386 days ago, we left the comfort of everything we knew and set off on a journey that would quickly change our lives forever. Over one year spent on a boat, with each day putting us in a new place, uncovering new waters and encountering new challenges along the way. America’s Great Loop was once a dream we thought we’d have to wait decades for, but as of March 7, 2026, we can officially call ourselves GOLD LOOPERS! 

I’m still working on the words to describe what this experience has meant to us, but it’s safe to say that even on the bad days, these past 386 days were absolutely the best of our lives. 

With an accomplishment such as this, we couldn’t just cross our Great Loop wake without some sort of celebration. We also couldn’t have accomplished this adventure without the support of our family, who have been cheering us on before we even bought our boat. It was important that we included them in this final leg of the trip, making it that much more special.

The celebrations began on Thursday as both sides of our families made it down to Florida. We soaked up our time together, spending Friday evening at the beach, relaxing and sharing stories over pizza and wine. Come Saturday morning, everyone loaded onto Northern Attitude for the final leg of our Great Loop. Just 7 nautical miles separated us from amateur boaters to the prestigious title of Gold Loopers, as they call you once you cross your Great Loop wake. Throughout the entire duration of our trip, we proudly flew the white AGLCA burgee signaling that we were making our way around the route for the first time. That morning, however, we proudly tore our white flag down and replaced it with the gold burgee, signaling a feat fewer people complete than those who climb Mount Everest. 

In true boating fashion, it was a windier day than we would have liked, making our docking one of our worst over the last year! Ironically, we also had the most people we’ve ever had waiting for us on a dock, so they certainly had a show. I guess you could say we definitely went out with a bang (pun intended…sorry to the many pilings we hit). A sea of people, as well as our favorite mobile app for tracking our Loop, SeaPeople, were ready to celebrate our completion alongside Josh and Haley on S/V Slacker, who we buddy-boated with the majority of the way. 

Champagne was shaken, toasts were made and the smiles could not be ripped from our faces. We cannot thank our family, friends and SeaPeople enough for making our wake crossing so incredibly special. Just as the party was ending and the final guests took off, we walked back to our boats, noticing a rainbow in the distance. If that isn’t a magical sign that we just wrapped up one of the greatest adventures of our lives, I don’t know what is. 

I’ll be back with one more farewell post next week, as I work on the words to describe how truly special this year has been. Cheers to an amazing adventure!