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Undefeated: Completing the Great Loop

Despite her doctor’s diagnosis, Susan Pellett didn’t let her disability stop her from completing a 6,000-mile journey through the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterways.

APOLLO BEACH, Fla. — After what seemed like being dealt a bad deck of cards of life, Susan Pellett had one thing she wanted to complete from her bucket list – start and finish the Great Loop.  

Pellett, who is 59, was diagnosed with scoliosis when she was a young teenager.

“The progression of my scoliosis was extreme. I had a 63 and 59-degree s-curve. My spine was pushing on my heart,” she explained.

“They said I would be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life.” 

Despite her doctor’s diagnosis, Pellett didn’t let her disability stop her.

In 2008, she had her neck fused from her brainstem down to her tailbone. A few years later, she had a heart attack. 

But, it was the second heart attack that encouraged her to make a way to fulfill her life goal of completing the Great Loop.

Pellett took boating safety classes, saved her money, and had her first boat built from scratch. 

Unfortunately, 1,500 miles into her Great Loop journey, a barge destroyed her boat. No one was hurt, but she had to go back home.

As faith would have it, Pellett found another 'looper' who was ready to start his Great Loop journey. After mapping out a travel plan, and setting a budget, Thom Frederick and Pellett agreed to be co-captains. The two took turns driving Allons-y - a 40ft. Silverton powerboat – along the Great Loop.

The Great Loop is a 6,000-mile circumnavigation of the eastern half of the United States’ inland waterways. Boating enthusiasts can start their trip anywhere along the route, which includes the Gulf and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterways.

Pellett and Frederick started their journey through the Great Loop on March 6, 2019, from Louisiana. 

“It took 16 days to come across from the New Orleans area, around the Gulf Intracoastal and a little jump across the Gulf of Mexico,” she said.

The two sailed up to Canada and then traveled through the Chicago River, the western rivers, and the rivers of New England.

They spent 176 travel days on the water. “We crossed our wake in Mobile, Ala., on November 18, 2019,” she said.

During her trip, Pellett said she met people from all walks of life, from regular everyday people to royalty.

“That’s the great part about the boating community. I’ve made friends that I’ll have forever.”

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