Miscellaneous

For those we haven’t bored with our travel plans over the last few years, here is a synopsis of the trip we are making on the Great Loop. Check this link: https://moondanceiv.ca/location/the-great-loop/

We met our first “Loopers” on our honeymoon in 1988. A 50-foot yacht called Blue Moon was transiting the locks at Newboro on the Rideau Canal. I was most impressed that the woman on board could wrap a line around a bollard 6 feet below her feet. She had obviously had a lot of practice. Our next encounter was with a couple in Westport, Ontario when we were house boating with the kids. We shared the dock for a few days and they invited us over for a visit. We exchanged life stories as one does on the water but most of the details are lost in the mists of time except he was retired navy, they were ex-sailers and were most complementary about how well behaved our children were.

The first loopers were adventurers replicating the early trade routes. Then a trickle of southern boaters coming north on the east coast to avoid hurricane season discovered they could avoid hurricanes during the return trip by taking the inland rivers. It became more popular after the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway opened in 1988; offering a less challenging route to the gulf of Mexico than the Lower Mississippi River. Finally, the route became institutionalized with the founding of the American Great Loop Cruisers Association in 2000. 

The association provides support to members and fosters communication between members as they dream about, plan for, and cruise the Great Loop. From a small group of boaters, the association has grown to 6,000 memberships and 150 sponsors, and holds 5 to 6 in-person seminars and events each year. Anyone can join. 

Members may purchase a burgee that identifies them as a member of AGLCA, whether “looping” or not and initiates a large number of conversations in any port. Once the loop has been completed, a member becomes a “gold looper” and may buy a new burgee with a gold background. Completing the voyage is referred to as “crossing your wake”. After two complete circumnavigations of the eastern United States, a boater becomes a “platinum looper” may purchase a  burgee with a silver background.