A Manitowoc couple has completed what is known as the “Great Loop.”
During an appearance on The Coolest Coast with Jason and Tina Prigge, James and Jill Iverson spoke about what they experienced aboard their 33-foot powerboat.
James Iverson spoke about their unique trek aboard the Alvin James was a circumnavigation of the eastern third of the United States and part of Canada.
“We left our home here in Manitowoc, got on our boat, sailed down the coast of Lake Michigan to Chicago, went through Chicago to the Illinois River, to the Mississippi and all the rivers down to the Gulf of Mexico,” he explained. “We (then) crossed the gulf to Florida, went up the east coast to New York City, to the Hudson River, to the Erie Canal, to the Great Lakes, and finally home to Manitowoc.”
In case you were wondering (and we were too), it took the couple 1-year and 8 days to complete their voyage during which they encountered many birds and other wildlife.
Jill Iverson commented that it’s different to see our country from the water than it is from the land.
“Our country and Canada both look better from the water,” she said. “No strip malls and highways, just the old harbor towns and the beautiful waterways. Definitely, some of the highlights were the St. Louis Arch and then anchoring right next to the Statue of Liberty. We spent the night with Lady Liberty and that was very, very moving for us.”
And, Jill added they discovered a whole community of adventurers she described as Loopers.
“We’re lucky in that we live along the loop, but people come from California, they buy a boat on the loop or trailer a boat to the loop,” she explained. “Or, they come from as far away as Australia. We also met young families who were schooling their children aboard and more likely to be silver-haired people like us, but people of all ages and all different places.”
Jill Iverson told the Prigge’s quote, “We formed really close relationships with people on several boats and made lots of great friends that we’ll remember forever.”
