‘I want to be sliding into home base when my time comes’: Great Loop traveler passes through Starved Rock

After surviving a long battle with thyroid cancer, 71-year-old Robert Youens gained a new perspective on life – one that’s fueling his journey across the country aboard a small jon boat fittingly named “The Ageless Wanderer.”

Youens is navigating the Great Loop - a 6,000-mile network of rivers, lakes, coastal waterways and the Gulf of Mexico that forms a continuous route around the eastern United States.

When asked what inspired him to take on the journey, Youens explained the decision didn’t come overnight but was influenced by a combination of factors.

Six years ago, facing a cancer diagnosis gave him a new sense of urgency to live fully, but his lifelong passion for boats made the adventure feel like the natural thing to do.

“Even as a kid, I’ve always loved jon boats and I worked for boat manufacturers before retiring from Briggs & Stratton,” Youens said.

After three rounds of chemo and radiation, he survived.

“But now every day I wake up wondering if it’ll come back. Until that day, I want to live my life to the fullest - sliding into home base when my time comes, giving it everything I’ve got. I just figured this was the right thing to do.”

Youens first set off from Pensacola, Florida, on July 12 and passed through the Illinois Valley Monday morning, stopping at the Starved Rock Lock and Dam near Utica where a crowd had gathered to welcome him.

Being out on the water helps my head, but all the people I’ve met along the way - now that helps my heart.

—  Robert Youens

Among those who greeted Youens at the dam was Jake Krancic, an Oglesby native who completed The Great Loop back in 2016.

Notably, Krancic completed the journey on a sailboat, taking about a year, significantly longer than Youens’ expected 19-day trip.

Krancic’s inspiration? A lifelong connection to the Illinois River and a retirement dream.

“I grew up on this river and always thought it’d be great to take a canoe or a boat to New Orleans,” Krancic said. ,

However, the adventure wasn’t without challenges. Krancic admitted he started the trip with little knowledge of navigation hazards like wing dams on the Mississippi River.

“The thing about the Loop that’s so unique is it’s made up of so many different waterways - from canals, to the ocean, to the Gulf, to rivers, to the Great Lakes. Everything is different in the way you approach it and the way you get across.”

“By the end of it, I knew what I was doing. At the beginning? Not so much,” Krancic said with a laugh.

Youens echoed the sentiment, recalling his toughest moment battling rough waters off the coast of Florida earlier this month.

“I left Cape Canaveral planning to cross to Bald Head Island, North Carolina, but a low-pressure system kicked up with 6- to 10-foot waves and a strong north wind in the Gulf Stream,” Youens said. “It was like running into a wall every time. I fought it for an hour, then had to turn toward Jacksonville to find safer waters.”

Despite the tough conditions, Youens found ways to adapt and keep moving forward, often relying on careful planning and a team of experts who help guide him.

“I don’t make any decisions alone,” he said. “I have a 100-ton licensed captain helping me with weather routing and strategists guiding me through tricky stretches. It’s serious business out here.”

However, what keeps Youens going through those challenges is the connections he’s made along the way.

“Enthusiasm from people is what really fuels me,” Youens said. “Being out on the water helps my head, but all the people I’ve met along the way - now that helps my heart ... I’ve met so many good people out here. It gives me faith there’s still a lot of America left that can just ignore politics and our differences.”

Although they took on the Great Loop nearly a decade apart, both Youens and Krancic said they feel a connection to anyone who attempts the journey.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun,” Krancic said. “You see places and meet people you’d never otherwise come across. I’d do it all over again if I could.”

Youens echoed that sentiment, adding a deeper sense of purpose to the journey.

“Every day’s a gift,” he said. “And out here, whether you’re just starting or finishing the Loop, you feel alive. That’s what matters in this life.”

You can follow Youens’ journey by visiting his Garmin tracking site and subscribing to his YouTube channel.

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71-year-old adventurer and thyroid cancer survivor Robert Youens smiles while locking at the Starved Rock Lock and Dam on Monday, July 28, 2025, near Utica. Youens is making the Great Loop, a 6,000-mile journey on his Jon boat. Youens is looking at setting a record for the longest someone has gone on a Jon boat. Youens has 84 gallons of fuel and no cooler. He sleeps on the boat at night with a planned 7-hour rest. (Scott Anderson)