch. The water was filled with logs, railroad cross ties and broken branches. Huge 6×6 tugs (36 barges lashed up to one tug) were churning upriver as we bobbed in the turbulent waters, dodging all kinds of junk in the water. Once past St. Louis, the junk thinned out, and we sailed right on down to Kaskaskia lock and dam.
—George and Meg Sanders are Gold Loopers, AGLCA lifetime members and retired empty-nesters from Huntsville, Alabama. They purchased a 1986 Grand Banks 36 Classic trawler named Viridian and embarked on the Great Loop, spending a total of 385 days onboard.
Photo George and Meg Sanders
Photo George and Meg Sanders
Pay it Forward
We are Platinum Loopers having completed the Loop twice. We have millions of boating stories after having traveled over 30,000 miles in our Aquila 44 power catamaran in the last six years, but I feel the following story is a bit different then what most Loopers might share.
We are also full-time cruisers and lived on a horse ranch in California before moving full-time onto our boat. The Great Loop is the reason why we changed our lifestyle so dramatically.
One of our absolute favorite stories on the Great Lakes took place in Michigan City, Indiana, and is more about the Looper community and the kindness of strangers.
We had just docked our boat when a couple came down the docks. The woman saw my husband, Larry, and our Looper burgee. She told him if we needed to borrow a car to go provision, let her know.
Larry told me, so I immediately went to their boat. She explained they were going out for the night on their boat, handed me her car keys and said she’d get them back from me in the morning when they came back. She said the car was parked in the lot next to the gate.
I thanked her, grabbed the keys and ran to my buddy boat yelling “Debbie, grab your grocery bags, we’ve got a car!”
We walked to the parking lot and the only car sitting there was a brand-new (didn’t even have license plates) bright red Spider convertible! I pressed the button on the key fob and, sure enough, the car beeped. I’m not sure I’d let a complete stranger borrow my brand-new car!
I was terrified. I drove it about 5 mph taking small back roads, parked it at the very end of the parking lot and prayed no one would hit it.
We looked like clowns in a circus trying to get all of our groceries into the small two-seater car, drove back the same 5 mph and parked the car. I’ve never been so happy to return keys to someone.
The best part is we never even got the Gold Loopers’ name! To this day, I refer to her as “Mrs. Gold Looper.”
It’s a testament to the Looper community and how we watch out for each other. Her kindness and trust is something that I cherish in our crazy world. While we’ve always paid it forward, this event definitely reinforced that in our lives.
— April and Larry Smith (along with Abby, the one-eyed dog) captain the M/V One Eye Dog, an Aquila 44 Power Catamaran. April has her USCG 100 Ton Master license and is an AGLCA Platinum Looper.
Photo April and Larry Smith
Photo April and Larry Smith
Photo April and Larry Smith
The Golden Thread
If someone would have told me a year ago that in the coming months our busy family of four would sell our home, put all of our possessions into storage and, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, be traversing America’s Great Loop aboard our boat Live the Dash, I would have laughed and said you were crazy — but here we are 2,700 miles into the journey of a lifetime!
There are so many experiences I could highlight about this trip, but the most impactful thing we have discussed as a family thus far is the people. I am a firm believer that things are just things, but the greatest gift that anyone can ever give you is their time. We have been so incredibly fortunate to not only meet fellow Loopers, but great and helpful harbor hosts, and staff at the marinas and locks. These people have embraced us as a family and have been the golden thread that will intertwine the memories of this great adventure forever.
—Jordan and Emily Bohonek, along with their two children and dog, are currently on their first Loop aboard their boat Live the Dash.
Photo Jordan and Emily Bohonek
Photo Jordan and Emily Bohonek
