#169 - Developing paddling skills and confidence and listening to yourself with Elaine Shooter Alexander

WEBVTT

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Welcome to Paddling the Blue. With each episode, we talk with guests from the

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Great Lakes and around the globe who are doing cool things related to sea kayaking.

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I'm your host, my name is John Chase, and let's get started Paddling the Blue.

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Welcome to today's episode of the Paddling the Blue podcast.

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Elaine Alexander, or Shooter as she is known to friends, joins today's episode

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of the podcast to talk about her growth in paddle sports, deciding she was ready

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to circumnavigate Ireland, and her involvement with Summit to Sea for MND.

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Before we get to today's conversation with Shooter, James Stevenson and Simon

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Osborne at OnlineSeekHiking.com continue to produce great content to help you

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evolve as a paddler and as a coach.

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You'll find everything from basic strokes and safety to paddling in tides,

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surfing, coaching, documentaries, expedition skills, and incident management, and more.

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So if you're not already a subscriber to OnlineSeekHiking.com,

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here's your opportunity to get started, visit OnlineSeaKhiking.com,

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being a member of the Paddling the Blue community.

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And while you're there, be sure to check out the community section where you'll

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find an interview with me. A big thanks to Simon and Daniel for hosting me on one of their meetups.

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And for those of us who also enjoy paddling whitewater boats,

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be sure to check out OnlineWhitewater.com.

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They're also offering the same discount to listeners using the same code PTBPODCAST to check out.

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And I'd love to help you put those skills to work. I offer a wide range of programs

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in the Great Lakes and beyond from paddling skill development,

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instructor certifications, workshops, CPR and wilderness first aid, guided trips, and more.

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In fact, on the day this episode comes out, I'll actually be leading a group in Alaska.

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So visit www.paddlingtheblue.com, click the courses and trips link at the top

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of the page, and I hope to see you on the water.

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Enjoy today's interview with shooter alexander hello shooter welcome to peddling the blue,

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Hi, John. Thanks for having me. Absolutely. Absolutely. This is going to be

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fun. I've been looking forward to this. We've been talking for a little while

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here about getting together, and Robert Henshaw introduced you to the show,

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and I appreciate you taking the time. Yeah.

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Hopefully, I'm looking forward to it. Well, great. So, let's start with how

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did you get your start as a paddler?

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I started quite late into the paddling. I think I was 20 years old.

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I was on a college course.

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Part of that course had the kayaking module.

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The first experience I went out kayaking, I had to be towed back at the end of the session.

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I couldn't get myself in a straight line. But thankfully 10 weeks later,

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I was able to paddle in a straight line.

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And then from that, I went on to do a trainee outdoor instructor course which

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was based over in Fermanagh that was a one year trainee course we had six months

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of training and then six months of work so during the six months of training,

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there was plenty of opportunities there to go paddling, we were introduced to

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canoes, surf kayaking sea kayaking,

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and the center being based the shannon air system meant we could go away and

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get loads of camping trips,

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and the other the other good thing in chair was my boss robert livingstone was

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also a paddler and he then introduced me me to see kayaking over on the west coast,

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of ireland so in the early days i was given plenty of paddling opportunities

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while i was working at the center,

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so that that That training course, the instructor course.

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Well, first of all, congratulations on keeping that straight line.

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And then you went from learning how to keep that straight line to the instructor course.

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How much time between that? It was probably six months. Okay.

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The college course, and then we started in September, the training course.

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So we would have trained from September to March over the winter doing skills.

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So I really, I could paddle on a straight line after 10 weeks in the college

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course, but all the rest, you know, I spent the winter in taught skills and stuff. Yeah.

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So now that's interesting. You said it was a year long course.

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Tell us, tell us about the structure of that year long course.

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It was brilliant. The Shares Centre had been running it for a number of years.

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So you came in September, you did six months training in all the hard skills

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you were taught in paddling, sailing, wood surfing, power boating and then all the land activities.

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You spent the winter out training and then during the summer from March to the

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end of August, we then worked with the groups looking through the centre.

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So we did the hard skills in the winter and then we put soft skills for six

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months working with schools and different youth groups and other organisations.

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When you put the two together you felt like an outdoor instructor at the end of the year.

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Of course, during the six months when we worked with the schools and the different

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groups, we would have taken weekends or evenings and stuff.

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We would have had the kayaks loaded in cars and just headed off to the beach,

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or headed off to the rivers at the weekend and just continued to go through the courses.

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So were you working at Share Discovery Village prior to starting that course?

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No, I started in Share in 1995.

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Okay. Did the outdoor course, the year's training. I did another year's training

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course after that. And then I was employed for three or four years.

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And then one of the winters, I was out kayaking, river kayaking.

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And probably I was on the reeling, a river I probably shouldn't have been on.

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But I took a swim, hurt my knee, and then that ended the paddling for a couple

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of months. I had to get an operation through physio to get it loosened up.

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But during that period where I couldn't get in the water and do stuff,

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that's where I decided I needed to go and get myself a bit of education.

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So I went back to uni and I did a degree course.

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And after the degree course, I then worked in a couple other outdoor centres,

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one on the east coast over in Carlingford direction.

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And then I worked over on the west coast for two summers at Actal Outdoor Centre.

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And then after that, I came back to share.

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And Robert, the boss at the time, he offered me the position then of running the outdoor course.

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So I was now the person in charge of delivering that.

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And I did that outdoor course pre-COVID for 17 years.

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Well, that really came full circle then, from student to teacher.

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Yeah, it was brilliant because whenever I got to deliver and run the trainee program,

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I was taking in 10 trainee instructors each year, and you'd bring them from

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scratch right up to being their canoe instructor or kayak instructor.

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Well, congratulations.

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I enjoyed the work.

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Excellent. Excellent. Well, congratulations on that. So that's a pretty comprehensive

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program. And when you first mentioned it, I was thinking that it was just paddle

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sports. But you said sailing, canoeing, kayaking, windsurfing, everything.

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Yeah. Every activity that we delivered in the center, you were trained in that.

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You were brought up with the ethos of the center because we were a Charlie Outdoor

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Center. And we worked a lot with special needs.

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So it was important.

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The training instructors when they finish their train and say come march that

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you trust with them to go out take groups out make sure they're having fun and

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they were safe while they were doing it,

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super well we'll talk a little bit more about uh about share discovery village

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and the work that you do there and and that in a little while,

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but let's talk a little bit about a bar of a couple other things before we get

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to that so first your your nickname shooter how did you get the nickname shooter.

