I am approved for my Operator of Uninspector Passenger Vessel (OUPV) “Six Pack” captain’s license by the US Coast Guard.
I’m going to keep this short — or try to — because I’ve been working hard on getting my Great Loop blog up to date and need to spend more time doing that. I just wanted to share the news that the boat experience time, training, testing, and tedious application filing has all paid off: the US Coast Guard has approved my application for an OUPV Captain’s license. I should get the paperwork in the mail any day now and will (hopefully) have it forwarded by my house sitter before month-end.
What does this mean? It means that it’s now legal for me to take up to six passengers for hire on board my boat for tours, charters, or educational cruises. This is something I’d like to do to help me cover the cost of cruising for the next year or so along the Great Loop.
Here’s my boat, Do It Now, anchored in Belmont Bay, not far from the Potomac River.
What do I have in mind? Well, I’m thinking of the following options:
- Garmin Chartplotter and Autopilot classes. So many folks don’t understand how they can use the navigation equipment on their boats to reduce their workload and enhance safety. I’d like to show people how to use the features of this equipment while out on the water, actually crusing. I’m thinking a 4-hour course for up to two people at a time would be beneficial. I can do classes on my boat or on the student’s boat, provided the equipment is similar enough to mine.
- Single-Handing a Small Trawler course. A lot of people seem really surprised when they realize that I’m doing the Great Loop mostly solo. They think it’s hard to single-hand a boat. The reality is that it isn’t hard at all if you know your boat and a handful of tricks to make the hard part — usually docking and anchoring — easier. I’d like to take just one person at a time on a 4 to 7 day cruise to show them what I do, let them try it for themselves, and then pretend I’m not on board while finishing up the trip.
- Co-Captain course. Created primarily for a boat’s “first mate,” this course will cover everything the second in command needs to know to help the captain or take over for him (or her) in the event of an illness or accident. In today’s world, I expect this class to be of interest mostly to women cruising with their husbands. I’ve met too many couples on the Loop where the wife is in charge of cooking, cleaning, and tossing lines to dock hands and knows little or nothing else about operating the boat. My idea is to provide a ground up foundation of knowledge from boat operations, to trip planning, to handling emergencies. I think the second in command on any boat should be able to handle the boat when the captain needs help but the captain isn’t always the best teacher. I can be that teacher. 4 days on board should be enough to get started.
I’m also thinking about the possibility of offering 3-4 day mini cruises on the ICW to give folks a taste of what cruising is all about. Unfortunately, due to the relatively small size of my boat (and limited sleeping accommodations), it might not make for a comfortable journey folks are willing to pay for. This is something I need to explore more.
This is exactly the kind of thing I like to do: teach people something I know. I have an extensive background in training in classrooms and one-on-one, as well as charter work through my (recently sold) helicopter charter company. This should be easy for me. As usual, the hard part will be attracting potential clients. But I’m working on some ideas for that, too.
And you thought I was “retired”….
Wish me luck!
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In case you’re wondering, the title of this post calls back to 2004 when I got my Captain’s bars to fly for Papillon at the Grand Canyon. You can read about that here.
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Congrats, Capt!
Thanks so much!
Hi Maria, I know it’s been a while since I chatted with you. What happened to flying the helicopter in the north west part of the states. Have you retired doing that and now into a fishing boat? Congrats on becoming captain.
I sold the helicopter to buy my boat. I flew a little this past summer and do have some video footage to share, but I’m not very motivated to do the required editing. I’ll get to it eventually. I’ll be on my boat for the next year or so.
It’s all do what you want to do in life. I wish you well in your marine adventures. Take care Maria.
Wow, Maria, you never cease to amaze me with your adventures. I’m so excited to hear about this latest news, too. I’m incredibly happy for you.
BTW, I know I haven’t responded much here, but I do follow what you’re doing and love to see all this. I’m always thinking of you!
