#172 - Three Peaks, One Paddle: Emma Riesbeck’s Coastal Challenge with a Purpose by Kayak and Foot

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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Emma Riesbeck made some big life choices to follow her passion,

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and that, along with showing support for her mom, led her to overcome personal

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fears and doubts to tackle the UK's National Three Peaks Challenge.

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But this time with a twist.

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Emma decided to do this challenge by both foot and paddle.

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And today we'll talk about her experience with the Three Peaks Challenge and

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the path that she's taken from working in a London office to making Anglesey,

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Norway, and Antarctica her new workplace.

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

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at OnlineSeaKyaking.com continue to produce great content to help you evolve

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

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

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Enjoy today's interview with Emma Riesbeck.

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Hello, Emma. Welcome to Paddling the Blue. Hello, thank you.

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I appreciate you taking the time to join me today. So you bring quite a varied

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guiding history. So let's start with how you got your start as a kayaker.

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I started off, I kayaked when I was younger, but on a sit on top a lot with my dad.

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And then really got into proper kayaking during university.

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I was in the Whitewater Canoe Club. So I paddled in the French Alps,

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Scotland, Wales, all over the UK.

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Throughout university, whitewater kayaking. But I transitioned into sea kayaking

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following some time off of work during the COVID pandemic.

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And since then, I fell hell over heels in love with it and just the exploration

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and the adventure it brings with it.

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Yeah. So, I mean, that whitewater kayaking experience, it's interesting that

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a university program would go that far abroad and into so many different countries

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for a university program.

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This was for a society, so we were our own club, a group of peer paddlers as

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one, which was really special to be able to grow as paddlers and in that world together.

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Do you still get out and whitewater paddle much?

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Very, very, very rarely. I had a bit of an accident at the end of my time at

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university on the water, which very much made me scared of water for a long time.

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And for me, sea kayaking was kind of rekindling my love of being on the water

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and my confidence in myself and my ability, which then led to guiding,

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which, yeah, is a slightly different path to a lot of people.

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How did you find your way back? I mean, I'm curious what steps you took to go

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from that scare to back to loving paddling.

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I really struggled following the accident and was lucky enough to talk to a

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coach in the UK and a wonderful, wonderful paddler, Chris Brain.

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And he is the happiest man I've ever met. And he was phenomenal in helping me.

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Almost like a therapist in some sense, but talk through what happened and steps

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and procedures I took that I could take to get back on the water,

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but also to kind of regain myself and my paddling.

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And if it wasn't for chats with him, I don't think I would have got back in,

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but he really helped reframe what it meant to me to paddle and kind of the routes

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I took to get to the boat every day.

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We spoke through it and how things can happen and rivers can be different than

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you think even if you've planned it so he helped a lot and then for me it was just

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tiny bits of exposure and trying something new so I'd never really been in a sea kayak before

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and then went straight down to Pembrokeshire to kayak

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and just thought it was breathtaking so coming away from river paddling into

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something different and kind of reclaiming kayaking,

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in a different right helped me ease back in to what I am now.

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And I still have moments where, even as a guide, I still have moments where

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I feel, have a little bit of flashbacks, but for the most part,

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I, yes, the water is, well, water is my friend again.

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Okay. That's good. Good to hear. So what is it about sea kayaking that has really

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captured your, your imagination and your passion?

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For me, it's the explorative side of it.

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And just how much you can see that not many people get the chance to,

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I mean, it was the same for river paddling, but.

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You can make it yours the river is much more committing and intense and I mean

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you can still make it a slow paddle but,

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it felt very full-on whereas sea kayak expeditions and sea kayaking feels more

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explorative and close to nature and I love the side of I love tidal planning I love,

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actually sitting down and working out a route beforehand and then being on the

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water and and checking it and making sure that it's doing what you expected

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it to do but also just how much you get to see.

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And be immersed in nature when you're on the water.

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And then those unexpected moments as well, you know, you've,

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you've planned it all out, but you come across an unexpected moment and then

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there's that problem solving that goes along with that.

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Yeah. I think that's it. It's, it's, it's everything.

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It's very all encompassing sea kayaking of, it can be as intense as you want it to be.

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And you can head towards a tide race if you want a little bit more fun,

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but you can also bring it right back down to just,

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exploring by the rocks and just, you know, going out for wildlife or just simply

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just just being on the water and i think,

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it's you can make it you can build it throughout the day there's a lot more,

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it's very dynamic and i think that's why i love it well welcome back.

