What is “solo” looping? My thoughts, for what they’re worth.
Yesterday, a Looper friend of mine sent me a link to a “survey” on the AGLCA website.
Although I used to be an active participant on the site — I am still a member, after all — I stopped when I got tired of being told by the management of the organization what I was allowed to post or include in my signature. Yes, on the surface it looks like might be a non-profit club to benefit users. But the reality is that AGLCA exists primarily to enrich its owner(s). That means that if you share an opinion that management doesn’t like, they will edit or delete your post. It also means that you need to pay extra to include any kind of commercial message in your posts or signature. And yes, these things have happened to me.
Anyway, I went to the site to check out this survey and I left laughing. There were a bunch of questions about solo looping, including whether you, as a solo looper, would consider being crew on someone else’s boat or take other crew members on your boat. Of course, it ended with the question that was the true purpose of the survey: would you pay money to attend AGLCA events about solo looping? (Don’t fool yourself, folks. It’s all about the money.)
What is Solo Looping?
The definition of the word “solo,” per the Oxford English Dictionary.
I’m currently a solo looper. (Or I would be if I were back on my boat right now; I’m currently at home working at my summer jobs.) In my opinion, for what it’s worth, a solo looper is someone who travels along the loop alone. Solo = alone. Even the dictionary backs me up on this.
I wasn’t always a solo looper. When I started my loop in Chicago in October 2022, I had a friend on board with me. She stuck with me to St. Louis (Grafton) when we both went home. I came back in late November with another friend who stuck with me until Mobile. During the time I had these two different people on my boat, I was not cruising solo as a solo looper. But when my second companion departed in Mobile and I continued on my own, I became a solo looper.
In my mind, even if I remain mostly solo for the remainder of my Loop — I cross my wake in Chicago — I will still not have completed the loop solo. Why? Well, a long portion of my trip was not solo. If I decided instead to go all the way back down to Mobile by myself, then yes, I could claim I completed the loop solo.
The last time I saw Nagui and Boundless, he was coming into Captiva Island and I was leaving. My boat’s bowcam caught the pass on video.
I know of at least five solo loopers. The first is Tanya Binford, whose book, Crossing the Wake, I read back in 2021. (You can read more about my thoughts on this book in my personal blog, where I discussed it.) Then there’s Nagui on Boundless, who will be finishing his loop within the next few weeks. And Matt on Seaview, who I met in Tarpon Springs. And Leslie on Avilon and Jon on Do While, neither of whom I met. I’m sure there are plenty of others.
Do these two count as crewmembers? They’re not very helpful.
What you need to understand is that cruising the loop solo is not a big deal. Yes, there are challenges, but if you plan on cruising for 6000+ miles on a wide variety of waterway types in a wide variety of conditions, you should already have the skills to meet these challenges. (One of the things I’ll do with my Captain’s License is teach people how to extend their cruising skills to be able to single-hand their boat.) The only thing a solo looper lacks is the assistance and companionship a second person on board could provide. (My dogs are good for companionship, but they are sorely lacking in the ability to assist.)
In my world, I’ll pick solo cruising over cruising with a difficult “crewmember” any day. If you’ve been reading this blog since its inception, you know the story of my first loop experience, when I was on a Ranger Tug R-27 with a captain and other crewmember. I had no trouble with the captain, but the other crew member was childish, difficult, rude, and downright annoying. (Is that enough adjectives? I could probably come up with a few more.) I got sick enough of her to leave the boat after five weeks — three weeks early. (You can read the progression of this situation in the posts about Cruising with Captain Paul.) Even on my boat, a Ranger Tug R-29 CB, the crewmember situation wasn’t ideal, especially for the second half of that Inland Rivers segment when my crewmember was definitely unhappy and there was nothing I could do about it except be unhappy with her.
I was chatting with a looper friend just yesterday about couples who break up because of their looping experiences. She’d heard rumors from a dockmaster of at least two couples who broke up at his marina, with one of the pair leaving the boat with all her possessions. And we know of at least one other couple that’ll likely break up when they finish their loop.
Are there any stats on the number of couples who start the loop and break up along the way? I’d love to see them. I’m willing to bet that’s another topic that is verboten in the AGLCA forums.
Although I’d like to have a travel companion to share the amazing things I’m doing and seeing along the way, I don’t need a travel companion to help me manage my boat. Ranger Tugs are perfectly designed for solo cruising, with full featured navigation and autopilot equipment and both forward and aft thrusters to assist in tight places. So I’m good.
