The Great Loop

What is the Great Loop or the Great Circle Loop?

The 6,000 miles Great Loop Route - follow the seasons, so you are
in Canada in the summer and Florida in the winter!

Not many people know that you can circumnavigate Eastern North America by boat.   The journey transits 5500-7500 miles and usually takes almost a year - but some have done it in less time and others have completed the entire route in segments over many years.  More people climb Mt Everest each year than complete the Great Loop by boat!

You can start from anywhere along the route and there are several route choices to make.  The key is to follow the warmer seasons so that you are in southern regions in the winter and in the most northern in the summer.

For example, you might start in Florida in early spring and take the most popular route - cruising up the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway to New Jersey, out into the Atlantic Ocean to New York Harbor, up the Hudson River, turn left and go thru the Erie Canal, turn right up thru Canada and across the upper Great Lakes (July, August), follow eastern Lake Michigan shoreline to Chicago, continue down the Mississippi, up the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers, down the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway (during fall colors) to Mobile, AL, across the Gulf of Mexico to Florida's west coast, and either around the tip of Florida back up the east coast or cut across lower Florida through the Okeechobee Waterway - or kickback for the winter in the Florida Keys.

Only about 100-150 boats make this journey each year - and in all types and sizes of boats.  As there are height, draft and even width restrictions, some limitations apply as to the size of the vessel.  For instance, if your boat's height cannot be lowered to less than 19.8 feet, you cannot get under a fixed bridge just outside of Chicago.

People traveling the Great Loop are known as "Loopers".  Many Loopers belong to the America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association.  It's a wonderful organization that shares information on safety, navigation, cruising conditions, marinas, anchorages, fuel prices, etc.  The Harbor Hosts program is a group of members who volunteer to assist Loopers with information about their area  - navigation guidance, local knowledge, recommendations for services, dining, etc.  We learn something new everyday on the Members' Discussion Forum. The support among Loopers is truly amazing.