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I thought you're probably gonna ask that one john there's no there's no real

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exciting story behind us i got it when i first started at the share center 95

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i'm not even 100 sure where the name came from,

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i used to do a wee bit of hunting and shooting at home and i thought maybe that's

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where i got it and then somebody else from the course i used to take a lot of

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photographs they always had a camera that's to me buoyancy it and somebody was

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saying about shooting photos so,

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i'm not 100 sure where the nickname came out of,

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but i'm gonna go with the taking photos one all right all right do you still do a lot of photography,

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uh well i would i would carry a camera with me yeah nowadays the phone sometimes,

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sure it's over just from using a camera yeah Yeah. Makes it a little bit easier sometimes.

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Yeah, definitely. So in addition to your work at SHARE and helping grow other

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instructors, you've had an adventure a number of years back where you did a

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solo circumnavigation of Ireland.

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So first, congratulations on that. That's a great accomplishment. Yeah.

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Tell us about your experience circumnavigating Ireland.

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If I was to go back a step before going around Ireland. Sure.

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And just, I'll give you a very brief intro on the paddle around Ulster. Yeah.

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I was supposed to paddle around Ireland in 2011,

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but I remember I wasn't overly experienced. I had a sea kayak,

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but it wasn't a blast load or anything. It wasn't a fast kayak.

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And I remember one day at work Robert said to me how's your planning trip planning

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going for around Ireland and I had to think I didn't even have to think I just says,

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a kind of it's not going at the minute I'm not overly prepared or planned I

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need to get boats I need to get a boat equipment I,

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didn't have a good enough understanding really of what I'd taken on so Robert

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then said well well, why don't you just paddle around Ulster?

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That was me leaving the share centre on the shores of Loch Erre.

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And so from there, I could go inland two days up to the Dunedal coastline,

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paddle around the west coast, the north coast, and come back in the east coast

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and come up through Dundalk Bay.

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And then there was a few rivers that linked up, and that brought me back to

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share. That was a circumaccumulation of.

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260 miles. When Robert said about paddling around Ulster, he probably thought,

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well, sure, if she does that, it'll get it out of her system.

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But it was the first big expedition that I did, that I did solo on my own.

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There was a lot of learning in that for me, which helped before for the following

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year to paddle around Ireland.

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One of the things like i had 22 days paddling in the water there was four race

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days on that the very first day that i hit the coast,

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i was paddling out through the the harbor at valley shannon and i remember getting

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in the water at six o'clock that morning loaded the boat,

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the sea was flat calm there was a fisherman fishing over about 20 meters away

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from it and i remember getting in the water i waited him and i paddled all night,

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and the sea was just rolling so i went out through the bar mouth,

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and headed straight across Flanagal Bay to St. John's Point.

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And as I'm paddling over, the next thing, the Coast Guard helicopter is circling over me.

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So I just looked up and thought, well, I'll get the camera out.

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There's a bit of video footage here.

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Didn't think anything else. The helicopter disappeared after five minutes.

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And then as I headed on over towards St. John's Point, there's a local fishing boat come across.

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The newest star from from Stigl's Thielum paddling the boat says to me oh it's

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great to see you're upright and you're paddling everybody was looking for you

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there this morning so I was like,

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sure I've been just paddling across and then it clicked the helicopter was above

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looking down at me so the fisherman,

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had made a phone call to the the Coast Guard I must went through the bar mouth

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he didn't see me that morning I packed my phone into the hatch of the boat,

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so whenever I got across to St.

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John's Point, stopped to go to the loo, pulled the phone out.

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There was a number of missed calls. So that first learning experience from me

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and the CEO was stick the phone onto my boy and see it beside my camera. So I.

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The whole trip going around Ulster, I met people, kindness and generosity of

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people. I seen what was out there.

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The weather, the first six days was brilliant. It was flat, calm seas.

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Then the winds and the weather started to change. The first day that I was stormbound was on day six.

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I ended up camping on one of the small islands in a shear.

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I spent the day on my own with the wind, just picking up.

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But I was able to, I got the feeling of what it's like to be storm-bound on my own, on an island.

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And just how mentally, actually I didn't mind my own company,

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I enjoyed my own company.

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Which I found out would be a load more of those days before paddling around Ireland.

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But going around Ulster, there was a number of key people that I had met or I knew from Cher.

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When I worked delivering the trainee course in Cher, people like John O'Neill,

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Adrian Harkin, they came in and did the kayaking courses.

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And both of them were based up around Donegal, so I was able to call in on them.

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And they offered support. So if I needed a weather update or if there was anything

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I needed, I knew there were only a phone call away.

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So the trip paddling around Ulster it gave me so many learning opportunities

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and a better understanding of what was going to come the following year.

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And then that winter that winter

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then I spent a load of weekends any weekends it was free or off work,

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with Adrian Harkin he would have been heading out paddling and he would have

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given me a phone call if he wanted to come up working out with the club and

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that actually gave me a lot more experience and a bit more understanding of

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the sea and what was going to be involved with it.

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I suppose for the following year then, paddling around Ireland...

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The 3rd of May, I said the 3rd of May, that was going to be the start date.

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The previous year, paddling around Ulster, whenever I paddled around the north

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coast and I came in at Whitehead, I pulled in on the slipway there,

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and I was like, where do I set the tent up here?

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Because I'm not far in Belfast. There was a lot of people floating about.

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It was an area I didn't really feel that safe to set the tent up.

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But I'm sitting on the slipway, and this man walks over, David,

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and he was from Whitehead Yacht Club and he said, quick conversation just another

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example of people coming over and chatting to you and asking and I'm like,

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I'm looking to put the tent up,

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and David says, well I don't think I would put it up around here I would go

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up the main street and just get a B&B or something so he actually took my kayak

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and put it safely into their container,

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and said, you know what time do you want it,

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the next morning, I says I'll be pushing off but he had to talk to the next day.

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Dave and Raymond, another man, come over and just chatting away.

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And they said that the following year, they were going to be opening up one of their boathouses.

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And if I wanted to start my trip around Ireland up there, they would tie in

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opening their boathouse and get a bit of media and stuff. So the following year,

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the 3rd of May, is that for heading around Ireland.

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It's always the goodness of people. I mean, of all the episodes that I've done,

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when we talk about different trips, the people always fit into the trip and

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just make it what it is. I'm glad you had that experience with folks.

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Definitely. And that was the whole way around the coast of Ireland.

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I did know a lot of coaches and people around it.

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But the generosity of strangers, I think of kayaks, like a magnet.

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If you're walking the dog or they're walking past, we just come over and they

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start chatting. What are you doing?

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They used to say to me you know where have you come from i would say belfast,

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and this could be me further down the east coast or on the south coast and just look at you,

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but again between the people you meet and the weather i think they're the two

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key elements of anybody that's popping around ireland i i had headwinds so in the summer 2011.

