Winter Rendezvous 2024

Michael Ahern

Gold Looper

Michael Ahern has been a “river rat” since at least age 10.  From Red Wing, MN (on the banks of the Upper Mississippi), he was first allowed to go thru Lock and Dam 3 from Red Wing for overnight trips to Prescott, WI!  At age 16, three boys convinced three sets of parents that they alone could safely take a boat from Red Wing to New Orleans—and did!

Michael and his wife, Sharon, honeymooned on their first houseboat and then owned a series of them before they acquired their Looper boat, a Bayliner 4788.  They purchased their boat in 2014 and completed their 8,000-mile version of the Loop (with side trips) in 2018-19.  They then sold their Looper boat and bought a 28 ft. Cutwater, which was more portable for further cruising and exploration. 

Last summer, they trailered the boat for launch on the Hudson. They did the Erie Canal route to Lake Ontario and down the St. Lawrence and beyond. After 2885 miles and two and a half months, they returned to the Hudson, just south of Albany.

 

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Tsali & Jacque Bentley

Platinum Loopers

Platinum Loopers Tsali and Jacque Bentley crossed their first wake in August, 2022 and their second wake in October, 2024.  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 was 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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Brent Bowlin

Gold Looper, Great Loop Yacht Sales

Brent grew up on the Tennessee River and spent much of his life dreaming of completing the Great Loop. After traveling to all 50 states with his wife and 2 kids, Brent got the green light to begin searching for their Loop boat. In 2019, Brent joined the AGLCA, met a man by the name of Michael Martin…and the rest, as they say, is history.

Brent and his family completed the Loop in 2021 and shortly after Brent left his corporate career of 20-years to become a yacht broker. His passion for helping other boaters, first-hand Loop experience and commitment to providing the very best customer experience, gives Brent a strong foundation as a broker.

As a founder of Great Loop Yacht Sales, Brent ensures that each client is provided an exceptional experience. Brent’s background in insurance has been invaluable in navigating the ever-changing market. With over 10,000 miles traveled on Loop waters, Brent is able to provide his clients with valuable insight and first-hand experience.

When he’s not working, Brent enjoys coaching his son’s baseball team; searching for the best ice cream on the Loop; sailing with his daughter; and cheering on the Tennessee Vols. Brent shares his Loop journey on the website MomWithaMap.com

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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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Greg & Susan Costa

Platinum Loopers

Greg and Susan Costa traveled over 15,000 miles on Lucky Me from 2016 to 2022. Their journey included the Bahamas, Canada and twice around the Great Loop. When not planning their next long-distance adventure, they can be found enjoying the beautiful waters of Florida’s Gulf Coast.

They wrote “Cruising the Bahamas With the Lucky Me” to give boaters a simple book to assist with planning a trip to the Bahamas. Their book has been well received with over 25,000 copies (e-book & print) distributed in the past five years.  The Costas are well known in the boating community and are often featured speakers on the Bahamas before major boating groups including AGLCA, Trawlerfest and Seven Seas Cruising Association. Follow their next adventure on Facebook at: Lucky Me Looping.

 

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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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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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Jenna Ginsberg

Timeless Yacht

Jenna Ginsberg holds a 100 Ton Masters Near Coast license, with towing endorsement and has piloted all manner of crafts up and down the east coast of the U.S., the Gulf Coast, the Florida Keys and the Caribbean, but she can never get enough of her favorite cruising grounds: the coast of New England, especially Maine.  

While she didn’t grow up on the water boating, from a very young age she loved the ocean and swimming.  Boating became part of her soul in 1997 when, with her wife Darlene, they rented a 14 ft Maine-built Corsin runabout and explored nearly all of Moosehead Lake. Less than 2 weeks later they bought their first boat, and as they say, the rest is history.

Darlene and Jenna learned to navigate with a compass, chart, pencil, dividers, and a pair of binoculars and off they went exploring, nearly always ending up where they expected.  They have owned countless boats over the years from their restored and beloved 1977 9 ft Boston Whaler Squall to their current fleet consisting of a 62' Offshore flush deck motor yacht, its 13 ft Boston Whaler tender and a 23 ft Boston Whaler dual console they tow behind to the islands.

Jenna has experience on nearly every type of power and self-propelled boat from 9 ft to 72 ft, with the majority of her nearly 20,000 nautical miles logged on dozens of vessels from 42 ft to 62 ft.  She has kayaked from New Hampshire to Canada, and from Key Largo to Key West, exploring and island hopping along the way.  She guides owners on their boats (or hers) as well as kayaking groups through the lobster pot-laden, fog-filled waters up and down the coast of Maine.

Jenna is a registered Maine Sea Kayaking Guide and a certified advanced, open-water scuba diver. When she isn’t on the water, she may be officiating an alpine World Cup Ski Race as an international level official or race directing a triathlon as a certified race director.  Jenna obviously loves the outdoors with her list of diverse endeavors, but her heart belongs on the water.