My big adventure involved moving to San Antonio just over a year ago now to be near family here. Sold my California is home, bought one here. Absolutely fantastic decision and quite a journey.
I’m so glad you landed safely and happily in Texas. I was worried about you.
I’ll be in Dallas in April for the eclipse and will be driving home from there to get my house ready for summer. And then driving back to wherever I’ve parked the boat. If the stars align, I’d love to meet up with you in San Antonio when I come through the area.
Good luck and well done skipper.
Thanks so much!
Now you’ll need ADSB for the trawler..a RadAlt…duplicate sectionals…and a video and audio storage from the bridge! Smooth Sailing!
Heck, no. The Coast Guard isn’t a micromanaging organization like the FAA.
And besides that, my boat is fully loaded with all the electronic gadgets you can imagine. I even have AIS receive and transmit, which is the equivalent of ADS-B in the aviation world. It came in handy just the other day when I was passing through a military practice area on the Potomac and the range boat was able to contact me by my boat’s name on the radio. Very cool.
Well done, congratulaions and best of luck. I’m sure what ever you do will be given 110%.
Thanks very much!
Fantastic, Maria!
Hi! I’ve always been smitten with Ranger Tugs; used to drool over them whenever I attended the boat shows in the Seattle area some years ago. Every once in a while, you’ll come across one on Lake Superior, where I keep one of my sailboats. Recently heard you on Trawler Talk; that’s how I found you and am looking forward to reading about your Great Loop adventures as well as diving into the content found within An Eclectic Mind! Fair winds, ~ Chelle
They really are good, mostly well-designed boats. I think there’s a dealer on Lake Michigan or Lake Huron. They are definitely NOT an east coast style.
I really need to get back to work on that book. Hopefully later this month.
P.S. Hoping one day you will offer paid crew positions on the Great Loop as you mentioned on Trawler Talk — the First Mate and I would love to come along for a leg (or two!) of the journey! Fair winds!
Unfortunately, I can’t afford to pay crew. What I was talking about on Trawler Talk is for passengers to pay me to cruise with me on the Loop. If I get that together, it likely won’t be before next year and it probably won’t be in my Ranger Tug. I need a boat with more space for up to 4 people to cruise comfortably. My Ranger Tug R-29 CB is NOT that boat!
Hi, Maria! So excited to see your replies! Thank you so much! Yes, ok, oh dear, I realize, now, I used the wrong terminology — I had meant to say that we would pay you for spots on your vessel — it would be absolutely amazing to learn from and cruise with you on the Great Loop! Hope my other message came through to you AOK via your Contact page. Fair winds, Captain Maria!
Hi, Captain Maria! I tried to reply earlier a few minutes ago, but it looks like my comment didn’t go through the first time, so I’m retrying. ☺️ Yes, re: Trawler Talk: I knew you had meant spots, onboard, folks could pay for to cruise with you; yikes, I used the wrong terminology to try to express myself — I am so sorry about that. We would absolutely be over-the-moon to pay for berths/voyage with you to help fund your Great Loop passage — would be an incredible experience for us to learn from you! I tried to use your Contact page to also reach out your way; hope those messages came through.
All comments here need to be manually approved until a person is whitelisted, so that’s why your comments have been delayed.
I did get your messages but I’ve been battling a cold and am totally swamped with chores after my return from a 2-week captain gig in Florida. I’ll get to your email now.
I should mention that I just opened up a bunch of dates this autumn to cruise with me on various classes in my boat in the San Juan Islands. You can find more info here: https://mygreatloopadventure.com/2025/08/solo-and-ranger-tug-one-and-two-day-classes-available-in-september-and-october/
Ok, thanks for letting me know on that, Maria! Thanks, also, for sending along that information with the link, I will check it out! We love that neck of the woods and lived in the Seattle area for 10 years, but didn’t get to see nearly as much as we would have liked to while we lived there. Also, hope you will feel better real soon! Fair winds!