PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A year and a half on the open water may sound like a pipe dream to some but one couple is making it happen, and sharing their story while in South Florida.
Susan and Greg Costa are taking an 18-month journey on their 35-foot boat "Lucky Me" and are currently spending a few days at the Riviera Beach City Marina. They'll travel through 16 states, the Bahamas, Canada, more than 100 locks and travel more than 6,000 miles navigating America's Great Loop.
The name of the boat is "Lucky Me," which has a dual meaning for the New England couple that met and married later in life.
"Occasionally I would say I'm so lucky to have met her, she would say no she's the lucky one," Greg says. "So, when it came to buying the boat, "Lucky Me" is just an extension of that. We're just both lucky, we include the boat. She's lucky to have us as owners and we're lucky to have her and we're lucky to be together."
They've been married for almost three years and decided two years ago to start planning the bucket list trip to boat around America's Great Loop.
"Lots of planning, two years, budgeting, figuring out a lot of different factors, Greg retired early," Susan says. "Two years now we've done everything we can to make this a reality."
Susan was a lifelong boater, but not Greg. When they were on their honeymoon, they decided they wanted to buy a boat.
Three weeks into their 18-month journey, their trip brought them to Palm Beach County, docking at the Riviera Beach Marina for a few days.
"We go when we want to go, we stop when we feel like stopping, explore. Every day is different."
But there is a strategy to their timing.
"You want to be in certain spots for when we do the whole 18 months, and we start the loop in May, we have to be (in certain places) for certain seasons, you have to be in the summer in Canada and we'll go counterclockwise."
The couple's next stop is Miami, then they'll spend about a month in the Bahamas before heading for the loop.
The adventure is not only about them. They are helping the community along the way.
"About once a week we like to do at least a half day, if not a full day, of volunteer work," Susan says.
In Charleston, South Carolina they fed the Coast Guard pizza during the government shut down, and they worked with Mustard Seed Ministries in Fort Pierce to pack food for those in need.
Susan says, "we are extremely fortunate, extremely blessed to be able to have this opportunity to take 18 months and just go with it."
You can follow the couple's journey on their Facebook page here..