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The weather i started early thinking yeah i'll get a month here the weather's

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going to be okay but it wasn't as I'm crossing the very day I'm crossing Belfast Rock,

00:17:05.891 --> 00:17:10.592
there's headwinds and it's quite windy because on the morning Robert says what's

00:17:10.592 --> 00:17:13.340
your plan B here actually and I just says well,

00:17:14.070 --> 00:17:19.292
plan A is to get across and luckily that day I had a couple other paddlers Richard

00:17:19.292 --> 00:17:24.687
Hobson, Ashley, Hunter, Cameron Dolan and some other randomer they were,

00:17:25.808 --> 00:17:30.985
all set out in the water so when I launched they were there to paddle across from the first day just,

00:17:32.123 --> 00:17:33.475
to give me that way better support.

00:17:34.906 --> 00:17:42.482
But, I mean, I paddled across, I paddled down the East Coast and I'm just paddling into headwinds.

00:17:43.417 --> 00:17:47.956
I turned to come along the south coast and again the wind changes I'm into headwinds

00:17:48.142 --> 00:17:52.751
and on the south coast I ended up, it was a week I had to come off the water

00:17:53.157 --> 00:17:56.437
thanks to Paddy McCormick who I knew from Open Canoe,

00:17:57.107 --> 00:18:00.617
his family were based in Waterford and I ended up staying with them for nearly

00:18:00.617 --> 00:18:03.236
the guts of a week before I was able to get back,

00:18:04.337 --> 00:18:09.369
onto the water and I suppose whenever it was really when I crossed the Shannon,

00:18:10.145 --> 00:18:14.882
that's when the weather actually started to improve and at that point,

00:18:15.604 --> 00:18:19.507
I was sitting down in Kerry I can't remember the name of the wee harbour I was

00:18:19.507 --> 00:18:25.251
in but that was the point where I was supposed to be back in work I'd asked for two months off,

00:18:26.437 --> 00:18:30.171
but I should have been back in work and when I phoned Robert and said look,

00:18:31.395 --> 00:18:37.027
I'm still down in Kerry here I have another few weeks to go Robert's response

00:18:37.027 --> 00:18:40.429
was alright so we'll send your P45 down by a pigeon.

00:18:41.887 --> 00:18:44.627
Which thankfully So I never received it.

00:18:44.912 --> 00:18:48.359
But once I crossed the Shannon, the weather then started to improve.

00:18:48.769 --> 00:18:52.207
There was a couple of fellas from work who also came down there to give me some

00:18:52.207 --> 00:18:55.292
support as I was coming up the West Coast.

00:18:55.838 --> 00:19:00.427
So that's pretty unique that you mentioned that the harder weather was on the

00:19:00.427 --> 00:19:04.198
East and the South Coast, but it got better as you got around to the West Coast.

00:19:04.947 --> 00:19:07.832
Yeah, I thought it would have been the other way about.

00:19:07.978 --> 00:19:12.227
Yeah. The East Coast was okay because when you're paddling down,

00:19:12.227 --> 00:19:15.872
you're not too far off, so you can't still land.

00:19:16.837 --> 00:19:20.218
Whenever it started to become difficult for me it was on the South Coast.

00:19:20.992 --> 00:19:25.177
So when I paddle or turn around Carnesville Point and I'm coming across,

00:19:25.177 --> 00:19:30.158
I pulled in just before Kilmore Quay and I pulled into an area where there was a wee bit of beach dump,

00:19:30.764 --> 00:19:36.232
and I remember there being off the water, putting the tent up behind a row of bales of hay,

00:19:37.094 --> 00:19:41.424
But I ended up being there two days. And at that stage, water and food was starting

00:19:41.424 --> 00:19:45.624
to run, to run a wee bit low. But for me to get back onto the water through

00:19:45.624 --> 00:19:49.090
a wee beach dump, I just wasn't confident enough, so I didn't.

00:19:49.736 --> 00:19:54.403
Like, the whole trip around Ireland, it was no speed record.

00:19:54.560 --> 00:19:57.854
It took me 71 days to paddle around.

00:19:57.854 --> 00:20:02.838
So it was 20 days off the water stormbound and 51 days in the water.

00:20:03.274 --> 00:20:07.484
Probably when I crossed the Shannon one of the fellas, Barry Flanagan Barry

00:20:07.484 --> 00:20:12.094
came down from Cher Robert brought him down and I had him.

00:20:13.688 --> 00:20:17.778
It started to make it a bit more enjoyable because whenever you finish at the

00:20:17.778 --> 00:20:21.208
end of the day, it wasn't me trying to get the kayak above high water.

00:20:21.842 --> 00:20:24.867
It was two of us, and we were able to share the load a bit more.

00:20:25.395 --> 00:20:27.926
Always makes it easier with friends, right? Yeah.

00:20:28.588 --> 00:20:31.878
There was a Mark Taylor down in his barry, and I had another fella,

00:20:31.878 --> 00:20:34.892
Owen, who paddled around Donegal Coastline. And it was just,

00:20:35.130 --> 00:20:40.794
it was nice. It was coming. I'd already spent a fair bit of time on my own solo paddling.

00:20:41.959 --> 00:20:45.708
To then have a few or an extra set of hands. Yeah, it was just,

00:20:45.708 --> 00:20:46.823
it made it more enjoyable.

00:20:47.218 --> 00:20:49.976
So how did you know that you were ready for the trip?

00:20:50.713 --> 00:20:53.598
Actually, I think if I was to do the trip again now, tomorrow,

00:20:54.341 --> 00:20:58.535
I would feel ready. But when I did it, I'm not sure I ever felt ready.

00:20:59.204 --> 00:21:03.389
I would say it's probably one of the slowest records that there is out there.

00:21:04.148 --> 00:21:08.164
The reason for that is because I wasn't overly experienced.

00:21:08.819 --> 00:21:13.568
I didn't have the confidence. I'd done a fair bit pre-heading round and that

00:21:13.568 --> 00:21:18.611
was with Adrian and any other weekends that I could get off work and get out.

00:21:19.325 --> 00:21:24.470
If I had had more time, maybe a year or two doing that, I would have felt ready.

00:21:26.109 --> 00:21:31.839
But I think the reason for me why or how I got it completed was the support,

00:21:32.547 --> 00:21:33.696
that I was given on the way.

00:21:34.021 --> 00:21:36.582
I had a couple of people that was only a phone call away.

00:21:37.334 --> 00:21:43.961
Two people, Jason and Scotty who did the social media got the weather forecasts.

00:21:45.241 --> 00:21:48.339
There was other people around the coastline I was able to call on if I needed.

00:21:48.897 --> 00:21:52.035
You know, different headlands, slying heads.

00:21:52.795 --> 00:21:57.903
Anything I researched was always horror stories. You had to be a mile and a half out off the coast.

