Fall Rendezvous 2023

Tsali & Jacque Bentley

Gold Loopers,

Gold Loopers Tsali and Jacque Bentley crossed their wake in August, 2022 and began their second Loop in November, 2023.  Thus far, they have completed over 2600 miles in search of Platinum.  As lifelong sailors, they owned numerous sailboats over the years and Tsali sailed across the North Atlantic Ocean.  After joining the AGLCA in 2019, they attended their first Rendezvous.  The Looper Crawl provided the perfect showcase in determining the Looper boat to best fit their needs - a Mainship 400 named COMPASS ROSE.  Tsali and Jacque still maintain their dirt home in the Appalachian Mountains of north Georgia.  COMPASS ROSE makes her home port in north Alabama on the Tennessee River at Goosepond Colony Resort & Marina where Tsali and Jacque serve as Harbor Hosts.  On their Platinum Loop, the Bentleys' focus remains on doing it as differently as possible with new side trips, different anchorages, and stopping at places they passed on the first time around, while continuing to meet fellow Loopers and to pay it forward with all the advice that has been shared with them to make the Loop a great adventure. 

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Chris & Alyse Caldwell

Ask Captain Chris

Captains Chris & Alyse Caldwell are USCG 100 ton Masters and Cruising Coaches who offer personal boat training online or onboard your boat anywhere! The Caldwells help build your cruising confidence with hands-on training, with their AskCaptainChris.com training videos, through 2-day, in-person seminars filled with tons of tips for the boater who loves learning and now remote learning using FaceTime and Zoom. If you have additional questions for Captains Chris or Alyse, please email them at [email protected]. 
 

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Colin & Wendy Campbell

Gold Loopers

After more than 35 years of cruising Lake Ontario and the 1000 Islands as well as offshore long-distance cruising and racing, Colin & Wendy Campbell took a break from the sailing lifestyle to take up long-distance bicycle touring. On one of their planned training weekends, Wendy discovered the Trent Port Looper Lifestyle Seminar and the rest is history. They crossed to the dark side and bought a trawler in 2019, a Camano 31’ named DeTour. Over the next three years, they enjoyed The North Channel and Georgian Bay.  Upon retirement in 2022, they decided to set off on their Great Loop Adventure, following Colin’s parents’ footprints, who completed their Loop in 2000.  DeTour crossed her wake August 23, 2023 in Midland, Ontario. Among many of the side trips they took along the way, The Bahamas was their favourite. The desire to return to The Bahamas for the coming winter is the main driving force behind their second Loop. They began their second Loop August 25, 2023.

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Robert & Kay Creech

Gold Loopers,

Kay and Robert Creech have been AGLCA members since 2007.  The Creeches started cruising to Florida with friends in 2000 and have been boating in coastal North Carolina since 1968.  They cruised The Great Loop from 2008 – 2009 on their 43’ 1990 Jefferson Sundeck, C-Life, which they purchased in 2006.  The Creeches cruised approximately 32,000 miles on C-Life, including The Great Loop, Chesapeake Bay, and Southport to Florida.  They won the True North Harbor Host of the Year Award in 2012 and 2019. They received the Ron and Eva Stab Volunteer of the Year Award in 2021 and also served on the Advisory Council for AGLCA.  The Creeches are Harbor Hosts in Southport, NC, AICW 309.  Robert started doing chart review in 2010 in Marathon, Florida, using flip charts, and still presents chart reviews and other topics at AGLCA events.

 

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Sam and Rev Crouse

Platinum Loopers, What Yacht to Do

Sam is a USCG 100 Ton Master Captain and has been boating since his teens. He completed a career in the USAF initially trained as a Navigator, then selected and trained as a Pilot. He flew the B-52G and U-2R, instructed as both a primary and advanced jet instructor, and served on staff in three director positions. Sam then went on to commercial aviation to fly the Boeing-747, 737, DC-9, Fokker-100, and the Airbus 320 family. Sam founded Crouse Training and Consulting, Inc. in 2004 where he served private and government organizations. He holds a Masters from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a Doctorate from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Rev is a retired elementary education teacher and former executive director for the second largest school district in Texas. She first taught elementary school, followed by a director position in technology where she led a program to help teachers use technology in the classroom. Rev was selected to implement a learning system for 220 campuses in Dallas, Texas. Rev was then promoted to Executive Director coordinating district-wide goals. She is a graduate of The University of Oklahoma and holds a Masters from the University of North Texas in Instructional Technology. Rev, along with Sam, founded What Yacht To Do in 2019 and Great Loop Academy in 2021.

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Dave & Claudia Fuller

Platinum Loopers,

Dave and Claudia sold their home, bought a boat, had an estate sale, retired, and then moved aboard Still Waters II in June of 2015. Their initial quest was to do the Loop one time and find a home along the waterway. They completed the Loop in February 2017, notching 9,950 miles travelled, but failed to find a home. This necessitated a second Loop. The Platinum Loop was completed in January 2019 but again they failed to find a home.  Putting house-hunting on the back burner, they next set off to do the Down East Loop. Figuring their best option for a home was somewhere on the Inland Rivers, they spent 2020 searching the Tennessee River.  But, once again, they failed to find a home.  In 2021, they decided to take the Ohio River up to Pittsburgh.  In 2022, they took the boat to Texas.  Still Waters II has been in all 5 Great Lakes, 3 countries (5 providences of Canada), every state east of the Mississippi River and 7 states west of the river.  Oh, the quest for a home continues..........