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Thank you very much no it's very good to be back so as i mentioned you got a

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really varied history so how does one go from business evaluation to construction

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management to sustainability consulting to outdoor guiding.

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Um I I think like most young people like most people I guess you go to school

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and you think you know what you want to do and you're kind of rushed through university and,

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I actually grew up in Dubai and so,

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I have a slightly different upbringing to what my my brother did,

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and I think if I hadn't have grown up there maybe I would have found this career earlier,

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but for me I grew up in Dubai and had always been passionate about time on the

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water. I scuba dived a lot.

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I got out as and when I could, but not as much as I do now. So not as much as maybe I wanted to.

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But I fell into or thought I wanted a career in property.

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And so I went to university, studied really hard whilst whitewater kayaking,

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but found myself in London.

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And as someone that now spends most of their time in a tent,

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it's quite funny looking back I've been thinking about how I was in a suit most

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days and then heels and worked in London. And that seems ridiculous to me, but there you go.

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And I transitioned into sustainability because for me, property and working

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evaluation wasn't, it wasn't me.

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I didn't feel inspired to go to work. I didn't feel like I was doing something

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positive, whether that be for the planet or the people or just anything. I felt very stuck.

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And so my training was in sustainability instead, which was a lot better because

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it felt very positive and it felt like I was making a difference every day.

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And that is very much what I want to be and who I want to be,

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someone that makes a difference.

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And it was good, but it still wasn't me.

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And I wasn't, I love people. I love making a difference.

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And for me, it didn't feel quite right.

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So during furlough, I was given the opportunity to leave work or to have time off work.

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And i did an outdoor instructing course and very much got back in a boat and

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just fell back in love with,

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or fell in love with guiding and being on the water and just getting to make

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a difference in a different way,

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um and since then i went back into sustainability but still something wasn't

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quite right and eventually my partner said he was coming back to norway to guide and where we do,

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multi-day sea park expeditions week after week after week for a few weeks during

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the summer a few weeks during the summer and he said why don't you come and

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try it you seem happiest when you're outside you seem happiest when you're talking about,

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your past and leading on the water and whatnot and why not come back with me

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and give it a go and I said sure and I've been here since so yeah very much

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back on the water and guiding,

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every as much as I possibly can since So I've left corporate world behind for now, hopefully.

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Well, that's fantastic. Congratulations. So tell me a little bit about your guiding activities.

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So at the moment, I am currently in Norway. I've done three seasons here doing

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multi-day sea kirk expeditions with a little bit of hiking thrown in.

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And I've also done it back home in the UK, but I've just done the past three

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seasons here, which is wonderful getting to introduce people that from all walks

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of life, from I think the youngest has been two to 82 I've had.

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So a real variety of people taking them kayaking and exploring the Norwegian

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fjords and the mountains around here as well, which is spectacular.

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A little bit less spicy water than where I live on Anglesea,

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but still, yeah, really interesting, really varied nonetheless.

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Okay. And I'm lucky enough on top of that in the winter to have started working

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down Antarctica as well. So the variation is pretty wonderful.

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That is, that is quite a variation. So now how did you get started in Antarctica?

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It was my partner's dream for a long time. And I've always known of people that

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have guided down there, many that have also been on this podcast,

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Amber and Kelly and whatnot.

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And I've always kind of looked at their photos and heard their stories and just

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been in awe of it. And so he was given the opportunity this year and I thought,

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or last year even, and I thought, well, you know, soon I will apply,

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soon I'll start applying.

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And then we were lucky enough to be given the opportunity. He needed an assistant.

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And he said, I know just the person. So I was very, very lucky to have been

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given the opportunity not only to work down there, but to be able to guide alongside

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him, which is very, very special.

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That's great. That's great. So now what kind of what kind of training aside

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from the kayak specific training, the paddle specific training,

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what do you need in order to guide Antarctica?

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Oh, I have my powerboat. So usually lots of powerboats because you are.

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In order to kayak down there as part of IATA rules, we have to have a Zodiac alongside.

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So no kayaking rescues, you're just straight back on the Zodiac and taking them out if they capsize.

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Um and then also stcw and first aid so having to be say like safety c down there

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so firefighting the security there's first aid training all looped into this stcw,

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and then on top of that kayaking qualifications as well okay.

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Are those readily available i mean are there are there a lot of places where

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you can go and obtain the powerboat certification and the stcw there is a fair

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few particularly where we're based on Angler Sea for powerboats.

