T
he title of his blog may be “Six Thousand Miles Alone in a
Dinghy,” but thanks to the support of his family and the
pickleball community at large, David Pike has been anything
but lonely.
On August 7, Pike left his home in Michigan to follow a
6,000-mile route around the Great Loop—solo.
Throughout each leg of his journey, Pike, 68, has been
meeting and playing with pickleball players from each state,
while accomplishing a long-held dream.
“I learned about the Great Loop a number of years ago and
was intrigued with the idea of being able to make this journey
with little exposure to big water,” he explains.
The Great Loop is the name given to the circumnavigation of
eastern North America by water. The trip can vary from 5,000
to 7,000 miles, depending on the route options boaters take.
The loop takes those boaters—known as “loopers”—through
numerous states, including Michigan, Illinois, Tennessee,
Alabama, Florida, the Carolinas, Delaware and New York.
Thus far, Pike has traveled through Illinois, Missouri and
Kentucky. As of late August, he was traveling to Tennessee,
Alabama and then on to Florida. He hopes to reach Key West by
early October and winter the boat at Fort Myers beach.
“During the winter, I will lay out my course for my return trip
up the east coast. I will be looking to play at venues along the
way, so those states on the east coast can drop me a note if they
are available and close to the coast,” he says. He plans to begin
his return trip on May 1.
Pike, who has homes in both Michigan and Arizona, started
playing pickleball about five or six years ago. At the time, he and
his wife Ann had been traveling by RV and staying at the Palm
Creek RV Park in Casa Grande.
“I saw all these people playing this funny-looking sport and
thought I would give it a try,” he says. “They told me it was
addictive and they were right. Location of pickleball courts and
active clubs was one of those checkmarks when we purchased
our last two homes.
Dave's journey — the day before leaving.
“I like to eat, so pickleball is a fun exercise that allows me to
eat more,” he adds. “It’s that simple.”
Pike plays both singles and doubles, and plays a few
tournaments a year.
“I’m a 3.5 player struggling, like a lot of people, to be a 4.0,”
he says. “But it doesn’t really matter to me. As I get older, the
competitiveness is not as important as enjoying what I am
doing. Getting a great workout, spending time with friends and
working to improve my game for my own satisfaction is my end
game and goal.”
Along his journey, Pike has played pickleball and met
numerous players in St. Joe, Mich.; Peru, Ill.; Cape Girardeau,
Mo.; and Paducah, Ky. As of p ress time, he had logged around
800 miles, with about 5,200 to go.
Pike says he chose to travel the waterways in a dinghy
because he was “too old” for a canoe or kayak. He knew he
wanted an economical vessel with sufficient storage. He
searched the Internet and found the right rig: a 15-foot Walker
Bay Generation 450 that he aptly named “Journey.”
“Ann and I have had a big boat and even spent a summer in
Alaska on it. There are many stressors that come with having a
big boat. Many systems can fail and break. I’m not the hands-on
handyman, so the answer to that was to get something simple.
If you don’t have systems, they can’t break,” he explains.
Continued »
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 |
MAGAZINE
15