Nobody sanctions Great Loop speed records. There's no federation, no timing official and — apart from one Guinness category — no certificate. A record stands because the crew ran a public tracker from a fixed line, crossed their own wake on the clock, and the boating community accepted it. This page sets out how that works in practice and the rules this site applies when it puts a time in the record book. If you're planning a run in 2027, read this first, then tell us about it.
A continuous circumnavigation of the eastern United States (and a corner of Canada) by water, ending where it began. A record route takes in the four classic segments:
Within that, route choices are strategy, not cheating. White Lightning's 2026 record crossed Florida on the Okeechobee Waterway; Lady Lor's 2025 record went round the Keys. Both are Loop routes. What doesn't count is leaving the water — trailering past a closed lock, say — or skipping a segment. A route that adds big side trips (Red Flowers' 7,162-mile Challenge 2.0) is a fine Loop but not a like-for-like speed record.
| Start | A fixed, named point — a bridge, a dam, a marina, an inlet — announced before you leave. Fast Marine used the Sunshine Skyway; White Lightning the Kentucky Dam tailwater. |
| Finish | When you cross your own wake at that same point. Not a nearby dock, not "close enough." |
| What's included | Everything. The clock never stops — fuel stops, locks, sleep, weather holds, repairs. The record is elapsed time, start to finish. |
| Warm-up & positioning runs | Don't count. Running to the start line, sea trials and shakedown loops are off the clock. |
| Restarts | Allowed if you say so. If you scrap an attempt and go again, the clock starts from the new departure (Fast Marine scrapped an Aug 14 start and restarted clean on Aug 17). You can't keep the good half of a stopped run. |
| Official time | The crew's own start and finish times, to the minute, backed by the tracker. We publish tracker-based estimates during a run and replace them with the crew's official figures at the finish. |
Because there's no official, the tracker is the record. The accepted standard:
| Outright any vessel, any crew | The big one — fastest Loop by anyone in anything. 11d 21h 51m, White Lightning, 2026. Any crewed boat runs in this class; there is no separate two-person or three-person record. |
| Solo | One person aboard the whole way, start to finish. 18d 5h 23m, Martin Bysiewicz, 2026 (debated — see below). Previous: 19d 13h 1m, Robert Youens, 2025, completely alone. |
| Single-engine | One motor, any crew. Currently the same run as the solo mark. |
| Personal watercraft | Jet ski. The only Guinness-ratified Great Loop category — "to be attempted by an individual." Ratified: 22d 5h 40m, David Fries, 2024. Faster, ratification pending: 18d 5h 23m, Bysiewicz, 2026. |
| Jon boat | Flat-bottom aluminum jon boat, any crew. 19d 13h 1m, Robert Youens, 2025, in a 16-footer with 60 hp. |
| Notable completions | Not timed records but documented here: human-powered Loops, first solo woman by PWC, smallest boats, most Loops. See the record book. |
In 2026 Martin Bysiewicz rode one ski the entire Loop, but his teammate Steven Fulladosa rode alongside on a second ski for most of it before dropping out, and Martin crossed the line alone. Is that solo? The 2022 record-holder Steve Hernden's rule of thumb — "If it's a single boater, that's solo; if you have multi aboard then it's unlimited" — says yes; purists say a support rider changes the run. This site lists it as the solo mark with the asterisk printed, and readers are voting on it in the home-page poll. If you're going for solo in 2027: no one else aboard, and say up front whether you'll have any escort or chase boat.
Guinness recognises exactly one Great Loop record — by personal watercraft. If you want a certificate, apply through Guinness well before you leave: they set the evidence rules (witnesses, logbooks, video) for each attempt, and the Fast Marine team found them very hard to reach before their run. Everything else on the Loop runs on the honour system — as Robert Youens put it, "I got several people that can vouch for what we did, and it's kind of an honor thing."
It's free, nobody pays to be listed, and it's how most of the 2026 crews got here. Send us, through the tip form or by email:
We'll build a page for your run, put you on the live map with a card showing speed, miles and averages, and race you against a ghost of the record-holder's real GPS pace from your own start line — the same dial White Lightning and Fast Marine ran against in 2026. At the finish we ask for your official times and add the result to the record book.
| Outright | 11d 21h 51m — Kidd & Crutcher, White Lightning, Sep 2026 · about 15 mph average over the whole Loop, stops included |
| Solo & single-engine | 18d 5h 23m — Martin Bysiewicz, Fast Marine, Sep 2026 |
| Personal watercraft | 18d 5h 23m — Bysiewicz (Guinness pending) · ratified: 22d 5h 40m, Fries, 2024 |
| Jon boat | 19d 13h 1m — Robert Youens, Jul 2025 |
Kit that worked: fuel bladders, night-vision and thermal cameras, radar, Starlink and a good tracker — the gear guide has what each record crew actually carried. And what happened this year is in the 2026 season recap.