Robert Youens left Pensacola, Florida, in a sixteen-foot aluminum johnboat at 7:31 a.m. on July 12, with the goal of navigating America’s Great Loop as fast as he could. Roughly 4,800 miles, 64 locks, an undisclosed number of gallons of gas he wishes to hide from his wife, and one hard landing along the bank later, the 71-year-old Austinite has become something of a celebrity in the johnboating world. Fans lined waterways to snap photos as he passed by, tossed him sandwiches and cold drinks, penned songs about him, asked him to sign their life jackets, waved banners, and motored alongside as he circumnavigated the eastern United States.The so-called Jon Boat GOAT finished his run to fanfare when he crossed his wake nineteen days, thirteen…
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