A Wakulla County man has completed the Great Loop a nearly 4,900-mile boating journey around the eastern United States in honor of his late father.WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW: Wakulla man completes 4,884-mile Great Loop journey in honor of his late fatherDavid Barber set sail from the boat ramp at Shell Point 25 days ago to complete the excursion, which took him 25 days, 8 hours, and 39 minutes to finish.According to NOAA, the Great Loop is a continuous waterway that allows boaters to explore eastern North America. Barber's route took him from Wakulla down to the Okeechobee Canal, then up the East Coast to the Erie Canal, through the Great Lakes, down the Mississippi River, and along the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway to the Gulf, before returning home.Barber's father had talked about completing the journey but passed away before he could. Barber said he took on the challenge to honor him and to prove the trip is more accessible than many people think."My dad had talked about doing it several times, and I was like, 'We don't have a boat big enough. We can't do this.' And then I saw Robert Youens do it last year in his John Boat. Well, I got a boat that can do it, and it was something that Dad and I could talk about, and he could help me plan before he passed away," Barber said."To live life to the fullest, because he never was able to do it. You know, he was given, I was given the impression that you had to have a big boat and lots of money and all this. And that's something that kind of evolved throughout my loop was just impressions on people that you can do this, you can do whatever you want, just find a way to do it," Barber said.Barber documented his journey on social media, garnering over 19,000 followers. He met many of them throughout the trip."Whether it was helping put my gas tanks in the boat, or I had a family that came and met me, brought me a cheeseburger, a fishing pole, and a tackle box because they said they thought I'd be bored sitting around," Barber said.Friends and family gathered at Shell Point on Tuesday to welcome Barber home, including his mother, Janet Barber."I'm so proud of him. I can't even say how much it is. I've worried about him, but I'm proud," Janet Barber said.Even a follower from Georgia, Ricky Bailey, made the trip to Shell Point to greet Barber upon his return. Bailey said Barber's journey has been an inspiration to many."You see somebody doing a live feed, and everywhere he goes, people are cheering him on right next to him in their boats. Some of them breaking the waves for him, you know, getting him in safer and quicker. I mean, it's just awesome. Unity, I love it," Bailey said.Barber's family followed along from home, streaming his live updates on their television."We take the live and we pair it to our TV, and we're watching the live while we're eating dinner and we're commenting," his niece, Madison Sims, said.Barber said he is grateful for the support he received throughout the trip, crediting his followers with keeping him going. He plans to complete the Great Loop again in 2028.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website. Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.Like us on FacebookFollow us on Instagram and X. ...read more read less