Perception at Sea: Tocaro Blue's Technology on the Great Loop Challenge
Tocaro Blue is proud to once again support Captain Red Flowers as he takes on the 2026 Great Loop Challenge, an expanded 7,300+ nautical mile journey raising funds and awareness for the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation. ProteusCore™ guided Red safely throughout his record-breaking run in 2024, and we're back again this year with ApolloCore™ to help him finish what he started.
The Captain Behind the Mission
Red's story is personal. As a cancer survivor himself, he was inspired by the courage of the kids he met along the way. It is in their honor that he decided to take on the Great Loop Challenge. In 2024, he ran the original 6,000-mile route in a record-setting 19 days and 19 hours, raising national awareness for pediatric cancer research. That first journey didn't hit the full $1 million goal, so in 2026, Red is back on the water, powered by Honda Marine, to close it out.
Captain Red Flowers
The Perception Layer
Getting a vessel safely around the loop takes a team, and Tocaro Blue is proud to bring the perception piece. Our ProteusCore and ApolloCore software are built to work with off-the-shelf marine sensors, like Red's Raymarine Cyclone Radar and Teledyne FLIR Marine M364C PTZ camera, and layer in real-time detection, classification, and tracking of objects on the water. That means Red isn't just seeing more, he's understanding what's around him: other vessels, obstacles, and hazards, tracked and classified in real time to sharpen his situational awareness at sea. It's the same core technology whether there's a captain on board making the calls or no one on board at all, which makes runs like this one such a valuable proving ground for both our manned and unmanned applications. Every mile, in every kind of weather and traffic, helps us refine the software and push maritime perception further.
ApolloCore detects, classifies, and tracks Red's vessel as he passes behind a barge
Tocaro Blue Welcomes Captain Red
Tuesday Aug. 25th, we celebrated Red's stop in Pensacola with a meet and greet at Pensacola Yacht Club, where Tocaro Blue had the opportunity to present a donation to the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation in support of the mission. A big thank you to WKRG News 5 for coming out to welcome Red and share his story with the Pensacola community.
Tocaro Blue presents check for National Pediatric Cancer Foundation
Hannah O'Gara from WKRG News 5 with Jeff Thornton and Captain Red Flowers
The Partners Making It Possible
Equipping the whole vessel for a journey like this is a true team effort among OEM partners, with everyone's piece working together to get Red safely around the loop: Honda Marine powering the boat, Hefring Marine tracking it, Raymarine and Teledyne FLIR Marine on the electronics, and Tocaro Blue's software tying the sensor data together into real-time perception. Thank you as well to Portā Products, Sharrow Marine, and the many other partners who helped make this vessel, and this mission, possible.
Proud to Support the Mission
Thank you, Red, for turning an incredible maritime challenge into an opportunity to make a real difference for kids fighting cancer. We're proud to support the mission both on and off the water.