Paddling The Blue Podcast

#81 - Dan Carr - Erupting Seals along the Maine Island Trail

Dan Carr, volunteer extraordinaire and friend of Jonathan Hearn and Katie Sylvester from episode #76 joins me today to talk about the Maine Island Trail. 
The trail extends along 375 miles of shoreline with more than 250 islands. Dan is going to share some of his favorite stories and a few of the must-visit islands along this paddler’s paradise.  
Learn:
Maine Island Trail Association
Leave No Trace - The 7 Principles
Special offer for Paddling the Blue listeners:
If you’re not already a subscriber, visit onlineseakayaking.com and use the coupon code PTBPODCAST at checkout and you’ll get 10% off up to 12 months of your subscription investment.  

#80 - Sean Pierce - For the Love of Islands

There’s something magical about islands to a paddler and that’s definitely true for Sean Pierce. For starters, he was the photo editor for Ireland’s foremost paddling guide book, Oilean (Irish for Island), so that should tell you something. 
Sean is known in the Irish sea kayaking community for both his involvement in the Irish Sea Kayaking Association, but even more so for his passionate pursuit of birding while visiting those islands. Today we will talk with Sean about the island that is Ireland, but also many others, including the worlds largest island. 
Thanks to Kevin O’Sullivan not only for referring Sean but for sending me a copy of Oilean.  As a self-confessed guidebook and map geek, it’s a favorite in my library.
Enjoy today’s episode with Sean Pierce!
Learn:
Shearwater Sea Kayaking
Oilean
Irish Sea Kayaking Association
Sakhalin
Kamchatka (sorry, not quite an island)
South Georgia Island

#79 - Remembering Jake Stachovak

Who is Jake Stachovak, and why did I decide to make a special episode just about him? Well, Jake is a paddler, and I would say just like the rest of us, but he wasn’t. There was only one Jake Stachovak.
Today’s episode will share some of the paddling highlights of the Great Loop trip that Jake brought to episode #2 while also hearing from just a few of his friends telling you about Jake as a person. 
Jake, thank you for the memories. Thank you for the inspiration. Thank you for the laughs. We are all better for knowing you. Paddle on, my friend. We miss you.
 
Photo Credit: Michael Franklin

#78 - Joe Solomon - Kayaking 4 a Cause on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers

Today’s guest is Joe Solomon, who joined me by way of referral from Madison Eklund from episode 73. He paddled the Ohio River and Mississippi River in support of mental health and we’ll talk with Joe about how paddling changed his life in more ways than one. 
Enjoy today’s episode with Joe Solomon!
Connect:
Kayaking 4 a Cause
Learn:
Mississippi River Angels
Adventure Crew Cincinnati
Special offer for Paddling the Blue listeners:
If you’re not already a subscriber, visit onlineseakayaking.com and use the coupon code PTBPODCAST at checkout and you’ll get 10% off up to 12 months of your subscription investment.  
 

#77 - Stand Up For Great Lakes

Kwin Morris, Joe Lorenz, and Jeff Guy are members of the Stand Up For Great Lakes team. This hearty crew is working on completing Stand Up Paddleboard crossings of each of the Great Lakes. They've done Lakes Michigan, Huron, Superior, and Erie and Ontario is next. We’re going to talk about what they’ve accomplished so far and what’s next. 
Kwin, Joe, and Jeff have been with the team from the start and have done all four lakes together. I do want to make sure we also give credit to Joel Mueller and Nick Darga too as they were members of the Lake Michigan crossing team.
Enjoy today’s episode with Stand Up for Great Lakes!
Learn:
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Great Lakes Historical Shipwreck Society
Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research
Connect:
Stand Up For Great Lakes
Special offer for Paddling the Blue listeners:
Visit onlineseakayaking.com and use the coupon code PTBPODCAST at checkout and you’ll get 10% off up to 12 months of your subscription investment.  Just another benefit of being a Paddling the Blue listener!
 

