16 foot Jon Boat attempts the Great loop speed record.

Just found out that this ageless wander did the northwest passage in the artic with a jon boat. Crazy part is that he used a cattle electric fence on his jon boat to keep the bears out. ??/ Well he did not get eaten so it must have worked LOL.
 
starcrafttom":fz1vyfv1 said:
Just found out that this ageless wander did the northwest passage in the artic with a jon boat. Crazy part is that he used a cattle electric fence on his jon boat to keep the bears out. ??/ Well he did not get eaten so it must have worked LOL.
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A good option if you can carry it. I've used electric fences (with varied success) to keep bears away from sampling and monitoring equipment in my work. If a bear wants to tear things up, they generally do, and boy can they be thorough. I've worked in the arctic, and prevailed so far, but not in polar bear country. There are two books I'd recommend if you want to read about about other's arctic boating adventures: 1) Beyond the Trees by Adam Shoalts (or anything he writes) who has written lots of Canada canoe adventure books (lots of science in them, too!), and 2) Arctic Solitaire by Paul Souders, a photographer that did a north Hudson Bay trip in a CD22 to take the "perfect polar bear" picture.
 
The jon boat was on Lake Erie last evening. He anchored in
Candian waters, behind a spit. Not sure if he knows, he cannot anchor in Canadian waters without clearing customs. Or maybe he did phone in?? nothing to indicate that that I have seen.

He got a later start--perhaps because he had to move the boat to get better wind and wave protection. Still making tracks on Lake Erie at about 25 mph.
 
He's pass Chicago and in the river system headed south west. Its amazing all the help he is getting on his way. people like to help out and give their time.
 
The last few days revealed a major problem. There were several cracks in the bottom of the welded alumium jon boat, as well as cracks on the side to the transom. Apparently he had been running that way, and bailing the boat out. He got it repaired by yesterday. Took a long time to find a TIG and a welder who was capable. Not sure if he welded a patch on the bottom, or just tried to weld the cracks (Not a good plan, in thin alumium). He has been running in the low 30 mph today. Last night he ran until about 9:30 PM--in the dark, on a river, at 25 mph....At this point he cannot beat the new record.
 
thataway":27suuge9 said:
...At this point he cannot beat the new record.
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I expect that there's going to be different classes of records. E.g. solo crew boats, boats under 20', single engine boats, electric powered boats, boats made of cardboard, boats with 12 engines, traveling the GL in reverse gear, etc.

It's going to be a thing.
 
He has about 60 miles to go, maybe a little more. Wind is minimal on the bay. He should finish before dark. I probably will not go to watch the finish--dinner time...
 
Weather it’s someone’s own thing or not, doing the Grand Loop in 19 days with a 16 foot Jon Boat is an amazing accomplishment similar to his doing the Northwest Passage. I found it fascinating following his tracks & trying to anticipate the routes he would take & where he might stop for the night along with how he overcame various problems along the way.

This guy is certainly a adventurer & I admire him.

Jay
 
What I find most interesting is that on the official AGLCA Forum (I don’t do Facebook) there is not ONE SINGLE SOLITARY POST OR COMMENT on this guy or his Loop. You have to be a Member to access the Forum. We’re Lifetime Members, because it might take us that long to finish the damn thing. I read the Forum daily except when we’re on the loop ourselves, like the last 46 days or so. The Search function is a bit clunky, so I might have missed it, but I doubt it. Leadership emphasizes having a unique experience, welcomes any way that anyone wants to try it (SUP, kayaks, canoes, jet skis etc), but never ever implies that racing or competition for the fastest time should be encouraged, or even recognized. There is not even a definite route.

Many Loopers are not Members, and you don’t have to be a Member to buy a burgee. If you are a Member and write a brief account after completion, it will be posted in the Wake Crossings section of the Forum, but isn’t required. AFGLCA notes that, annually, on average, over 800 people summit Mt Everest, but only 150 boats complete the Loop–that’s what makes it The Adventure of a Lifetime, not how fast you do it.

He had an Adventure, all right. But he wasn’t fully prepared if he didn’t know the law regarding entering Canada, or that you can’t go fast in a Slow Speed Minimum Wake zone, or safe night navigation principles. Proper preparation makes for a better Adventure. I know Jay is always fully prepared!
 
I agree with the "stunt", and at times dangerous to himself and others. When he fell asleep and ran the boat up into the weeds/shore, it could have hit another boat, or a person on shore. On the other hand, it did take a lot of internal strength to push him to take some of the long and overnight passages in a craft not suited for this type of adventure. (ie crossing the Gulf of Mexico, from Pensacola Pass to Fort Meyers directly. Very few power boats take this route, most go on the ICW to Carabelle, then to Tarpon Springs at the furthest, and many much shorter to Crystal River or similar upper Florida ports.

My understanding from watching his video of the "Northwest Passsage" is that he only made a few hundred miles, if that, on a trip out until he encountered pack ice which blocked his way, and back--anchoring each of several nights.

He did do the Inland passage to Alaska. However our CDory cruisers have done this in a 16 foot boat, and many paddlers are done this.

I feel that "great loop" is to be savored, exploration of the towns along the way, and meeting the people increases one's knowledge and appreciation of the USA. But as is said, different things float different boats. Robert now has an opportunity to produce a video, write a book, do lectures on his trip, and sell the story to a motion picture studio, if there is enough interest,
His trip certainly brought a lot of attenntion from the boating community.

Part of the delay was to have the cracks in the boat's hull welded during the weather days. He was fortunate with weather. Also apparently some lock tenders gave him priority over commercial tows. I wonder if this might have caused some hard feelings from the tug skippers against the recreational boating community?
 
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