Going back to my original point, does cruising solo mean never having any company on your boat? I don’t think so. I know Nagui has had company for a few days or weeks here and there. But a few days isn’t the same as six weeks and 1,250 miles (at the start of my loop). Even Tanya Binford had company going through a few locks. (Locks can be one of the more difficult challenges for solo cruisers.) I’d still consider both Nagui and Ms Binford solo loopers.
But again, although I’m currently a solo looper, when I cross my wake in Chicago I won’t tell people I did the loop solo. Because I didn’t.
Crewing and Being Crewed
If you’re a person who wants to loop but doesn’t currently have a desired cruising partner lined up, please don’t think of yourself as a “solo looper.” You’re not. You’re a person who wants to loop but doesn’t have a looping companion. You can either find one by being crew on someone else’s boat — as I did with Captain Paul and Captain John — or get your own looping boat and find someone to crew for you (as Paul and John did). I suspect this is what that silly AGLCA survey was getting at.
Understand that when you’re crew on someone else’s boat, you move at their pace and follow their orders/rules. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing — my experiences on both boats (other than that problematic crew member) were very positive, although very different.
I highly recommend joining someone else’s boat for a while before tackling the loop on your own boat, whether you go alone or with a companion. It will really help you get a feel for what it’s all about. (And that’s the other thing I’ll be doing with my Captain’s License: offering cruises along the loop for folks who want to experience the loop on a small trawler.) It’ll also help you decide whether looping is right for you. Looping might sound like a great idea now, but after 2 to 5 weeks on a boat, you might change your mind. (Better to change it now before you buy a boat and put your relationship with a companion at jeopardy.)
I could have continued the loop as crew on a variety of boats, eventually crossing my wake in bits and pieces. Capt John is always looking for crewmembers and asked me to return after my five weeks with him. But I wanted to do my own loop, at my own pace. For me, that’s part of the adventure and the challenge.
I like to think Janet enjoyed her cruise with me, but who knows? She hasn’t asked to join me again. It’s all about expectations and meeting or exceeding them.
So I got my own boat, had it shipped to Chicago, and started. Having companions for those first six weeks was more a function of wanting companionship — not needing help. Sure, they helped me as we made our way down the rivers and through the locks. But because they both came with different expectations, I don’t think they enjoyed the experience nearly as much as I did. And that’s not good for anyone on board.
Are You a Solo Looper?
If you’re a real solo looper — even one, who, like me, hasn’t been solo for all of your loop travels — I’d love to chat with you. Comment on this post and, if you want to send me contact info, use the Contact Form for this blog, which is more private. (Don’t put contact info in the body of your comments here unless you don’t mind others seeing it.)
And if there’s one thing I want you to take away from this post, it’s this: solo looping is taking total responsiblity for the operation of your boat while on the Great Loop. It doesn’t involve crewmembers. And it really isn’t as big a deal as some folks make out.
Don’t let your lack of a companion for the Great Loop stop you from doing it on your own — or force you into a crewmember situation you might regret later.
The survey was requested by some of us with interest in not being solo loopers but having the association help us with a “matching” service or at least by organizing a fleet of solo loopers to travel together. It’s not our intent to “claim” we did the loop solo but actually have a partner. We don’t want to be solo. That’s the original idea.
While I appreciate your experience and we all want and rely on the advice and experiences of those who’ve gone before us, please know that we asked AGLCA for help. They weren’t selling us on anything. But we have asked them to possibly organize a meetup or a calendar for solo looper wannabe’s to sign up to pair with others so you’ll likely see that in the future.
Well, this is good to know.
My post was to define what the term “solo looper” means to me: it means looping solo, not as part of a group or crew.
I suggest trying FindACrew.net. You might also post an ad or read the ads in the classified section of the AGLCA website — provided there isn’t a fee these days for that. That’s how I found Capt Paul. I also found Capt John through the forum, although it was his response to the “moderation” problems I had with management there that got us together. As I mentioned in my post, I highly recommend being part of a crew for a few weeks (or more) before trying it on your own or in your own boat. It’s not what people expect sometimes.
Also, please keep in mind that there are plenty of resources for doing the Loop outside AGLCA. In fact, I’d say AGLCA is limited based, in part, by what they allow to appear on their site.