Cruising For Cancer Research

While undergoing cancer treatment at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, charter fishing captain Scott “Red” Flowers shared the ward with youngsters struggling through the same draining treatments. Inspired by their courage and now a Stage 4 skin cancer survivor, the 63-year-old Flowers will attempt something audacious: circumnavigating the Great Loop in record time while raising $1 million dollars for the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation (NPCF).

For those unfamiliar, the Great Loop is an approximately 6,000-mile circuitous route of both natural and man-made mostly inland waterways between Florida and Canada. About 150 recreational boats complete the Loop annually, according to the America's Great Loop Cruisers Association, but most boats take a year or more, with extended breaks between legs.

Flowers, along with some friends, plans to set a World Record for the fastest completion of the Great Loop, finishing back where he started within 30 to 40 days. A traditional cruising trawler won’t meet the require pace, so Flower will set off at the helm of an open 28-foot center-console – a Canyon Bay 28H. A planned June 15 departure from Daytona, Florida, will begin a 237-mile leg to the first stop in Savannah, Georgia. Nearly two dozen more legs will follow, each lasting about 16 hours and most ranging from 200 to 270 miles, taking Flowers north along Intracoastal Waterway, across multiple Great Lakes, south on the Mississippi River, around the Florida peninsula before arriving back mid- to late-July. His goal is to raise $1,000,000 in donations and sponsorship, with net proceeds being donated to NPCF.

Flowers has some serious backing with Canyon Bay Boats donating a new boat for the venture, then auctioning off the vessel with proceeds to also benefit NPCF. Other sponsors donating equipment include Power Pole, Tocaro Blue PROTEUS 3D Navigation, and Starlink.

To learn more, visit The Great Loop Challenge 2024.