43 kids a day are diagnosed with cancer. Behind every mile of the 2026 Great Loop Challenge powered by Honda Marine is a mission bigger than boating.
Jump to a section (5)
43A Journey With a PurposeAnd people along the route are respondingFollow the Journey43 kids a day**This week, Dock Side Live Radio is replacing our regular edition of The Next Boat Journey with a special 2026 Great Loop Challenge powered by Honda Marine broadcast Thursday at 5 PM.
Listen to The Next Boat Journey Thursday at 5 PM on Dock Side Live Radio, with encore broadcasts Saturday and Sunday at 5 PM.**
Behind the horsepower, technology, long days and thousands of miles of the Great Loop Challenge is a number the crew wants every boater to remember:
43
During Dock Side Live Radio's latest conversation with the 2026 Great Loop Challenge powered by Honda Marine crew, they returned to the reason they're making this extraordinary journey.
“43 kids a day are gonna get diagnosed with some form of cancer,” the crew explained. Their goal is to use the 2026 Great Loop Challenge powered by Honda Marine to raise both awareness and funding through the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
That's why the number 43 has become such an important part of the challenge.
A donation doesn't have to be enormous.
It might be $43. It might be $4.30. It might be $430.
The message from the crew is simple: anything helps.
A Journey With a Purpose
The 2026 Great Loop Challenge powered by Honda Marine combines adventure, boating and technology with a mission that reaches far beyond the people aboard the boat.
Every mile gives the crew another opportunity to talk about pediatric cancer.
Every marina and waterfront community provides another opportunity to meet people.
Every social media update creates another opportunity for someone to hear the story and decide to help.
And people along the route are responding
During the interview, the crew talked about meeting people at a restaurant the previous evening who learned about the mission and made a donation.
“We're getting a lot of support, getting a lot of traction and really the kids really need all our help,” the crew said.
This isn't their first trip around the Great Loop for the cause, either.
“This is our second time around doing this and we're not gonna stop anytime soon.”
Their focus is helping support research aimed at developing more targeted and less toxic treatments for children fighting cancer.
Follow the Journey
The crew is inviting people to do more than donate. They want everyone to come along for the ride.
Through the 2026 Great Loop Challenge powered by Honda Marine website The Great Loop Challenge, followers can track the boat's location and see where the crew is traveling. The team is also going live regularly on Facebook, including a daily 7 PM update featuring highlights from the day, plans for what's coming next and some of the unexpected moments encountered along the way.
The journey ahead still includes Lake Superior, Chicago and the long route south before the crew eventually makes its way back toward Florida.
Dock Side Live Radio plans to continue following them along the way, including their return to Jacksonville and Whitey's Fish Camp.
But wherever the boat happens to be, the destination isn't really the point.
The mission is.
43 kids a day
That's the number the Great Loop Challenge wants people to remember.
Join us as we follow the journey, hear directly from the crew and help share a mission that deserves the boating community's attention.
**Dock Side Live Radio
Where the music meets the water.**