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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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Cindy Lewis

Sterling & Associates

Cindy is a marine industry veteran with over 38 years of industry experience. Early in her career, she worked for a large sailboat dealer in the Midwest, moving to a marketing position at Pearson Yachts in Rhode Island and eventually becoming a successful yacht broker and moving to the Chesapeake. Cindy’s career path took her into boating magazine advertising sales and the publishing side of the business for several years. This opportunity opened the doors to many dealers and manufacturers and continued product knowledge. In 2002, Cindy became involved in the marine lending side of the business. She is from Annapolis, MD where she keeps her center console boat and enjoys the Chesapeake Bay, Severn River and local tributaries.

 

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Michael Martin

Platinum Looper, Great Loop Yacht Sales

When Michael Martin became a yacht broker in 2013, he set his sights on a particular niche of the boating industry, the America’s Great Loop Cruisers' Association. After assisting hundreds of boaters in finding, buying and selling their dream Loop boat, Michael was ready for an adventure of his own. He completed his first Loop in 2016-2017. Upon completion, he re-homeported his boat to Charleston, SC and continued living aboard. In 2022, he completed his second Loop.

Michael’s first-hand knowledge of the Loop waters gives him a unique advantage as a broker. He’s able to offer valuable insight, support and an insider’s perspective to his buyers and sellers. Michael prides himself on having sold many Loop boats multiple times. He considers it the ultimate compliment when a client completes the Loop and turn to him when they’re ready to find the next owner for their boat.

As a founder of Great Loop Yacht Sales, Michael ensures that each client is provided an exceptional experience. Prior to becoming a yacht broker, Michael had an international business career that set the foundation for him to manage all aspects of the yacht buying and selling business. Michael also proudly served in the US Navy as an Electronic Technician. 

When he’s not working, Michael’s love of the water and boating continues below the surface as he is a certified scuba diver, diving primarily in Mexico and Florida. Additionally, Michael holds a Private Pilot’s license.

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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 2024.

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Tad & Libbie Sheldon

In Progress Loopers

Tad and Libbie Sheldon have been Looping on their Kadey Krogen 39, Selkie, for 2 years now. They expect to cross their wake and become Gold Loopers in the Spring of 2025.  Other commitments and the realization that there is so much to see on the Loop have slowed them down, and they have had some amazing experiences on the Loop as a result. 

Both are very experienced boaters, starting on the Great Lakes in Michigan, later on San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean and now on the Loop.

Tad’s early experience came from a powerboat family, doing boat camping at anchor, primarily in the Les Cheneaux Islands in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.  Tad was able to drive and dock single and twin screw boats in middle school thanks to his grandfather’s instruction.  Later in college, Tad was a deckhand on a Mackinac Island Ferry Boat.

Libbie’s early experience came from a sailing family, sailing a Sailfish built from a kit by her father in South Dakota.  She started by herself as soon as she proved to her dad she was big enough to right the boat if it capsized.  She spent every summer in her youth on Saginaw Bay sailing as much as she could.  She owned a Sunfish in college, and raced a Hobie Cat several times after college.

While living in the San Francisco Bay area, Tad and Libbie owned a Catalina 36MKII Sailboat, While I Can, for 20 years, sailing San Francisco Bay and the surrounding area, including to Santa Cruz and Monterey on the Pacific Ocean.  They joined the South Beach Yacht Club in San Francisco, where both served in many roles. During that time, Tad became a Race Officer running both beer can races and some of the larger regattas on The Bay, while Libbie captained While I Can in a few of those regattas.  Libbie started a Friday afternoon sailing experience for women called “Babes on the Bay”, and introduced many women to sailing.  They are co-founders of the Red Bra Regatta, which is currently the largest all-woman’s sailboat regatta in the U.S. 

Tad and Libbie have gained a lot of experience anchoring for pleasure most of their lives.  They are eager to share those experiences.

 

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April Smith

Platinum Looper

April is a USCG 100 Ton Master Captain and AGLCA Platinum Looper.  Since 2016, April, her husband Larry (also a USCG 100 Ton Master Captain) and their one-eyed Maltese, Abby, have traveled over 30,000 miles aboard their two vessels both named the One Eye Dog. They currently liveaboard their Aquila 44 power catamaran.  Their boating experiences have taken them around the Loop twice, to several lengthy trips to the Bahamas and Keys, to three summers in the Chesapeake, to visits to the Outer Banks, to two summers on the Inland Rivers and, of course, to Canada.  They have also traveled through 280 locks and docked at well over 550 marinas.  They have seen a lot during their travels having had numerous hilarious and a few scary experiences!

Before moving onto their Aquila, April and Larry owned a horse ranch in California.  The first boat they ever owned was their 52’ Hatteras purchased to do the Loop in 2016.  They both boated in their early 20’s and were avid SCUBA divers, but they forgot more than they knew about boating.  Their boating expertise was learned while Looping and living on their vessels.

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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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