 

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Eddy & Linda Johnsen

Platinum Loopers,

Eddy and Linda Johnsen have shared a passion for boating since meeting in high school.  After years of power boating, they owned several sailboats before purchasing their current trawler, Spiritus.  She can often be seen cruising the Florida Panhandle where the Johnsens have retired. Their route presentation, “Mobile to Tarpon Springs”, highlights some must-see places along the Florida Panhandle and many favorite anchorages of local residents.  They have been members of AGLCA since 2006 and are now Platinum Loopers, having completed their first Loop in 2013, their second in 2018.  Eddy is a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and retired commercial airline pilot who has been assisting Loopers with his presentation, “Crossing the Gulf Without Drama” over the last several years.  He is well-known for his forum on the AGLCA website, “Eddy’s Weather Wag”, a daily synopsis of sea conditions designed to assist Loopers in deciding the best time to cross the Gulf of Mexico.  Linda is a former sailing instructor and retired educator. She was a math teacher for 13 years and spent 24 years as a school guidance counselor.  In addition to editing their scripts and providing the photos for Rendezvous presentations, Linda has been a facilitator for “Ladies on the Loop” discussion groups.

 

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Jay Kraft

Trawlers Great Lakes

Water and boats have always been a part of Jay’s timeline.  Hailing from Traverse City, Michigan, his boating career began by pushing his 9’ pram off the beach of an inland lake in Michigan as a child and running a GunBoat 48 on the East Coast and Caribbean has enhanced that timeline.  As the founder of Bay Breeze Yacht Sales and Trawlers Great Lakes, Jay has also been the Nordic Tug dealer for the Midwest since 2002; trawlers have been the focus since then. Jay remains actively involved in the day-to-day and routine maintenance of the Trawlers Great Lakes fleet while sharing his knowledge with clients on how they can save time and money by taking on vessel maintenance themselves.

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Charlie & Robin McVey

Platinum Loopers,

The McVeys joined the AGLCA in October 2014, bought their 1986 Jefferson Loop boat in January 2015, departed on 10/23/2016 and crossed their wake on 10/2/2017 at Aqua Yacht Harbor, Iuka, MS. Before the first Loop, they cruised from Midway Marina, Fulton MS to Chattanooga TN in August 2015. And after the first Loop, they cruised from Aqua Yacht Harbor to Ft. Myers, FL from February–June 2018. After a summer & fall of fun on Pickwick Lake, they departed on 11/1/2018 to winter in the Florida Keys. Due to spring flooding and closures on the Tenn Tom Waterway, they decided to go home “on the back roads”. Their second Loop adventure was born and on September 14, 2019 they achieved Platinum status!  Following the 2020 Virtual Fall Rendezvous, The Lower Place departed once again on November 12, 2020 heading south.  Six weeks later The Lower Place was listed for sale with the intention of boating in a trailerable fashion.  The Lower Place sold ten weeks later and Charlie and Robin soon realized trailerable was not their fashion. So, ten more weeks passed before their next purchase.  They now cruise on their 1991 Carver 4207 aptly named The Lower Place. Charlie and Robin have a dirt home in Counce, TN, minutes from Grand Harbor and Safe Harbor Aqua Yacht Marinas.  They also serve as your Harbor Hosts for the Pickwick Lake and surrounding areas.

 

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Kim Russo

Director, AGLCA

Kim Russo has been involved with AGLCA for about 16 years and has been the Association’s Director for eight years. She has presented on the Great Loop at many of the nation’s largest boat shows, including Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, and New England, as well as TrawlerFest and Cruisers’ University. Kim’s Great Loop adventure was finally realized!  She officially began her Loop in late February of 2022 from Fort Myers, Florida aboard The Perch and she crossed her wake there in February of this year.

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Ben & Laura Stein

Gold Loopers, Panbo.com

Ben Stein is the editor and publisher of Panbo.com, the marine technology hub. Ben and Laura have boated for over 17 years, first on Lake Michigan, then on the Great Loop 1.5 times, and now in SW Florida. The Stein family started their first Great Loop from Chicago in August of 2016 and finished in October of 2017. They started again in July of 2018 and landed in Ft. Myers in March of 2019. They traveled with daughters Molly and Madelyn. Prior to the Loop, they explored nearly all of Lake Michigan by boat. The Steins serve as AGLCA Family Ambassadors and Harbor Hosts. The Steins reside in Ft. Myers and are happy to help when you come through the area. 

 

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Curtis Stokes

Curtis Stokes & Associates

Curtis Stokes grew up on the water and around boats in Maryland and Delaware having spent many of those years fishing and hunting with his father and brothers throughout the Mid-Atlantic area. While attending Washington College, in Chestertown, MD, Curtis decided to obtain his real estate license and joined his father’s real estate firm, Anderson-Stokes Realtors. He became president of the firm after his father’s death and led the company through many phases of expansion before it was sold. Curtis then decided to pursue his real love of the water and made yachting his career. He has been associated with and enjoyed worldwide cruising on such well-known vessels as Excellence, Fiffanella, and Our Toy. Curtis also gained experience as sales manager at Hatteras Yachts in New Bern, NC, where he helped develop and sell new models and train and coordinate his dealer network. Curtis left Hatteras Yachts to pursue his ultimate goal of being an independent yacht broker. Curtis now enjoys working as a team with his wife, Gill, and holds an active USCG 3000 ton Master license and a PADI Divemaster certificate and is a certified professional yacht broker (CPYB).

 

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Karl Weber

At the Helm

Karl became a professional captain in 2010 but has been around boats all his life. He has traveled to 14 countries and 32 states delivering boats from 28’ to 104’. He has traveled in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea and 4 of the 5 Great Lakes. Karl started out delivering sailboats but eventually expanded into catamarans and motor yachts. Karl has been around the Great Loop several times. He gets great joy from sharing his knowledge and experiences with new owners, helping them learn to operate their vessels safely so they can chase their boating dreams. 

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