What is America's Great Loop?
A few years back, I had this crazy idea that I would move my family out of our house and into a boat, and we would explore the Eastern United States by waterways on this thing called America's Great Loop.
That crazy idea I had a few years ago took a little convincing (and a few raised eyebrows), but my family was willing to commit, and we turned that crazy idea into a real adventure. Our Waterway Adventure involves navigating the Eastern United States by boat.
A collection of rivers, lakes, and canals forms a continuous waterway called America's Great Loop. This measures about 6,000 statute miles (that's the miles you're measuring by on the road). If you want to say that in boat miles, it's about 5,200 nautical miles.
The red line shows the route that we took for our Great Loop Adventure, though there are a few places where you have more options and even side quests you might take.
This trip normally takes about 12 months, but you can do it however you want. You can do it for 12 consecutive months, split it up, and do it during your summer breaks... Most people will follow the seasons of the calendar year. We can take the spring to "spring" up the East Coast, and then during the summer, we spend our time in the Great Lakes. In the fall, we "fall" down the river system, and then in the cold winter months, we spend our time in Florida, maybe the Bahamas. Chasing the seasons is a convenient way to stay in pleasant weather.
Fika, our boat, is a sailboat, but there are a variety of boats that travel the Loop. Trawlers are a really popular style because they have spacious living quarters and are pretty fuel efficient, but the Loop has also been traveled using personal watercraft, canoes, speedboats, and narrow boats. If it floats and it's safe, you can use it on the Loop!
My family and I aboard our boat Fika, a 2005 Beneteau 423, on our last day in the Bahamas before we sailed back to the United States.
Many people will do this trip for the adventure, but they find that many friendships are formed and these friendships can be as memorable as the scenery. Flying The AGLCA burgee fosters those different encounters and makes it a really easy avenue for forming new friendships. We've met so many people from the Loop group and as we go to different places. We meet people from those towns and share our stories; they love being part of our story, too.
The AGLCA burgees that many Loopers choose to fly and are recognized with.
If you see a boat flying the white AGLCA burgee, it's on its first Loop and hasn't yet been completed. If you see a gold burgee, it's completed the Loop, or what we like to say, it's "crossed its wake."
As we've been on this adventure, we've had to learn how to deal with many different navigational challenges, such as different water conditions, changing tides and weather patterns, and navigating locks and bridges. All of these things add elements of adventure and lots of new skills. We are constantly learning as we go, and it's been a great growth opportunity for me, my husband, and my kids.
Watch the video to learn more about the route!