#76 - Jonathan Hearn and Kati Sylvester - Seeking Wonderment in Maine

Today I am joined by Jonathan Hearn and Kati Sylvester.  Jonathan and Kati embarked on an 88-day trip along the Maine coast and through the Canadian Maritimes. Join us for their adventure and hear about the gift they gave to themselves and their experience through this beautiful coastline.
Learn:
Maine Coast Heritage Trust
Maine Island Trail Association
Connect:
@seekingwonderment (YouTube)
Seeking.wonderment (Instagram)
Seeking Wonderment (website)
 

#75 - Douglas Wilcox - Stories, Sails, and Scary Knees in Scotland

Todays’s guest is Douglas Wilcox.  You may be familiar with Douglas' work testing boats and equipment. You can find his test results and trip reports online through Facebook, his website, and in magazines like Ocean Paddler over the years. He brings a natural curiosity to kayaking and that shows in today’s interview.  Douglas is a storyteller in every sense of the word, so get ready for us to cover a lot of ground.
Also, thank you to listeners who have taken the time to support the show by visiting our website at www.paddlingthebue.com  and clicking the Buy Me A Coffee link on the bottom right of the page. I really appreciate your support. Thank you!
Enjoy today's episode with Douglas Wilcox!
Connect:
SeaKayakPhoto.blogspot.com
 
Special offer for Paddling the Blue listeners from Online Sea Kayaking
Our friend Simon Osborne (episode 41),and James Stevenson, have created an online coaching resource with 14 different courses and over 30 hours of high-quality video in onlineseakayaking.com.  They’ve agreed to offer a special deal for Paddling the Blue podcast listeners.  If you’re not already a subscriber, here’s your chance.  Visit onlineseakayaking.com and use the coupon code PTBPODCAST at checkout and you’ll get 10% off up to 12 months or the first year of an annual subscription investment. 
 

#74 - Steve Ramsay - Yukon River Quest

Today I am talking with Steve Ramsay. Steve was referred to the show by Cyril Derreumaux. They met when Cyril was in the Yukon River Quest. The Yukon River Quest is one of the most iconic paddle races on the North American continent and you’re about to hear about it. 
I know someone out there may be thinking, isn’t this a podcast about kayaking? It is, primarily, but it’s fun to mix it up sometimes. Just like WE become better by exploring different craft, Paddling the Blue gets better too . While Steve may not have done the race in a kayak, they’re all boats, right? I used to do a lot of adventure racing back in the day and this is the kind of thing that really interests me.  There's something special about a good sufferfest and it certainly sounds like a beautiful river.  
Enjoy today’s episode with Steve Ramsay!
Connect:
Email: Steve (at) twelvedegrees.ca
Learn:
Yukon River Quest
Gold Rush Canoe Derby (1967 video)

#73 - Madison Eklund-1,600 miles solo by kayak to Hudson Bay

Today’s episode of Paddling the Blue features Madison Eklund.  At 26 and after three years of planning, Madison set off from Minnesota and paddled 1.600 miles solo through some beautiful territory to York Factory in Hudson Bay.  From farmland to sub-arctic, she experiences an adventure full of learning and the kindness of strangers.
Books:
Wilderness Rivers of Manitoba - Hap Wilson
Canoeing with the Cree-Eric Sevareid
Adventure North-Sean Bloomfield with Colton White
Expedition Alpine (Facebook Blog)
Expedition Alpine (Instagram)
About Expedition Alpine
Big Agnes Bob Swanson Memorial Grant
Abandon Anchor-A Bob Swanson Memorial Grant winner story
About Norway House
About Oxford House
Laurentian Divide
 
 

#72 - Olly Hicks - Greenland to Scotland by Kayak

Today’s episode of Paddling the Blue features Olly Hicks.  His accomplishments include rowing solo across the Atlantic Ocean from the USA to England after 124 days at sea, and at the time he did it, he was also the youngest to row any ocean solo. 
Olly also made the first row across the Tasman Sea from Tasmania to New Zealand, through 96 days alone on the notoriously wild southern ocean. 
If you caught episode 68 with Patrick Winterton, you heard Olly’s name there where we discussed the 200 mile crossing from the Shetland Islands to Norway in memory of the World War Two Shetland Bus Operation.
Following the Shetland Bus, Olly and George Bullard pulled off an incredible trip from Greenland to Scotland.  
Enjoy today’s episode with Olly Hicks!
Connect:
Ollyhicks.com
Learn:
In the wake of the Finmen (Kotatat website)
Voyage of the Finmen (Red Bull movie)