00:21:58.553 --> 00:22:01.967
There was all these reefs you could paddling through for acres.

00:22:02.193 --> 00:22:06.547
But the very day that I did slying head, I remember that morning on the water,

00:22:06.698 --> 00:22:13.244
early 6 o'clock, and the sea was flat-ish. It was flat. It probably was flat.

00:22:13.825 --> 00:22:18.101
But I was able to come in close to Inland and I remember I came around and I

00:22:18.101 --> 00:22:20.492
was like, where's all these reefs and breakers? But...

00:22:21.304 --> 00:22:27.776
I tucked in inside a couple of rocks, and then I had a wee handheld GPS on me.

00:22:28.183 --> 00:22:30.904
And I remember looking at the map and trying to figure out where I was.

00:22:30.904 --> 00:22:34.155
So I put the GPS on, got the grid reference, put it onto the map,

00:22:34.750 --> 00:22:36.921
and I was actually around Slyon Head.

00:22:37.055 --> 00:22:39.487
So it was just like a relief.

00:22:39.824 --> 00:22:43.436
And again, for any of the other headlands, Malon Head was another one.

00:22:44.048 --> 00:22:47.034
But previously, I had been out around it a few times with Adrian,

00:22:47.034 --> 00:22:50.692
which I knew where to pull in, what to look for.

00:22:51.139 --> 00:22:52.973
And it actually ended up quite an easy one.

00:22:53.600 --> 00:22:58.764
We got the tides going around. It was straightforward. After I'd done the paddle,

00:22:58.764 --> 00:23:03.185
the slowest record, I did it to get a couple of months off work.

00:23:03.594 --> 00:23:05.289
I also did it as a fundraiser.

00:23:06.304 --> 00:23:11.254
So I managed to raise £10,000 and that went towards a wheelchair accessible bus.

00:23:11.860 --> 00:23:17.294
So sometimes it's those things that scare us most, that we build up and then

00:23:17.294 --> 00:23:19.633
we find that in your case, it wasn't,

00:23:20.179 --> 00:23:24.654
as scary as you thought the last part of the journey and again i'll say from

00:23:24.654 --> 00:23:28.794
the shannon up was enjoyable and i think that was down to the weather and the

00:23:28.794 --> 00:23:30.140
tides and having company,

00:23:30.889 --> 00:23:35.414
and any days that i thought that you know it's quite windy or it felt scary

00:23:35.414 --> 00:23:36.865
i just i didn't get in the water,

00:23:37.554 --> 00:23:40.814
the shortest day actually that i i was on the water was something like four

00:23:40.814 --> 00:23:47.594
kilometers that was down in Kerry I pulled in Achilles I think it's called I

00:23:47.594 --> 00:23:48.862
came through Dursey Sound,

00:23:49.513 --> 00:23:53.625
I came through it with the tide and pulled in round the corner into Achilles,

00:23:54.272 --> 00:23:59.124
and then the wind was picking up the next day I came down got on the water there

00:23:59.124 --> 00:24:03.224
was a bit of swell hitting as I turned the corner to go out and I just thought

00:24:03.224 --> 00:24:06.028
no I don't see that today so I turned and went back in,

00:24:06.995 --> 00:24:11.127
and that's good that's listening to yourself that's your plan B that you'd mentioned earlier .

00:24:13.107 --> 00:24:17.443
If it just doesn't feel right, then don't continue for that day.

00:24:17.919 --> 00:24:22.452
I've had a lot of advice from folks that have done circumnavigations and others,

00:24:22.452 --> 00:24:25.752
and they've said, treat every day as a separate day.

00:24:25.752 --> 00:24:29.772
So rather than thinking about the entire trip as one large trip and then trying

00:24:29.772 --> 00:24:34.034
to eat the elephant in one bite, think of it as each day as an individual trip.

00:24:34.887 --> 00:24:39.682
And I had prepped on the maps. I had all the keys on the harbors.

00:24:40.285 --> 00:24:44.612
Like I had no intentions of coming through any surf breaks or beach landings

00:24:44.612 --> 00:24:47.125
so for me it was if I'm getting the water,

00:24:47.783 --> 00:24:51.689
I'm going to be getting out to the next little harbour and that pre-planning,

00:24:52.346 --> 00:24:57.702
I think it gave me a wee bit of confidence knowing that you've got to get from

00:24:57.702 --> 00:25:00.479
here to there and there will be somewhere safe.

00:25:01.959 --> 00:25:07.779
Pull the kayak and stuff in. So what would you say the best part of your trip was? Meeting people.

00:25:08.521 --> 00:25:11.763
Meeting total strangers and just the generosity of strangers.

00:25:12.389 --> 00:25:15.859
And also for me, seeing parts of Ireland that I had never seen.

00:25:15.859 --> 00:25:17.307
And you're seeing it from a kayak.

00:25:18.289 --> 00:25:21.737
I think getting out to some of the islands, which I would never have been out on.

00:25:22.366 --> 00:25:27.499
Most of the islands actually were great. The only one island that was like a

00:25:27.499 --> 00:25:31.880
horror, well, not a horror story, but one island where I seen a rat. There's rats on it.

00:25:32.333 --> 00:25:36.962
Ireland's eye i remember pulling into it setting the tent up,

00:25:37.725 --> 00:25:40.899
and that was after actually quite a long day on the coast so i was tired i knew

00:25:40.899 --> 00:25:45.581
i was gonna get into the tent and go to sleep i was in i was in my bed and then i remembered,

00:25:46.237 --> 00:25:50.129
the toiletries and a few bits would spill down in the boat so i get out of the

00:25:50.129 --> 00:25:53.928
tent to go back down to the boat as i'm walking down the track,

00:25:54.728 --> 00:26:01.515
there's rats the size of cats for them that went past so i just come back set the tent up,

00:26:02.427 --> 00:26:06.853
put the radio on and a wee radio put it on to keep a bit of noise but i mean,

00:26:07.464 --> 00:26:13.089
thankfully i did fall asleep pretty quick but yeah i don't know if that's one

00:26:13.089 --> 00:26:14.579
i would have been able to fall asleep with.

00:26:16.392 --> 00:26:22.419
It was i was tired the seagulls were like you're not far from dublin airport

00:26:22.419 --> 00:26:26.539
those planes won't cross there was seagulls further up behind there's enough

00:26:26.539 --> 00:26:28.647
noise i night to put me to sleep.

00:26:29.350 --> 00:26:34.719
So that's one of the harder parts, I guess. So in terms of those best parts,

00:26:34.719 --> 00:26:35.878
you mentioned meeting people.

00:26:36.139 --> 00:26:40.109
Tell us about another one of those people experiences that just really surprised you.

00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:46.466
On the east coast, I'm paddling down the east coast. I paddled into Arklow.