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STCW, there is a couple around the UK and I think a couple in Europe and America

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and whatnot that allow you to obtain it. But it's anytime you're working on

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a cruise ship, a bigger boat, a yacht, there are requirements for that qualification

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as well. So there was a fair few people at my training.

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Now, so you've combined a solo sea kayak expedition with the National Three

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Peaks Challenge. So I'd like to talk a little bit about that.

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But first, tell us, what is the National Three Peaks Challenge?

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So we have our three tallest mountain in the uk so uk is made up of england

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scotland and wales we have oiver or,

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snowden in wales scoffel pike in england and then ben nevis

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in scotland and our national three biggest peaks in each of those countries

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and i'd actually never done them before well i'd done snowden plenty of times

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in scoffel pike before but i'd never never done the three another Dunn-Ben Nevis.

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So Ben Nevis, Scullfield Pike, Snowden, and you had another name for Snowden.

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It was, sorry, it's a, the Welsh name. So I live in Wales, that's the Welsh

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name for Snowden. I hope I'm pronouncing that right as well.

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It'd be terrible if I wasn't.

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All right. And is there a time limit that you have to complete the Three Peaks Challenge?

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Traditionally, people like to do it in 24 hours. So that's driving between the three.

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It's a big thing of kind of driving between them all.

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There'll be a lot of guided trips up there to help people reach all three in

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that time. So it tends to be a challenge of the national challenges,

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yeah, within that 24-hour timeframe. But that's lots of driving between them

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all as well, because it's not a short distance.

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So now what does the combination of a sea kayak expedition and the Three Peaks Challenge look like?

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I wanted to do a sea kayaking journey for a long time and something to challenge myself.

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So for me, when I read about Nick, Nick from Life Afloat's journey of the Three

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Peaks, I thought that was fascinating and how cool it would be given that I

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am also a trail runner and I love to run and I love silly distance running.

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And so for me, it felt like a way that I could do,

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something to really challenge myself but also combine my two loves of trail

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running and sea kayaking and push myself in both of those areas and have fun

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on the way was the idea so I set off from Khamberis in,

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North Wales I up the summit Snowdon.

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And ran up there very early in the morning and ran straight down towards the Menai Straits.

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I was lucky enough to be put up by Plasmenau, which is a national outdoor centre

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over there on the straits where I met my boat and had a safe in the night before

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paddling, starting my paddling journey up,

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towards England, which was very exciting. And so what was your route like?

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So I started down the straits. I hopped on very early in the morning and paddled

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to where I live, just at the other side of the Menai Straits.

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I believe a couple of people I've spoken about the Mennay Straits on the podcast

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before, but it's quite tidal.

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Good bit of fun. Some fast flows through there. So I got a good boost, like a conveyor belt,

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and then headed straight over towards Clendidno and the Great Orme and kept

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going up via Liverpool docks, which was a new experience for me,

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paddling in a shipping lane that big, up the docks.

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Up the shipping lane even, and

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over and working my way up the country via blackpool to the lake district,

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where I ran from my boat through through the lakes to the summit of Scarborough

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Pike and back down to my boat again so I was hoping that I would camp a lot

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more and that was the original idea but,

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I didn't do it as much as I was hoping to which was a shame but also one of

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those things that like with the sea kayaking is very dynamic and I just had

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to make assessments how it was feeling at that point

00:15:59.329 --> 00:16:05.423
so from Scarfell Pike I kept paddling a little bit further north via Morecambe Bay and then over,

00:16:06.687 --> 00:16:12.447
over the Solway Firth to Scotland and headed up the country towards Benavis. Okay.

00:16:12.947 --> 00:16:17.137
So your paddle route was basically replacing the driving that people would normally

00:16:17.137 --> 00:16:21.215
do for the three-peak challenge. Yeah. You do normally drive a lot more inland

00:16:21.616 --> 00:16:23.205
via the motorway, which is a lot quicker.

00:16:23.339 --> 00:16:27.727
I realized on the way home, it took me, what, 20, 22 days to get up there and

00:16:27.727 --> 00:16:31.570
it would have took me about eight hours to get home, which is really, really rubbed it in.

00:16:32.074 --> 00:16:38.197
But yes, the idea was that I could go via the mountains on my way up nothing

00:16:38.197 --> 00:16:42.421
was particularly by the coast it was all a little bit of a run in nothing too bad,

00:16:43.783 --> 00:16:46.354
Yeah, added a little bit to the journey and added a little bit to the change.

00:16:46.673 --> 00:16:49.760
I did not run to the top with my boat, which is what most people ask.

00:16:49.760 --> 00:16:51.790
Did I take my kayak to the summit? No, I did not.

00:16:53.454 --> 00:16:57.770
That was an interesting way to do it. And I loved the idea of piecing together

00:16:57.770 --> 00:17:02.600
something slightly different and just changing it up a little bit and just having

00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:04.520
those different environments on the way.

00:17:04.520 --> 00:17:08.850
And I have to say, I didn't realize how beautiful some parts of the UK were

00:17:08.850 --> 00:17:13.600
that I think we all, well, certainly me being British, I didn't realize that they exist.

00:17:13.690 --> 00:17:16.740
Did to be honest and i didn't realize how beautiful they were it was helped

00:17:16.740 --> 00:17:19.430
by the fact that i had some wonderful weather for the majority of the journey

00:17:19.830 --> 00:17:21.151
i was very very very lucky,

00:17:21.662 --> 00:17:26.040
good good now you mentioned that you'd hope to camp more what did you do outside

00:17:26.040 --> 00:17:30.730
of camping if you weren't camping how'd you how'd you stay i was lucky enough

00:17:31.070 --> 00:17:35.395
for my partner to follow me so i struggle quite a bit with self-confidence,

00:17:35.913 --> 00:17:39.750
in sea kayaking particularly from my accident just because i think it's always

00:17:39.750 --> 00:17:44.179
in the back of your brain no matter how much you go through about improving

00:17:44.365 --> 00:17:45.568
it was always kind of hovering.

00:17:46.135 --> 00:17:49.780
And this journey was not just for me to raise money and not just to do something

00:17:49.780 --> 00:17:53.760
that challenge that was new and exciting but also that challenged myself in

00:17:53.760 --> 00:17:56.640
that space so it was a big deal for me and,

00:17:57.133 --> 00:18:01.290
I struggle with self-confidence outside of that as well and so for me I thought

00:18:01.545 --> 00:18:06.183
I'm going to trim it back a little bit and not camp unless I really feel up to it.

00:18:06.514 --> 00:18:09.502
I think it was enough. In hindsight, looking back, I wish I'd camped,

00:18:09.630 --> 00:18:11.203
but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

00:18:11.383 --> 00:18:15.390
And at the time, it felt plenty to just do what I was doing.

00:18:15.390 --> 00:18:19.630
And so I was lucky enough for my partner, Johnny, to follow along in the van

00:18:19.630 --> 00:18:23.890
and help out when he could, but leave me to my own devices when I needed to

00:18:23.890 --> 00:18:26.637
camp and have that headspace to just be out there alone as well.

00:18:26.765 --> 00:18:30.973
Okay. So part of this journey was continuing to rebuild that confidence.

00:18:31.632 --> 00:18:35.500
Yes. Yeah. Okay. Very much so. So you mentioned that there were some areas that

00:18:35.500 --> 00:18:38.640
you just thought you hadn't even expected the beauty of those areas.

00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:39.759
Can you tell us a little bit about that?

00:18:40.486 --> 00:18:46.085
Yes, I paddled up through Blackpool and even through Liverpool.

00:18:46.085 --> 00:18:50.809
And it was incredibly helped by the fact that I had incredible weather for the first few days.

00:18:52.066 --> 00:18:56.965
But I never expected Liverpool and everywhere else to just be as stunning as

00:18:56.965 --> 00:18:59.485
it was. Now, as I was paddling up through the Liverpool shipping lane,

00:18:59.799 --> 00:19:05.284
there was north of 40 seals. I saw poppuses.

00:19:05.691 --> 00:19:08.935
I saw lots of different animals that I just thought, oh, this is the shipping

00:19:08.935 --> 00:19:10.294
lane. And I wasn't expecting that.

00:19:11.131 --> 00:19:15.945
And then beyond all the way up the country and it sounds ridiculous but i know

00:19:15.945 --> 00:19:18.725
geography and or the do the geography of the uk,

00:19:19.405 --> 00:19:23.635
i'm i'm aware of it all but i didn't realize the lake district had a coastal

00:19:23.635 --> 00:19:26.645
environment which i knew it did but i didn't realize it was as stunning as it

00:19:26.645 --> 00:19:30.625
was and it was so special to be able to experience those places when it was

00:19:30.625 --> 00:19:34.264
relatively quiet as i did my expedition in april april to may,

00:19:35.371 --> 00:19:39.355
and so it still wasn't as busy as the summer holidays and And so it felt like

00:19:39.355 --> 00:19:42.665
when I was out on the water solo, it felt like it was mine.

