Art Wittmack, father of ultra-adventurer Charlie Wittmack, is planning an unusual trek of his own in 2017. You remember Charlie, the Des Moines native who created the World Triathlon, an 11-month swim, bike and mountain climb journey from England to Mount Everest. Art Wittmack, who formerly led Neumann Brothers and the Science Center of Iowa,  wants to do something called the “great loop,” which involves piloting a sailboat from Lake Michigan down the Illinois and Mississippi rivers and other inland waterways to Florida, then up the Atlantic Coast to the Hudson River, Erie Canal and back to Lake Michigan.