00:26:47.270 --> 00:26:50.299
I couldn't see anywhere to set the tent up, so I thought I'll just paddle up

00:26:50.299 --> 00:26:52.174
the river a wee bit and I went into Arklow.

00:26:52.845 --> 00:26:57.029
And again, I pulled in on a slipway and I'm just sitting there with the map

00:26:57.029 --> 00:27:02.786
out probably looking lost and this man just walks over he was Jimmy Myers.

00:27:04.147 --> 00:27:07.702
He says, oh, you're a shooter, are you? And I goes, yeah.

00:27:08.451 --> 00:27:11.277
We were out. He says, we were out looking for air today. So he'd been out on

00:27:11.277 --> 00:27:12.776
a sailing boat with his kids.

00:27:13.475 --> 00:27:16.787
They were out in the water. How he found me or knew about me,

00:27:16.787 --> 00:27:18.567
I think it was just through the social media.

00:27:19.479 --> 00:27:22.777
And I says, I'm just looking for somewhere here to throw the tent up.

00:27:22.777 --> 00:27:24.774
And he's like, oh, don't worry about your tent.

00:27:24.942 --> 00:27:28.123
Paddle over to the other side. And I flew a white boat.

00:27:28.754 --> 00:27:32.411
And that's mine. You can sleep in that night. So I paddled across.

00:27:33.094 --> 00:27:38.237
Us he helped me lift the boat up onto the jetty and gave me the keys for the

00:27:38.237 --> 00:27:42.973
boat and he says you can sleep in here tonight and i was like super that's great,

00:27:43.636 --> 00:27:46.957
and then he says as bush you want to wash and you need something to eat and

00:27:46.957 --> 00:27:52.918
i said well i wouldn't say no so he then took me back to his house to his family,

00:27:53.620 --> 00:27:58.917
fed me i got a shower and then he says do you need to go to the shop to get

00:27:58.927 --> 00:28:03.719
any supplies so he took me over to one of the local shops and then drove me back to the boat,

00:28:04.318 --> 00:28:09.467
and that was a man that i had never met he had found it on facebook went out

00:28:09.467 --> 00:28:14.880
looking for me earlier that day and then found me that evening so experiences like that.

00:28:16.469 --> 00:28:21.947
Other people that took me in gave me a night you know along the coastline some

00:28:21.947 --> 00:28:23.787
coaches that i already i knew,

00:28:25.227 --> 00:28:30.677
you've already interviewed some of them John Hines I stayed a night in his garden

00:28:30.677 --> 00:28:33.423
shed Jim Kennedy he took me in for a night,

00:28:34.728 --> 00:28:41.587
and there was others just that generosity of people yeah all good people all

00:28:41.587 --> 00:28:47.867
good people so what left you awestruck on the trip sigh.

00:28:50.238 --> 00:28:54.318
I'm not sure I can actually think of an awestruck moment. I've seen dolphins.

00:28:54.318 --> 00:28:55.833
There's a few at Killala Bay.

00:28:56.921 --> 00:29:01.218
Paddled across it. And paddled them across and just began in a world of my own.

00:29:01.318 --> 00:29:03.264
And the next thing, dolphins appear.

00:29:04.181 --> 00:29:08.268
Didn't get to see any whales. I think just the general coastline.

00:29:08.669 --> 00:29:13.513
You know, one of the awl moments actually would have been the Donegal coastline.

00:29:14.057 --> 00:29:18.639
Just above Glen Column Kill, there's an area port.

00:29:20.255 --> 00:29:24.394
And it has all these wee secluded beaches in it.

00:29:24.917 --> 00:29:30.098
There is caves, there's sea stacks and there's loads of seas and stuff so I

00:29:30.098 --> 00:29:35.018
think that was one of the better days that I had on the coastline just in and

00:29:35.018 --> 00:29:36.509
out through the caves and stuff.

00:29:37.533 --> 00:29:42.267
But again, when the weather was good and the tides were going, it was all pretty good.

00:29:43.225 --> 00:29:47.978
It certainly does sound spectacular, that's for sure. So that was 2011.

00:29:47.978 --> 00:29:51.678
I mean, you talked about social media. Social media must have kind of been in

00:29:51.678 --> 00:29:53.065
its infancy at that time.

00:29:53.909 --> 00:29:57.340
Yeah. Even back at work, we were only setting it up at work.

00:29:59.018 --> 00:30:04.583
I don't think management probably in the center understood the power of Facebook or social media.

00:30:05.123 --> 00:30:09.158
But when I did the trip that year, and you could see the messages,

00:30:09.158 --> 00:30:13.238
and even for pushing for the fundraising, you could see the benefits coming

00:30:13.238 --> 00:30:16.380
from Facebook, just for people knowing where I was.

00:30:17.070 --> 00:30:20.008
Did that all happen through Facebook? I mean, through social media?

00:30:20.008 --> 00:30:23.490
Is that where all the promotion came from and the opportunity to fundraise?

00:30:24.266 --> 00:30:28.518
Yeah, it was mainly driven through Facebook. Okay. So, and Cher,

00:30:28.978 --> 00:30:32.056
Mark, and also Rory Martin, he would have been doing that.

00:30:32.451 --> 00:30:35.475
And then the other two that I had outside was Scotty and Jason.

00:30:35.696 --> 00:30:40.909
They were adding the feeds to Facebook and keeping people updated where I actually was.

00:30:42.290 --> 00:30:47.930
Pushing out, fundraising and stuff. So why circumnavigate? Why was that the

00:30:47.930 --> 00:30:50.116
thing that you said, I've got to do that?

00:30:52.232 --> 00:30:55.570
It was one of those evenings with friends and we're sitting looking through

00:30:55.570 --> 00:30:59.310
the map of Ireland and just looking to see where our next holidays or where

00:30:59.310 --> 00:31:00.519
we're going to go and explore.

00:31:01.111 --> 00:31:06.960
A fellow called Mike Barton, he managed our surf caddicing team and he had done

00:31:06.960 --> 00:31:10.766
it previously, a paddle around Ireland himself and two others.

00:31:11.378 --> 00:31:15.800
And I remember having conversations with him and I always thought I wouldn't

00:31:15.800 --> 00:31:17.213
mind actually having a go at it,

00:31:17.913 --> 00:31:22.780
and the one day that inspired me then to go around was that day I was up paddling

00:31:22.780 --> 00:31:27.306
with a few other friends and we went out of port just out of Glen Column Kill,

00:31:28.003 --> 00:31:33.941
and the weather was perfect the seas were totally flat, the sun was shining,

00:31:34.624 --> 00:31:38.830
we got in and out of every cave, every nook and cranny and then as we paddled

00:31:38.830 --> 00:31:41.056
on up I actually met Rob Henshaw.

