We originally intended to pursue the Loop over 2-3 years, taking it quite slowly. When it gets too cold to boat, we’d put the boat in storage and return to our RV-home waiting for us in the warmth of the south.
Reality has been – we just love living aboard & cruising in our boat, and are finding even an slower pace of travel is suiting us better. After 12-years of nomadic travels, we were ready for more relaxation. We find we love actively cruising for a couple of weeks, anchoring out along the way. And then finding our next cool coastal city with a marina with easy access to stuff and a great monthly rate.
At our pace, it may be a decade before we complete the loop, or maybe we don’t at all.
But, we’re still documenting the loop itself for now – despite likely taking many side trips.
2024 Status: We made it as far as Charleston in summer 2019, then a family member fell ill – so we hauled out in Savannah for the remainder of hurricane season, and resumed RV life until spring time.
The pandemic hit at the same time, so after launched we decided to return to our home state of Florida to be near family to shelter in place. The boat ended up staying in the wonderful town of Sanford, FL for four years – and we enjoyed many RVing and boat adventures from there.
As of April 2024, we have left Sanford and are resuming our Loop adventures! Or, well.. something that might resemble it at some point. We really are more drawn to just cruising and general.
Click on the area of the map you’re interested in to start browsing our travelogues & videos about each stop
The map & routing above is provided by the WordPress plug-in Nomad World Map that utilizes all of our blog travelogue entries.
What is the Great Loop?
It’s a circumnavigation of the eastern part of the US by waterways. It’s approximately 6000 miles (plus many opportunities for side trips). It’s typically followed seasonally – winter in the warmth of Florida, spring traveling up the ICW, summer in NY and Canada and then fall heading down the riverways of the mid west. Many loopers complete it in a year.
Here’s the official map as published by the American Great Loop Cruisers Association:
Relevant Great Loop Preparation Posts:
- Our Great Loop Plans
- Great Loop Boat Specifications
- Shopping for and Buying Our Boat
- Why we Selected our Bayliner 4788 for the Great Loop
- Tour of our Bayliner 4788 — Y-Not
- Boat vs RV — First Impressions of Living Aboard a Boat & Differences from RV Living
- Our First Month Aboard our Boat — Burnt Store Marina, Florida
Boating Videos:
