Chuck & Ford's Excellent Adventures

The Story so far…

My friend (and former boss when I worked for Apple) Ford Johnson decided he wanted to do the Great Loop. So in 2023 he bought a boat in Sturgeon Bay, WI. I joined him in the summer of 2023 for a little over a week as he became accustomed to the boat, which is a 36 foot 1981 Grand Banks trawler.

Sunset in Nicolet Bay, WI

So his Great Loop journey started in Sturgeon Bay, WI. He intended to leave during the summer of 2023, but the Army Corps of Engineers had several locks closed for repair on the route. He finally started out in November of 2023 (what better time to leave Wisconsin, am I right?). Traveling from Sturgeon Bay, into Lake Michigan down to Chicago. From there he took the Illinois river to the Mississpi.

In Cairo, IL he headed up the Ohio river for a bit to the Cumberland river. From the Cumberland he took the Tom Bigbee river to Mobile. The top speed of the trawler is about 8mph, so the trip from Sturgeon Bay to Mobile took about a month.,

The boat stayed at the Dogfish Marina in Mobile until June of 2024. It was then the marina told him if there was a named storm in the Gulf he would have to move it. Since Ford lives in California, moving the boat on short notice would not be possible, so I joined him in Mobile and in early June we moved the boat to Madisonville, LA on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, where it withstood Hurricane Francine in a sheltered slip.

The trip from Mobile to Madisonville took 4 days.

The Great Loop

The Great Loop is a 6,000-mile (9,700 km) continuous waterway route that allows boaters to circumnavigate the eastern United States and part of Canada, encompassing the Atlantic and Gulf Intracoastal Waterways, the Great Lakes, and inland rivers.

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

What it is:

A Circumnavigation: The Great Loop is a route that allows boaters to travel around the eastern portion of the United States and part of Canada using a network of waterways.

Waterways: It includes the Atlantic and Gulf Intracoastal Waterways, the Great Lakes, the New York State Canals, the Mississippi River, and the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.

Loopers: Those who complete the journey are known as "Loopers".

Length: The route is approximately 6,000 miles (9,700 km) long.

The Route:

Starting Point: The Great Loop can be started at any point along the route, but many people begin in Florida.

Typical Route: A common route involves traveling north up the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), through Chesapeake Bay, around the tip of New Jersey, into New York Harbor, up the Hudson River, into the New York State canals, through the Great Lakes, south on the inland rivers to the Gulf of Mexico and around Florida.

Counterclockwise: The route is typically done in a counterclockwise direction to take advantage of the river currents.

Who does it?

Boaters: The Great Loop is a popular adventure for recreational boaters.

AGLCA: The America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association (AGLCA) is a non-profit organization that supports and assists boaters on their Great Loop journeys.

Time: Completing the loop can take anywhere from a few months to a year or more, depending on the boaters' pace and the route they choose.