Taking on the enormous task of circumnavigating the eastern United States on water certainly doesn't become a reality overnight, so it's no surprise that Bob and Kemba DeGroot have a good story to tell. Their ambitious adventure started 12 years ago, and since then they've radically altered their lifestyle to make their dream come true.

The first step was modernizing their business-a successful sales training venture-to include the Web. They adopted a virtual-business model and converted their classroom-style programs to interactive Web sessions. Kemba and Bob now both work full time aboard Spirit Dancer, Bob writing the Web-based courses and Kemba running overall operations. They also moved their land residence to a "lock and leave," loft-style apartment in the Woodlands area of Houston, Texas. A management company maintains the property. The DeGroots consider their true home to be aboard Spirit Dancer, their 49-foot Defever trawler-style yacht.

Kemba and Bob share a passion for traveling and for the water, and it was no surprise to their friends when they undertook the challenge of circling the country. Bob ser ved in the U.S. Coast Guard for six years, which is when he fell in love with the Gulf Coast ICW. Of all the segments in their journey, he is most excited about completing the entire ICW which he explains, "runs from Brownsville,Texas to New Jersey. It's a canal cut across the land, but also uses rivers, bays and lakes as part of its route." After completing the ICW, Kemba and Bob will push on to transit new and exciting water ways. "Going north from New Jersey you continue past New York up the Hudson River to the Erie Canal to Lake Ontario. Through the Great Lakes to Chicago and on to the Illinois River. Next comes the Mississippi with a left turn onto the Ohio River, Tennessee River and down to Mobile, Alabama," says Bob.

Originally the DeGroots planned to embark on the maiden part of their voyage in October 2008 but faced a major last-minute setback: Hurricane Ike. Even though Ike was classified a category-two hurricane, it had a surge equivalent of a category-five storm. In September 2008, Ike battered and destroyed areas up and down the Gulf Coast. The DeGroots’ boat, Spirit Dancer, got lashed along with ever ything else. As Bob says, "She fought her way ashore, bringing the four pilings she was tied to with her, and settled out in the parking lot of the Lakewood Yacht Club." When she was lifted back into the water after Ike passed, the engine miraculously fired right up. The damage Spirit Dancer suffered was purely cosmetic—which, as any boater knows, isn't to say that fixing her was easy or cheap, but eight months later, in May 2009, the DeGroots finally set sail. They used the summer months to explore the Tennessee- Tombigbee Water way and its environs, stopping in such places as Nashville, Tennessee; Grand Rivers, Kentucky; and Columbus, Mississippi. To date they've cruised through most of the Gulf Coast and plan to spend the majority of the winter in the Florida Keys, transiting north along the east coast of Florida.

When Kemba and Bob arrive at a new port they pull out their laptops, attend to any business, and then set out to have some fun. " We do online research about the communities we’ ll be visiting," says Bob, "so we'll be sure to catch any top local attractions. In Louisiana, we took a side trip to Avery Island to tour the original Tabasco factory and country store." They also often make new friends. Explains Bob, "We have a fairly large upper deck and it ’s fun to hang a disco ball, put on some great '60s and '70s music, and turn the night into some- thing festive. After one club event in Offatts Bayou, near Galveston, we had more than a dozen people dancing and getting down on what everyone now calls 'the Lido deck.' We're ready to party at a moment's notice."

(From Top) Bob and Kemba DeGroot enjoy the 4th of July aboard Spirit Dancer in Columbus, MS

The DeGroots officially began their Great Loop tour on Sept. 19, 2009 as they departed Green Turtle Bay Marina in Grand Rivers, KY. When they return to Green Turtle Bay they will be"crossing their wake" and closing the “loop."

A crane lifts Spirit Dancer out of the parking lot of the Lakewood Yacht Club where it was left by Hurricane Ike.

The DeGroots throughly enjoyed a visit to Cuba Landing Marina, in Waverly, TN in mid September. Kemba and Bob DeGroot enjoy the relaxing but fun atmosphere of traveling the waterways while living aboard.

The DeGroots live aboard their 49 foot Defever Trawler-style yacht.

Bob enjoys a Cuban cigar while docked at Cuba Landing Marina in Waverly, TN.

A BoatU.S. Surveyor assesses the damage to Spirit Dancer from Hurricane Ike.