00:31:41.701 --> 00:31:44.863
He was out in a sailing boat and he had a load of kids in it.

00:31:45.507 --> 00:31:47.700
But we paddled up and then we turned as we were coming back.

00:31:47.700 --> 00:31:51.070
And I often thought after that, if this is what the coastline of Ireland is

00:31:51.070 --> 00:31:54.319
like, I would love to go and explore it and see a bit more of it.

00:31:55.349 --> 00:32:01.279
So really, after doing the port paddle and just seeing that piece of coastline,

00:32:01.984 --> 00:32:03.493
I think that's what inspired me.

00:32:04.142 --> 00:32:07.405
That one stretch of water to just start and navigate around it.

00:32:08.426 --> 00:32:13.121
So what took until 2011 for a woman from Northern Ireland to circumnavigate?

00:32:14.698 --> 00:32:19.018
The only other female that I knew of was Eileen Murphy. Yeah.

00:32:19.858 --> 00:32:23.128
I had a brainwave one evening.

00:32:23.789 --> 00:32:28.908
I had a very understanding boss, Robert. I went into Robert and said,

00:32:28.908 --> 00:32:31.103
you know, I'm thinking of paddling around Ireland here.

00:32:31.870 --> 00:32:35.218
And he looked at me and says, well, sure, going ahead. I don't know if he talked

00:32:35.218 --> 00:32:38.073
me seriously or not, but I think too,

00:32:38.761 --> 00:32:44.128
in Cher where I was working, you know I had a lot of contacts a lot of coaches

00:32:44.128 --> 00:32:46.198
and people that I would have met through the centre,

00:32:47.138 --> 00:32:51.818
speaking to different people you know they were like go and do it if you need

00:32:51.818 --> 00:32:55.169
any help on this stretch of coastline should give us a shout and,

00:32:55.934 --> 00:33:00.898
whenever when the seed was planted I was like I want to do it so normally if

00:33:00.898 --> 00:33:06.651
I do have an idea I really I just want to follow through and do it and I think I was very lucky.

00:33:08.038 --> 00:33:12.578
I do count myself left lucky that i was actually able to complete it that if

00:33:12.578 --> 00:33:17.728
there was a support there there's loads of people give me help in different

00:33:17.728 --> 00:33:20.628
ways i suppose i didn't injure myself i had no injuries,

00:33:21.538 --> 00:33:23.281
and i was careful and that way,

00:33:24.618 --> 00:33:30.568
i managed to get around well you were solo but never alone no you're only the

00:33:30.568 --> 00:33:37.281
phone you're all only a phone call away and i was solo the whole of the east coast the south coast,

00:33:37.955 --> 00:33:43.448
and a third of the way up the west coast okay and then once i had a bit of company

00:33:43.448 --> 00:33:48.388
down you know it gave me that more bit more confidence that i was able to go

00:33:48.388 --> 00:33:50.034
out days where if i had been on my own,

00:33:50.796 --> 00:33:52.840
i might have i might not get on the water,

00:33:53.748 --> 00:33:56.006
they gave you that motivation then good.

00:33:58.036 --> 00:34:03.562
What's next? I would say paddling now is just recreational for me. All right.

00:34:04.075 --> 00:34:06.151
When I get out, I enjoy getting out with friends and stuff.

00:34:07.515 --> 00:34:10.898
My knees are sort of a, I have a bottle of one of my knees, so I'm kind of,

00:34:11.565 --> 00:34:15.338
I've taken up cycling a bit more, and I want to go and do trips and cycling.

00:34:17.165 --> 00:34:21.565
Out of the bike and go and explore in different areas so you mentioned adrian

00:34:21.565 --> 00:34:25.675
harkin a couple of times and i know that adrian harkin lost his battle with

00:34:25.675 --> 00:34:30.116
motor neuron disease a couple years back so tell us a little bit about paddling with with adrian,

00:34:30.563 --> 00:34:32.246
i first would have met adrian,

00:34:32.902 --> 00:34:38.503
at the share center he would have come down and helped run some of the car constructor courses,

00:34:39.249 --> 00:34:43.586
and then i would have went up to his center in mobile and helped him run some of his courses,

00:34:44.325 --> 00:34:48.024
so Adrian was a big whitewater paddler and a sea carriker,

00:34:48.743 --> 00:34:53.705
he used to run Cranifest which is a big massive whitewater event in the autumn

00:34:53.705 --> 00:34:56.748
time and then every spring he would have run,

00:34:57.372 --> 00:35:02.595
a sea carriker and people would have travelled from Troy to Ireland to his events,

00:35:02.595 --> 00:35:04.756
we as well know him Adrian Harkin,

00:35:05.278 --> 00:35:09.603
came up with the challenge Sea to Summit which was on the 20th of April.

00:35:10.765 --> 00:35:16.075
And that was a paddler around Ireland and in 24 hours the entire coastline of

00:35:16.075 --> 00:35:20.352
Ireland would be paddled in a day he was diagnosed in,

00:35:20.989 --> 00:35:28.104
2022 I think it was so in his final months when he was wheelchair bound he couldn't get out and do stuff,

00:35:28.779 --> 00:35:32.993
he wanted to leave a legacy that's when he decided to make it actually happen,

00:35:33.446 --> 00:35:38.405
so the original idea of this came from Donald Dowd we've also interviewed,

00:35:39.111 --> 00:35:43.063
and it happened in a pub in West Cork at a Sea Cuypen Symposium,

00:35:43.841 --> 00:35:48.375
and Donal asked a few people and Adrian was at the table what do you think about

00:35:48.375 --> 00:35:53.165
paddling around Ireland in two days and he had asked Adrian to do the Donegal

00:35:53.165 --> 00:35:56.847
section to manage that but then cold it happened,

00:35:57.517 --> 00:36:03.465
and it didn't happen so whenever Adrian did get diagnosed in 2022 he.

00:36:05.102 --> 00:36:09.579
When he messaged a couple of us to say, look, I'd really like to make this happen.

00:36:10.240 --> 00:36:13.437
There was a few key people. I was lucky to be one of them. I would have known

00:36:13.437 --> 00:36:17.802
Adrian quite well. So there was a few of us he put into a WhatsApp group.

00:36:18.279 --> 00:36:23.738
Shane Cronin, who had all the contacts throughout Ireland from Whitewater Cajican.

00:36:24.382 --> 00:36:26.988
He was able to source GPS trackers.

00:36:27.839 --> 00:36:32.804
It was Ronan O'Neill. He did the website, the social media.

