Leland, The Great Loop Cruise also referred to as the Great Circle Route is an exciting journey that takes a boater up the East Coast of the United States from Florida to the Hudson River. 155 miles up the Hudson River the boater either chooses to go west on the Erie Canal or north on the Champlain Canal. By either route the boater eventually ends up on the Great Lakes. The boater has several options available to explore places like the Richelieu Canal, Rideau Canal, Montreal, Quebec, Lake Ontario, the Thousand Islands, Lake Erie, but after much soul searching usually ends up at Trenton, Ontario on the north shore of Lake Ontario on the Bay of Quinte. From Trenton the boater goes west through the Trent-Severn Waterway to the Georgian Bay and then continues northwest up the Georgian Bay and North Channel to end up at the top of Lake Huron near Mackinac Island. Next comes the journey down Lake Michigan to Chicago. From Chicago the boater heads down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers to the junction of the Ohio River. Up the Ohio about 50 miles and join the Cumberland River. Follow the Cumberland and then Tennessee Rivers upstream (headed south) and join the Tenn-Tom Canal leading to Mobile, AL. From Mobile the boater heads east to the Florida Big Bend, circles down around Florida and either crosses the Okeechobee Waterway or goes around the tip of Florida in the Bay of Florida and joins the East Coast Intracoastal Waterway completing this exciting circle or loop. The journey has many variations depending on the cruisers time and vessel and is often completed in one year, but is also broken up into two or three years. Boaters have completed the Great Circle Route on a Waverunner, canoe, houseboat, powerboat, trawler and sailboat. However, the most popular choice seems to be either a power boat or a trawler. The journey is about 6,000 miles (depending on which alternative routes you take) and can take you through between 17 and 20 states and two or three countries. Vessel height and depth restrictions do apply. For complete details on the Great Circle Route read my book by the same name. Bob Skipper Bob Publications Http://SkipperBob.home.att.net