Dawn and I were both lucky that we grew up with families that enjoyed the rivers and lakes of South Georgia. We knew we wanted our kids to love the water like we do. So early in our marriage we bought our first boat. Our kids learned to water ski almost as soon as they could walk!
Dawn discovered the Great Loop over 30 years ago when we lived near Memphis TN and boated on Lake Pickwick. I’m not sure how she got so interested in The Loop because this was before the internet or AGLCA! For Christmas 1994 she gave me a copy of the Stob’s book, “Honey, Let’s Get a Boat!” She inscribed it simply, “Let’s do this!” I read the book and was instantly hooked.
Ten years ago life threw Dawn a big curve, and I wasn’t sure the Loop was in our future. But she worked hard and we kept our dream alive. So on January 18th 2021 we took off on our Great Loop adventure aboard GloriaUs, our 2002 Grand Banks 42 Classic. We bought her in 2017 especially with The Loop in mind. We created a blog and website so our family and friends could follow along.
Like many we intended to complete the Loop in a year. But we quickly realized that schedule made us move along faster than we desired. COVID kept the Canadian borders closed and so we decided to slow down and enjoy the journey.
We made side trips to The Keys and the Bahamas in both 2021 and 2022. We took the advice of other Loopers and spent an entire summer exploring The Chesapeake in 2022. We added on a side trip to DC that summer as well. We crossed our wake on Thanksgiving Day 2023 at Homeport Marina in Gulf Shores AL.
We’ve traveled over 8500 miles and we’ve seen and experienced many wonderful places and moments. The people we’ve met along the way have been an added blessing! The resources available through AGLCA have been an incredible benefit!
We’ve loved every moment. We plan to continue cruising mainly to The Keys and Bahamas each year. We love the cruising life and can’t imagine a life without some H2O under us!
Life on board M/V GloriaUs 
Awesome! So glad y’all about to enjoy such a great adventure! Congratulations!
Roy and Debbie
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It has been fantastic following you on this journey. I am in wonderment at 8,500 miles. What an exciting accomplishment for you two! I’m not sure I could have done it! So glad you are ready for your next adventure.
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Congratulations on completing the Great Loop, well done!
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Congratulations!! It is quite an accomplishment. Jo and look forward to seeing you guys back home.
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Congratulations… you two are our hero’s…. Hope to see you soon
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From Larry and Marsha Smith
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Congratulations to you both! What an incredible story of perseverance and tenacity.. I know your family is very proud as are you for the accomplishment.. What a great adventure and story!
Sincerely Tom and Kim Livesay
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You have finished an amazing trip!! So happy for you and the adventures you have had.
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I love this history of your love of boating.
Thanks for sharing!
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Congrats, to you both, quite an accomplishment! It was nice visiting when you were out our way. The Keys and Bahamas sounds like our kind of trip. Enjoy!!
Dave and Betsy
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man, what a great life dream to have completed. I am both happy for ya’ll and jealous of the adventure. Hope we have several more years of boating trips on GloriaUs with ya’ll.
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Congratulations on completing the loop. We really have enjoyed your post. It was awesome to be able to hook up with you while in the Keys. Congratulations!!!
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From Fred and Sara
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