00:36:33.415 --> 00:36:37.777
So he was brought in to set up the fundraising page then Adrian asked another

00:36:37.777 --> 00:36:42.907
friend, Ciarán Farr, who would have been a swathom paddler not only did Adrian

00:36:42.907 --> 00:36:46.033
want the coast been paddling one day,

00:36:46.695 --> 00:36:52.070
he decided then that he was going to bring the summits into it so Ireland has 32 counties,

00:36:52.840 --> 00:36:58.937
so there's 32 peaks or high points in each of the counties he brought Ciarán

00:36:58.937 --> 00:37:02.264
Farr in to get leaders for,

00:37:02.985 --> 00:37:08.096
each county so they could be walked on the same day and then his own family

00:37:08.456 --> 00:37:11.897
and we would have went up and had a few planning meetings so the wife Sharon

00:37:11.897 --> 00:37:14.462
and Jessica and Kayleigh,

00:37:15.652 --> 00:37:21.515
they were involved as well with logistics and getting stuff sorted so the paddle around Ireland was.

00:37:22.891 --> 00:37:30.867
Logistics for how it actually worked those 22 overall leaders and that coastline then was broken,

00:37:31.527 --> 00:37:38.141
into smaller sections so 80 trackers 80 trackers um on the coastline that went

00:37:38.141 --> 00:37:39.886
out for the days paddling,

00:37:40.616 --> 00:37:46.071
and every section then would have had a key leader and then they divided that

00:37:46.071 --> 00:37:48.558
section into smaller sections.

00:37:49.399 --> 00:37:54.981
So to kind of give an example, for example, I was part of the Donegal coastline

00:37:54.981 --> 00:38:00.289
and that was broken into 11 sections and that meant there was 11 leaders.

00:38:01.000 --> 00:38:06.716
And then each leader had to have a minimum of three people for their stretch.

00:38:07.388 --> 00:38:13.588
So my stretch, I got the Glen Column kill to Ross Bay section, 25 kilometer section.

00:38:14.094 --> 00:38:20.232
And on the day for just the section I was looking after, we had seven paddlers,

00:38:20.847 --> 00:38:24.852
and then we had three people doing shuttles, taking our vehicles around to the finish.

00:38:25.464 --> 00:38:33.361
So behind the scenes for each section, there was a huge volume of people that

00:38:33.361 --> 00:38:38.580
would have been part of actually organizing and sorting logistics paddlers on the day.

00:38:39.905 --> 00:38:45.785
Very lucky on the actual day then that the challenge was to happen the weather

00:38:45.785 --> 00:38:49.385
was perfect and that was throughout the whole of ireland it wasn't just one

00:38:49.385 --> 00:38:52.402
half as good another half was a bit windy,

00:38:53.405 --> 00:38:58.175
we were lucky it was a high pressure the rules then on the day really was all

00:38:58.175 --> 00:39:02.485
paddlers they could they could start whatever time suited you know with the

00:39:02.485 --> 00:39:05.524
tides they could go clockwise we could go anti-clockwise,

00:39:06.221 --> 00:39:10.894
the first paddlers that morning then were on the water I think before 6am,

00:39:11.816 --> 00:39:14.964
and then the last paddlers off was late in the evening,

00:39:15.679 --> 00:39:21.625
but Shane Cronin he had a big screen up at Adrian Centre up in Mobile and they

00:39:21.625 --> 00:39:25.355
were able to sit and watch all the trackers moving around the country and then

00:39:25.355 --> 00:39:27.620
the trackers moving up the summits as well,

00:39:28.257 --> 00:39:34.035
so we were lucky everything aligned, 32 summits were all climbed and the entire

00:39:34.035 --> 00:39:42.244
coastline was paddled there's no don't have any real record as well as accurate record maybe that sort,

00:39:43.094 --> 00:39:48.695
but counting from the people that was walking was about 146 walkers and I'm

00:39:48.695 --> 00:39:52.687
sure there was more people doing their own and then the paddlers on the water,

00:39:53.317 --> 00:39:58.001
the overall average of that was something like 440 paddlers out in the water,

00:39:58.895 --> 00:40:00.138
and then clubs.

00:40:02.605 --> 00:40:06.985
Some clubs went off and did a paddle themselves that day like the inside of

00:40:06.985 --> 00:40:11.875
Stratford Lock, Delfast Car Club I think they took all that and went round the

00:40:11.875 --> 00:40:14.782
inside of it while those pandas go on the outside,

00:40:16.364 --> 00:40:22.284
a massive challenge and you know he did that was over 120 000 that was raised,

00:40:22.915 --> 00:40:27.849
you know for irish motor neuron association so it was a challenge that had never been done,

00:40:28.593 --> 00:40:34.662
and sadly a couple of weeks or sorry a couple of months you know after adrian had passed away but,

00:40:35.520 --> 00:40:37.927
for those of us that knew him did leave quite a legacy,

00:40:39.012 --> 00:40:42.184
yeah that's an awful lot of people that came together to do something really

00:40:42.184 --> 00:40:46.729
really neat and make a dream come true because everybody throughout the country knew Adrian.

00:40:47.343 --> 00:40:51.354
You know, if you ask somebody to do in for, you know, nobody said no.

00:40:51.354 --> 00:40:54.886
Everybody was more than happy to give their time, get out and do it.

00:40:56.804 --> 00:41:01.404
And I love the start. Just as any good story in Ireland should start,

00:41:01.404 --> 00:41:04.684
it happened in a pub. Yeah, in West York.

00:41:07.313 --> 00:41:10.804
So you've mentioned Cher a couple of times. So tell us about Cher Discovery Village.

00:41:10.804 --> 00:41:16.944
Village hey we're an outdoor residential center we're based in northern ireland

00:41:17.264 --> 00:41:23.944
on the shores of the erin upper upper lock erin we have there's over 200 beds

00:41:23.944 --> 00:41:25.343
there's a good campsite to us,

00:41:26.219 --> 00:41:33.230
and we have residentials we have day groups we have disability groups we've,

00:41:33.914 --> 00:41:36.944
all ages and we host big events,

00:41:37.806 --> 00:41:42.126
like the order in malta had their cadet weekend with us this last weekend,

00:41:44.142 --> 00:41:49.628
we have a swimming pool on site we have a number of different water activities,

00:41:50.232 --> 00:41:53.403
land activities so yeah we cater for,

00:41:54.289 --> 00:41:58.354
we're an outdoor residential center we cater for anybody so when you say residential

00:41:58.354 --> 00:41:59.740
center tell me a little bit more about that,

00:42:00.737 --> 00:42:04.530
We have accommodations that can sleep over 200 people.

00:42:05.304 --> 00:42:11.457
So our school season would start at the end of February until the end of June.

00:42:12.073 --> 00:42:17.500
So every week there we've had schools coming through, maybe in a three day, five day.

