Description

Reflections on America’s Great Loop Boating Adventure

A few months into their first Great Loop trip Traverse City residents, Jim and Lisa Favors thought that a book by a group of boaters who were willing to share their personal perspectives about their own “Loop” would be a valuable tool for those either considering this trip or just plain curious about it. This book (edited and published by the Favors), When the Water Calls… We Follow, is a good read for anyone considering leaving the comforts of home to take off on an adventure of any kind.

The entertaining stories shared within this book would be of great interest to anyone who has ever pondered a radical lifestyle change whether it is on a boat, RV, or other means of transportation. This is a useful vehicle for people either considering this trip or just curious about it, to have a better sense of what a journey like this can entail in an untouchable sense. In the Favors’ opinion, the Great Loop Adventure is more about the day-to-day journey, relationships, and communing with nature, and most definitely not about the final destination or even the itinerary. If embarked upon, this trip would enhance and enrich the lives of anyone who has a taste for adventure, and a heart ripe for surprises, both large and small.

“We asked other boaters we met to share their varied and insightful experiences with us while keeping their responses more philosophical in nature with little stories that were still fresh in their minds, ones that had made their trip valuable to them,” noted Jim and Lisa in the forward of their book.

The Favors did not want a book on itineraries, destinations, facts, or figures. They wanted the reader to get a sense of what a “Looper” might experience, how they overcame obstacles, what they enjoyed, how they got along with their crew for such a long time in a small space, and, in a number of cases, how some Loopers accomplished the 6,000-mile trip mostly, or completely, by themselves. Even more importantly, they wanted to show why people left the familiarity of their long-time lifestyle to tackle a trip like this, and what they ultimately gained in return.

QUOTE LIFT – Jim & Lisa Favors: “People asked us, ‘Did the boat get a little small during your Great Loop boat trip?’ It was their way of asking if we got along in the confines of the boat. Well, I can’t honestly say that it was a piece of cake all the time, but after the first month and a half, we finally worked out some issues of space and togetherness. I guess we looked at it as a small hurdle in front of something even greater, and since this trip was so desired by both of us, we made a real effort to adjust.”

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
The Favors are members of AGLCA (America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association) and MTOA (Marine Trawler Owners’ Association), two popular national boating clubs. They served on AGLCA’s Advisory Council for six years and have been writers for BoatU.S. Cruising Logs for five years. They have authored two other books on boating, Upside of Downsizing to a Trailerable Trawler (about trailerable trawling), and Women On Board Cruising (25 women share their experiences of long-distance cruising).