There are fast boats, and long-distance boats. And then there are boats built to do something that sounds almost unreasonable: travel more than 7,300 nautical miles, essentially around the clock, across a complicated network of rivers, lakes, bays, coastal waters and open-water passages—all while raising money to help children battling cancer.
That is the goal of the 2026 Great Loop Challenge powered by Honda Marine.
Led by cancer survivor Captain Scott “Red” Flowers and his team of experienced mariners, the challenge combines high-performance boating, endurance, technology and philanthropy in a single extraordinary undertaking.
Joining Captain Flowers are Scott Portā, President and Founder of Portā Products and inventor of the Portā Hydraulic Transom System, Jim “Slim” Berns, Vice President of Operations, Sharrow Marine and others.
Honda Marine is the title sponsor, supplying funding, technical support and the propulsion system: twin Honda BF350 V8 outboards powering a custom Portā DARK:30 Velocity.
But the engines and the boat, impressive as they are, aren’t really the heart of this story.
The heart is the reason Flowers keeps coming back to the water.
During his own battle with stage 4 melanoma, Flowers encountered children undergoing cancer treatments. The experience profoundly changed him. In 2024, he turned his passion for boating into a fundraising platform, completing a roughly 6,500-nautical-mile Great Loop run in 19 days, 19 hours and 50 minutes while raising $450,000 for the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation (NPCF).
“The 2026 Great Loop Challenge powered by Honda Marine is an outstanding example of what happens when innovation and purpose come together to drive real impact for children with cancer,” said Christopher Geib, Chief Development Officer, the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation. “Every mile helps bring more attention and resources to research that can accelerate clinical trials, advance new treatment options and move us closer to faster cures. With Captain Flowers and his crew, Honda Marine, and participating partners, this effort becomes a meaningful platform to inspire communities to rally behind kids and families in the fight of their lives.”
Now, Captain Flowers is going farther.
The 2026 challenge expands the route beyond 7,300 nautical miles and carries a $1 million fundraising goal.
A Boat Built for the Mission
Scott Portā is a marine industry innovator and offshore powerboat racer from New Smyrna Beach, Florida, best known for inventing the Portā Bracket hydraulic transom lift system.
Scott and his talented team crafted a special hydraulic transom lift to meet the extreme nature of the Great Loop Challenge.
The Portā DARK:30 Velocity is more than a high-performance boat with a pair of big engines bolted to the transom.
The vessel has been configured specifically around the demands of the challenge, bringing together performance, endurance, navigation, communications, stabilization, safety and crew-support technologies from a long list of marine partners.
For Honda Marine, the Great Loop Challenge provides thousands of miles of real-world operation data and provides an opportunity to demonstrate how the BF350 performs when reliability isn’t an abstract engineering specification but a requirement for completing the mission.
Honda describes the BF350 as its flagship high-power outboard, emphasizing power, acceleration, fuel efficiency, quiet operation and low vibration. The Great Loop puts those attributes to an unusually demanding test.
Where Performance Meets Purpose
What makes the Great Loop Challenge particularly compelling is the unusual marriage between engineering and emotion.
The crew runs 24/7, stopping when necessary for fuel, maintenance, weather, safety and fundraising activities. Along the route, the team connects with boating communities and supporters while providing updates on the vessel’s progress and the fundraising campaign.
Why Honda’s Involvement Matters
Honda Marine has committed $10,000 to the initiative, while helping provide the technology and support necessary for the challenge.
“At Honda, we believe high performance means more when it serves a purpose,” said Josh Matthews, Director, Honda Marine Division. “The 2026 Great Loop Challenge powered by Honda Marine gives us the chance to demonstrate the endurance, efficiency and reliability of Honda BF350 outboards in a true real-world test—while helping raise funds and awareness for pediatric cancer research through the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation. We’re proud to power this effort, support it as title sponsor, and back the mission with a direct donation.”
All for the Kids
The 2026 Great Loop Challenge is compelling because it doesn’t ask you to choose between adventure and purpose. It delivers both.
From a human perspective, however, it is something much more meaningful.
Captain Red Flowers has taken an intensely personal experience and turned it into a moving platform for pediatric cancer awareness and fundraising. The fact that the vehicle for that mission is a high-performance boat makes the story even more compelling.
The most impressive number may not be 700 horsepower.
It may not be 7,300 nautical miles.
And it may not even be the $1 million fundraising target.
The number worth watching is the number of children whose families ultimately benefit from the attention and resources generated by the challenge.
You can support this outstanding initiative through this link: donate