00:42:19.011 --> 00:42:23.291
Home for their outdoor experience. So when you say residential,

00:42:23.291 --> 00:42:26.571
it's more just a few days, three days, five days, something like that,

00:42:26.571 --> 00:42:28.124
as opposed to a long-term residence.

00:42:29.463 --> 00:42:32.931
And you do a lot of programs for individuals with disabilities.

00:42:33.546 --> 00:42:36.843
Yeah, we can cater for individuals with disabilities.

00:42:37.183 --> 00:42:41.341
The minute we have a residential that arrived and they're in for three days.

00:42:41.591 --> 00:42:47.680
So anybody with disabilities, whether it's a wheelchair or physical disabilities,

00:42:48.335 --> 00:42:52.013
we have equipment that we can adjust and use for.

00:42:52.617 --> 00:42:56.655
Adaptive equipment that can help them experience the water just like anyone else.

00:42:57.178 --> 00:43:01.013
Yeah, sorry. That's what I mean. Adaptive equipment. Same for the climbing walls.

00:43:01.013 --> 00:43:05.124
We have our chair that we can get people to the top of the climbing wall.

00:43:05.951 --> 00:43:11.502
People with archery have a stand that we can adapt with the sailing.

00:43:11.682 --> 00:43:16.991
We have a couple of adaptable things that we can use to get people into boats.

00:43:17.281 --> 00:43:20.823
And the same with the canoes and stuff. Even the chairs for sitting in the boats.

00:43:21.543 --> 00:43:28.398
If they can't sit on the seats, then we would use a big bean bag kind of thing that we can put in.

00:43:28.980 --> 00:43:31.943
And it has a backrest for support. Well, fantastic.

00:43:32.626 --> 00:43:36.133
Thank you for running those programs. Paddling is truly for everyone and it's

00:43:36.133 --> 00:43:39.786
nice to be able to have programs like yours that make sure that can happen.

00:43:40.453 --> 00:43:45.654
Yeah, it's good to be able to offer to anybody that comes through the gate of the center.

00:43:46.119 --> 00:43:48.882
So how can listeners reach you if they've got additional questions?

00:43:49.230 --> 00:43:53.654
Either about SHARE, about you, about your circumnavigation, anything?

00:43:54.665 --> 00:44:00.986
If you want any details on SHARE, And then, for myself, you get me through Facebook.

00:44:01.614 --> 00:44:05.733
We'll put a link there in the show notes as well. So thank you very much.

00:44:05.733 --> 00:44:10.223
This has been wonderful being able to hear about your solo circumnavigation

00:44:10.223 --> 00:44:14.393
of Ireland and your experience there, as well as kind of what made that happen,

00:44:14.393 --> 00:44:16.483
your lead-up to that, and making sure that,

00:44:17.387 --> 00:44:20.968
you were ready, even though if you weren't sure you were ready, sometimes just...

00:44:22.482 --> 00:44:26.982
Is the best medicine there so thank you for the opportunity I've got one final

00:44:26.982 --> 00:44:32.057
question for you and that is who else would you like to hear as a future guest on Paddling the Blue?

00:44:32.674 --> 00:44:38.772
I think I would like to hear Robert Livingstone he used to be my old boss he

00:44:38.772 --> 00:44:44.722
was a sea character and an open canoeist he delivered a presentation at one

00:44:44.722 --> 00:44:46.054
of the Adrian Sea Symposiums.

00:44:47.082 --> 00:44:53.640
And after that a few people were like I would like to hear more with these paddles to Faroe Islands.

00:44:54.023 --> 00:44:59.382
He's done a lot of expeditions. So I think he would have a, back in the early

00:44:59.382 --> 00:45:01.008
days, he would have good stories to tell.

00:45:01.559 --> 00:45:05.222
I bet he does have some wonderful stories. So I will connect with you offline.

00:45:05.222 --> 00:45:09.732
We'll get an opportunity to talk to, connect with Robert and see if we can get

00:45:09.732 --> 00:45:13.462
him on the show. So again, Shooter, thank you very much for the opportunity.

00:45:13.462 --> 00:45:16.992
This has been great talking to you, learning from you, hearing from you.

00:45:17.375 --> 00:45:18.739
And I appreciate your time.

00:45:19.320 --> 00:45:22.452
Thank you, John. Thank you. If you want to be a stronger and more efficient

00:45:22.452 --> 00:45:26.952
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00:45:26.952 --> 00:45:28.372
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00:45:28.372 --> 00:45:32.226
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00:45:32.580 --> 00:45:36.225
The concept and exercises in this book have helped me become a better paddler

00:45:36.452 --> 00:45:37.973
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00:45:49.602 --> 00:45:50.558
strokes more efficient,

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have the endurance to handle long days in the boat, drive through the toughest

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waves or white water, protect your body against common paddling injuries,

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So visit paddlingexercises.com to get the book and companion DVD.

00:46:07.174 --> 00:46:10.814
Is a word that really applies to Shooter. I enjoyed her sharing her story,

00:46:11.040 --> 00:46:15.452
sharing her experience around Ireland, and talking about how others shared their homes with her.

00:46:15.812 --> 00:46:18.877
And then it fits her daily work at Share Discovery Village as well.

00:46:19.353 --> 00:46:22.924
One thing that we talked about after the interview that didn't record was the

00:46:22.924 --> 00:46:25.181
Greenland Games hosted at Share Discovery Village.

00:46:25.414 --> 00:46:28.833
If you're a Greenland paddler in Ireland, this is an event you'll want to check out.

00:46:29.164 --> 00:46:33.755
So visit the show notes for this episode at paddlingtheblue.com slash 169,

00:46:34.121 --> 00:46:37.732
where you'll find notes referenced during the episode, including the Greenland Games.

00:46:38.248 --> 00:46:41.784
As a reminder, you can find programming and trips for me at paddlingtheblue.com,

00:46:41.784 --> 00:46:43.066
and I hope to see you on the water.

00:46:43.531 --> 00:46:48.233
And if you're not already a subscriber to onlineseacocking.com or onlinewhitewater.com,

00:46:48.477 --> 00:46:53.244
just use that coupon code PTBpodcast to check out, and you'll get 10% off just

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for being a member of the Paddling the Blue community.

00:46:55.635 --> 00:46:58.514
Thank you as always for listening, and I look forward to bringing you the next

00:46:58.514 --> 00:47:00.736
episode of the Paddling the Blue podcast.

00:47:02.250 --> 00:47:05.564
Thank you for listening to Paddling the Blue. You can subscribe to Paddling

00:47:05.564 --> 00:47:09.820
the Blue on Apple Music, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

00:47:10.093 --> 00:47:12.955
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00:47:13.089 --> 00:47:14.778
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00:47:15.114 --> 00:47:18.196
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00:47:18.324 --> 00:47:23.967
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00:47:24.275 --> 00:47:27.310
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