Resources

This page highlights a few of the excellent resources we have found helpful for cruising any part of the Great Loop.

General Information

America's Great Loop Cruisers Association (AGLCA)

America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association is an organization of people who share a sense of adventure and a curiosity about America’s Great Loop and its many side trips. The association’s primary purpose is to disseminate information and enhance the overall experience for those learning about, dreaming of – as well as exploring and safely cruising -- America’s Great Loop.

Heartland Boating - Plan to Cruise the Tennessee River

Heartland Boating magazine published this article, written by Bob Duthie, in March 2009. It is a brief summary of a full cruise of the Tennessee River in 2006, based on his blog posts.

Raven Cove

Check out Ron & Eva Stob’s Great Loop products including the book that started AGLCA " Honey Let's Get a Boat", a map of the loop, placemaps, and a logbook for loopers. It's all at www.greatloop.com

BoatUS Towing Service

Everyone cruising the loop has either run aground or will run aground somewhere. Our turn was on the route north from Beaufort NC. Click here to hear the story and get the details. TowBoatUS helped us on another occasion. We had to enter the dangerous Little Egg Inlet near Beach Haven NJ because Atlantic City was closed. Inlets are not charted as the shoals move about after each storm. I called TowBoatUS for instructions and the operator said it was a slow day and he would be happy to escort us through the shoals to the ICW. 'Just meet me at Buoy LE' he said. Wow! What great customer service!

Skipper Bob

The Skipper Bob guidebooks are by far the handiest to have aboard while doing the loop. The Marinas and Anchorages books are low in cost and complete. We used the Intracoastal Guides, the Erie Canal, and Chicago to Mobile. Sadly, Skipper Bob Reib passed away in December 2006. Waterway Guides is continuing these publications.

Dreamrider

Larry came through our marina, Kenlake, in 2002 a year before Mavis and I left on our Great Loop trip. Larry did the loop on a jet ski. He pulblished his book in December 2006.

There are some really interesting alternatives on the loop in this book including a bypass route around Port Huron Michigan that I had never heard of. Sure enough I zoomed in on it on Google Earth and could see the canal clearly as well as the shoals on Lake Huron that Larry had to jump over. Just 2 days after I met Larry at Kenlake he had a real shocking surprise. You will have to read the book to see what happened.

Coastal Cruising Under Power

How to choose, equip, operate, and maintain your boat is covered in this excellent book by  Gene and Katie Hamilton..  Gene and Katie have written articles and stories for the boating press for many years. John Wooldrige now managing editor for Passagemaker magazine wrote the Foreward.

What  Does it Cost to Cruise America's Great Loop?

This is a frequently asked question. I use three slides in my Great Loop talks to discuss this point. You can download a PDF copy here.  Arch Fonken wrote, "I am a CPA and spent a fair amount of time gathering information and projecting costs to see if I could afford to retire and do the loop. The costs presented by the two trawlers in Bob’s presentation are very close to my projections (adjusted for current fuel costs and my traveling single)."

Looper's Websites

A number of “loopers” have created websites that tell the story of their trip. The links to a number of these are listed here:

www.favorsgreatloopblog.com - Jim and Lisa Favors are looping for the second time on Kismet, a brand new Fathom trawler, starting in April 2008 on Lake Michigan.

www.beersexcellentadventure.blogspot.com/ - This is about Pete and Carolyn circumnavigating the eastern third of the US and parts of Canada, aboard their 39 Nordic Tug Humbug. They leave Memorial Day 2013 from Mystic CT.

http://www.aboardcbay.com - CBAY is a 48 ft Bayliner 3988 owned by Rusty & Jan Carlisle. They completed the loop in October 2012

www.rosetta.talkspot.com - M/V Rosetta is 41 foot DeFever trawler owned by Kathy & John Jeidy. They completed the loop on January 17, 2006.

dubheiii.blogspot.com - Ron, Jean and Gilligan are very active bloggers since early 2007 about Nordic Tug, Dubhe III

voyageofsimplicity.blogspot.com - Linda and Alan set out from Lynn Haven, FL in early April 2008.

grovesboat.blogspot.com - Joy@Sea is a 42 ft Grand Banks sundeck cruiser doing the loop from Ft Myers, FL and captained by Madison Groves.

Touring RV Websites

tiretreks.com - Denver residents Terry and Don acquired a new 2013 Navion 24V  and put 6,000 miles the first 3 weeks aboard. Their website is beautifully designed with great content.