Great loop
Encyclopedia
The circumnavigation of Eastern North America by water is known as The Great Loop. Also improperly referred to as the Great Circle Route (see definition of a great circle
), the trip varies from 5,000 miles to 7,500 miles depending on the options used. The boats used range from personal watercraft (jet-skis) to 60-foot yachts. Both sailboats and powerboats are used but the most common boats are 34 – 45 ft Recreational trawlers. The main factors that govern the size of the boat are the limited draft (5 feet) in some locations on the loop and the height of one bridge (19 feet) in Chicago, Illinois. People traveling The Great Loop are known as "loopers." The number of people attempting this voyage is growing with the Baby Boomers
reaching retirement age. In 2007 more than 150 boat owners notified America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association that they were planning to attempt the loop in the coming season.
, Mississippi River
, Tombigbee River
and Black Warrior River to Mobile, Alabama. To avoid summer hurricanes and winter ice, most Loopers head north in the spring, spend the summer in the Great Lakes region, and head south on the rivers in the fall, arriving in Florida after the beginning of November.
Starting on the east coast of Florida at Stuart the route heads north on the Intracoastal Waterway
(ICW) along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Chesapeake Bay offers many different locations to visit and some loopers go 50 miles up the Potomac to Washington. At the north end of Chesapeake Bay the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal connects to Delaware Bay. The Intracoastal Waterway resumes at Cape May
and ends at Manasquan, New Jersey
.
There is a 30-mile stretch of open Atlantic Ocean to New York harbor. From this point a few loopers continue up the coast, around the Gaspé Peninsula and up the St Lawrence River to Lake Ontario. This adds about 1,500 miles to the loop. Most loopers go up the Hudson River to Waterford and then take the Erie Canal
to Lake Ontario or Lake Erie or the Champlain Canal
to the St. Lawrence. Canada's Rideau Canal
, built in 1832 from Ottawa to Kingston, is frequently chosen. Most loopers will take the Trent Canal from Trenton, Ontario to Port Severn on Georgian Bay. The North Channel
is one of the highlights of the loop. This is the most northerly point on the loop and has the shortest season, just 8 weeks of good warm weather from July 1 to Aug 30th.
Lake Michigan is next with most loopers taking the east side of the lake to Chicago. From here it is down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, up the Ohio
and Tennessee
Rivers, then down the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway
to Mobile. The route then joins the Intracoastal Waterway going east to Carrabelle, Florida
. The ICW now extends to Fort Myers where loopers can cruise the Okeechobee Waterway
to Stuart on the east coast of Florida or turn south to the Keys rounding the southern tip of Florida, returning north to Stuart.
on their boats. Other loopers complete the loop in stages, storing the boat at various locations while they return to work. A few take their children and home-school them on the route.
Loopers who are members of AGLCA meet two times a year in different locations along the Great Loop. The first reunion is near Charleston, SC in the spring, the second reunion is traditionally in October at Joe Wheeler State Park
in Alabama
. This is a very popular one. The reunions and rendezvous are organized by AGLCA. The reunions are designed to allow mixing and mingling with old friends and new members, sharing stories and tips, also include general lessons on safety, vessel safety checks and other valuable cruising information. One highlight of the events is the Looper Crawl.
The America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association assists Great Loop cruisers with various needs such as safety, sharing navigational and cruising information, and networking among loopers. The networking through the daily e-mail blast provides updates and local advice. The boaters can broadcast information requests for anything such as docking, anchoring, water depth, hazards, repairs, fuel prices or dinner reservations.
Great circle
A great circle, also known as a Riemannian circle, of a sphere is the intersection of the sphere and a plane which passes through the center point of the sphere, as opposed to a general circle of a sphere where the plane is not required to pass through the center...
), the trip varies from 5,000 miles to 7,500 miles depending on the options used. The boats used range from personal watercraft (jet-skis) to 60-foot yachts. Both sailboats and powerboats are used but the most common boats are 34 – 45 ft Recreational trawlers. The main factors that govern the size of the boat are the limited draft (5 feet) in some locations on the loop and the height of one bridge (19 feet) in Chicago, Illinois. People traveling The Great Loop are known as "loopers." The number of people attempting this voyage is growing with the Baby Boomers
Post-World War II baby boom
The end of World War II brought a baby boom to many countries, especially Western ones. There is some disagreement as to the precise beginning and ending dates of the post-war baby boom, but it is most often agreed to begin in the years immediately after the war, ending more than a decade later;...
reaching retirement age. In 2007 more than 150 boat owners notified America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association that they were planning to attempt the loop in the coming season.
Routes
Most Great Loop cruisers travel the Loop counterclockwise, taking advantage of the downstream currents on the Illinois RiverIllinois River
The Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the State of Illinois. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of . This river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water route...
, Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
, Tombigbee River
Tombigbee River
The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. It is one of two major rivers, along with the Alabama River, that unite to form the short Mobile River before it empties into Mobile Bay on the Gulf of Mexico...
and Black Warrior River to Mobile, Alabama. To avoid summer hurricanes and winter ice, most Loopers head north in the spring, spend the summer in the Great Lakes region, and head south on the rivers in the fall, arriving in Florida after the beginning of November.
Starting on the east coast of Florida at Stuart the route heads north on the Intracoastal Waterway
Intracoastal Waterway
The Intracoastal Waterway is a 3,000-mile waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are artificial canals...
(ICW) along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Chesapeake Bay offers many different locations to visit and some loopers go 50 miles up the Potomac to Washington. At the north end of Chesapeake Bay the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal connects to Delaware Bay. The Intracoastal Waterway resumes at Cape May
Cape May
Cape May is a peninsula and island ; the southern tip of the island is the southernmost point of the state of New Jersey, United States. It runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean...
and ends at Manasquan, New Jersey
Manasquan, New Jersey
-Government:Manasquan is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office and only...
.
There is a 30-mile stretch of open Atlantic Ocean to New York harbor. From this point a few loopers continue up the coast, around the Gaspé Peninsula and up the St Lawrence River to Lake Ontario. This adds about 1,500 miles to the loop. Most loopers go up the Hudson River to Waterford and then take the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
to Lake Ontario or Lake Erie or the Champlain Canal
Champlain Canal
The Champlain Canal is a canal that connects the south end of Lake Champlain to the Hudson River in New York. It was simultaneously constructed with the Erie Canal and is now part of the New York State Canal System and the Lakes to Locks Passage....
to the St. Lawrence. Canada's Rideau Canal
Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...
, built in 1832 from Ottawa to Kingston, is frequently chosen. Most loopers will take the Trent Canal from Trenton, Ontario to Port Severn on Georgian Bay. The North Channel
North Channel (Ontario)
The North Channel is the body of water along the north shore of Lake Huron, in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is bordered on the east by Georgian Bay, on the west by the St. Marys River, to the north by the eastern Algoma District and to the south by the islands of Manitoulin, Cockburn,...
is one of the highlights of the loop. This is the most northerly point on the loop and has the shortest season, just 8 weeks of good warm weather from July 1 to Aug 30th.
Lake Michigan is next with most loopers taking the east side of the lake to Chicago. From here it is down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, up the Ohio
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
and Tennessee
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...
Rivers, then down the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway
Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway
The Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway is a 234-mile man-made, artificial waterway that extends from the Tennessee River to the junction of the Black Warrior-Tombigbee River system near Demopolis, Alabama, United States. The Tenneessee-Tombigbee Waterway links commercial navigation from the nation’s...
to Mobile. The route then joins the Intracoastal Waterway going east to Carrabelle, Florida
Carrabelle, Florida
Carrabelle is a city in Franklin County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,303 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2009, the city had a population of 1,231.-Location:...
. The ICW now extends to Fort Myers where loopers can cruise the Okeechobee Waterway
Okeechobee Waterway
The Okeechobee Waterway is a man-made waterway stretching from Fort Myers on the west coast to Stuart on the east coast of Florida. It was built/finished in 1937 to provide a water route across Florida, allowing boats to pass east–west across the state rather than travelling the long route around...
to Stuart on the east coast of Florida or turn south to the Keys rounding the southern tip of Florida, returning north to Stuart.
Looper culture
Many loopers retire, sell everything, and live in their boats. Some complete the loop every year with the record being nine complete Great Loops. Many spend the winters in the BahamasThe Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
on their boats. Other loopers complete the loop in stages, storing the boat at various locations while they return to work. A few take their children and home-school them on the route.
Loopers who are members of AGLCA meet two times a year in different locations along the Great Loop. The first reunion is near Charleston, SC in the spring, the second reunion is traditionally in October at Joe Wheeler State Park
Joe Wheeler State Park
Joe Wheeler State Park is located on along Wheeler Lake in Northwest Alabama, USA. The park includes a resort lodge, full service convention facilities, restaurant, campground, a marina with 140 boat slips, a 2.5-mile looped trail for hiking and biking, and an 18 hole championship golf course.The...
in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. This is a very popular one. The reunions and rendezvous are organized by AGLCA. The reunions are designed to allow mixing and mingling with old friends and new members, sharing stories and tips, also include general lessons on safety, vessel safety checks and other valuable cruising information. One highlight of the events is the Looper Crawl.
The America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association assists Great Loop cruisers with various needs such as safety, sharing navigational and cruising information, and networking among loopers. The networking through the daily e-mail blast provides updates and local advice. The boaters can broadcast information requests for anything such as docking, anchoring, water depth, hazards, repairs, fuel prices or dinner reservations.