We’re Owen and Wendy. Our boat saga began a few years ago when Wendy read a story online about a couple who completed America’s Great Loop. It looked like fun, even to a person who had only ever piloted a paddleboat on a tiny lake and had only been a passenger in a ski boat or cruise ship. So our loop adventure began when Wendy Skyped a link across the living room to Owen. A few minutes later, the response came. “Why aren’t we already doing this?!” There was a very practical answer to this: we were parents to teenagers and had a few kids in college.

We bought our boat, a 1989 Hatteras 40 Double Cabin, in early 2019. Since then, we have taken classes, worked with a training captain, and watched countless videos about running a boat, owning a boat, moving a boat, maintaining a boat, docking a boat, and loving boating. We’ve been practicing.

Owen works in telecom and will continue working while on the Loop. We converted the v-berth to an office to make him comfy. Wendy is now a…full time boat blogger? Whatever. She’ll find something to do.

Owen loves history, and Wendy loves stories of people, so we hope to find evidence of both along the way. We have a few historical “must-sees” to do, and we hope to encounter some quirky stories. Wendy is on a mission to find the perfect cocktail (in a dignified manner, she’s not a lush!).

This site will chronicle our trip for our family and friends. You’ll hear from both of us here. There are tons of blogs and websites written by people who have done the Loop. Others are likely better equipped to give advice on how to do things the right way, but we hope you’ll find our trip entertaining and enlightening.

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