Captain Red turned a lifetime on the water into a mission for kids. Discover how the Great Loop Challenge is helping fund pediatric cancer research.
Captain Red already knew the water.
What he did not know was how dramatically time spent in a hospital would change what he wanted to do with it.
After being diagnosed with stage four melanoma, Red spent months around children and families facing pediatric cancer. He became close to some of those families and eventually attended the funeral of a child he had met.
That experience changed his direction.
Initially, Red thought about making a $10,000 donation to pediatric cancer research.
Then he decided he could do something bigger.
As a lifelong charter captain, the answer was sitting right in front of him: boating.
The idea for the Great Loop Challenge began in 2019. After the original plans were delayed in 2020, Red eventually returned to the idea.
In 2024, he took on approximately 6,000 miles of the Great Loop aboard a 28 foot Canyon Bay.
Most boaters experience the Great Loop over six months or even a year.
Red completed it in 19 days and 19 hours.
The journey generated attention and helped raise nearly half a million dollars for pediatric cancer research.
But that was not the finish line.
Honda Marine approached Red about doing it again. The goal for 2026 Great Loop Challenge powered by Honda Marine is to build on what started with that first journey and help reach the $1 million mark for pediatric cancer research.
This is what The Next Boat Journey is really about.
Sometimes where boating takes us has nothing to do with the boat itself.
Captain Red found a way to take a lifetime on the water and turn it into an opportunity to help children he may never meet.
And now the journey continues.
Thank you to our Founding Partners: Let’s Go Boating, Franklin Pillsbury IV, Dockmate, The Florida Mariner Magazine, and SOS Screens.
Listen to The Next Boat Journey Thursday at 5 PM on Dock Side Live Radio, with encore broadcasts Saturday and Sunday at 5 PM.
