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01 May 2026

More Than One Way Around: Alternate U.S. Routes of the Great Loop

For many Loopers—both those planning and those already underway—the Great Loop is often thought of as a single 6,000-mile route through a connected system of waterways across the eastern United States. It links the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, the Great Lakes, inland rivers, and the Gulf. It doesn’t take long, however, to realize that the Loop is far from a single fixed path. In fact, there are numerous alternate routes within the Loop itself. This flexibility is one of the reasons many Gold Loopers continue cruising in pursuit of the Platinum Burgee—they discover there are far more ways to complete the Loop than they originally imagined.

Great Loop Link Newsletter
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01 Apr 2026

Dismal Swamp vs. the AICW

As Loopers make their way to the Chesapeake, a route choice presents itself near the North Carolina/Virginia border. Boats can continue on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW) or take a diversion along an alternate route, the Dismal Swamp Canal. Each captain and crew will need to decide which route to follow. To aid that decision, here are a few details and the pros and cons of each.

Great Loop Link Newsletter
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23 Aug 2023

Urban Ocean Observatory at Davidson Laboratory

The New York Harbor Observing and Prediction System (NYHOPS) was established to permit an assessment of ocean, weather, environmental, and vessel traffic conditions throughout the New York Harbor and New Jersey Coast regions. The system is designed to provide a knowledge of meteorological and oceanographic conditions both in real-time and forecasted out to 72 hours in the Hudson River, the East River, NY/NJ Estuary, Raritan Bay, Long Island Sound and the coastal waters of New Jersey. On this website you will see graphic images of: water level; surface and bottom temperature; surface and bottom salinity; surface and bottom currents; NOAA winds; coastal waves - height, period and direction.

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27 Oct 2022

Chesapeake Bay Operational Forecast System

The Chesapeake Bay Operational Forecast System (CBOFS) has been implemented by NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) to provide the maritime user community with short-term predictions of water levels, water currents, water temperatures and salinity of the Chesapeake Bay.

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27 Oct 2022

Delaware Bay Operational Forecast System

The Delaware Bay Operational Forecast System (DBOFS) has been implemented by NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) to provide the maritime user community with short-term predictions of water levels, water currents, water temperatures and salinity of the Delaware Bay.

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