Sun Coast Gondolier in Venice, Florida

Ambitious canoeists fulfill their dream voyage across America

Casey Murphree and Richard Tyhurst, both Arkansas natives and former Boy Scout leaders, travel in a 19 foot aluminum canoe with a homemade sail. They began February 12 from New Orleans aiming to circle the eastern half of the United States by water, planning to reach November completion. They navigate via coast guard float plans, camp nightly, and rely on field skills along the Intracoastal Waterway to Norfolk, Chesapeake Bay, the Delaware River, New York, Hudson, Great Lakes, Lake Michigan to Chicago, then back to the Mississippi.