00:19:42.781 --> 00:19:46.615
And it was absolutely breathtaking to be able to see those places in the sunshine,

00:19:46.615 --> 00:19:50.805
which was definitely a big help, but see just the beauty that is the UK.

00:19:51.205 --> 00:19:53.629
And I think people forget that. We all go on holiday abroad,

00:19:53.984 --> 00:19:57.118
but there's actually incredible places right on our doorstep.

00:19:57.345 --> 00:20:01.060
Yeah, we forget that sometimes for sure. Yeah, for sure.

00:20:01.524 --> 00:20:04.543
So why solo on the water and on the mountains?

00:20:05.404 --> 00:20:10.475
Um so the the expedition was actually inspired by my mum now my mum just had

00:20:10.475 --> 00:20:14.535
cancer and she's had it a number of times throughout my life but she just had

00:20:14.535 --> 00:20:18.954
it once again breast cancer and was undertaking chemotherapy and she.

00:20:20.096 --> 00:20:25.257
Kept saying how how rubbish it was and how unbrave she was and if anyone told

00:20:25.257 --> 00:20:29.437
her she was brave she wouldn't believe them but to me my mom is one of the bravest

00:20:29.437 --> 00:20:32.353
people because she's been through this a number of times and,

00:20:32.974 --> 00:20:35.837
when she was told she had it once more i'm gonna have to have chemotherapy she

00:20:35.837 --> 00:20:40.962
just took it on the chin and got on with it and i see that as very brave but my mom doesn't,

00:20:41.647 --> 00:20:45.857
and so i wanted to do something that showed her that because she is the way

00:20:45.857 --> 00:20:48.078
that she is that i can be strong too and,

00:20:48.855 --> 00:20:52.267
I wanted to do something that challenged myself because she can't missy she's

00:20:52.267 --> 00:20:56.037
not very outdoorsy in the slightest she's a very much a fashionable mum shall

00:20:56.037 --> 00:21:00.069
we say um but there's shopping to being outside which is wonderful

00:21:00.407 --> 00:21:03.277
and she's getting there she likes to walk and stuff like that but she's she's

00:21:03.277 --> 00:21:06.858
very different to the person that I am when I'm at work,

00:21:07.895 --> 00:21:12.139
And so I wanted to do something that would show her that I am pushing myself

00:21:12.139 --> 00:21:15.186
as well. And actually, she is a big inspiration for that.

00:21:15.761 --> 00:21:20.439
So I'd not done anything solo. I've guided. And obviously, when you're guiding

00:21:20.439 --> 00:21:23.429
with clients, you're somewhat solo by yourself.

00:21:23.824 --> 00:21:27.809
But I wanted to do something that put myself out of my comfort zone in big crossings,

00:21:27.809 --> 00:21:30.495
big water for her as an inspiration.

00:21:31.098 --> 00:21:34.919
And for me, I wanted to do something that gave back as well.

00:21:35.115 --> 00:21:40.025
So the team that was incredible to mum were phenomenal and always have been

00:21:40.316 --> 00:21:45.029
and but during chemotherapy she was utterly shocked at how many young women

00:21:45.395 --> 00:21:48.425
there were in that room that didn't really know.

00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:54.069
Anything about cancer before they were thrown into that that realm and and so

00:21:54.069 --> 00:21:57.989
I wanted to do something for charity that gave back for them because she she

00:21:57.989 --> 00:22:00.808
pointed out countless times and My mum was one of those people that,

00:22:00.918 --> 00:22:02.578
or is one of those people that she.

00:22:03.948 --> 00:22:04.869
Wouldn't talk about herself.

00:22:04.869 --> 00:22:08.225
She wanted to talk to other people, wanted to make sure they were okay above her.

00:22:08.649 --> 00:22:10.979
And I thought it was wonderful how she just spoke to these young people with

00:22:10.979 --> 00:22:15.439
so much, so much just admiration for them and wanted to do what she could.

00:22:15.439 --> 00:22:19.589
And so I did the paddle for Copperfield, which is a young person's breast cancer

00:22:19.589 --> 00:22:24.928
charity in the UK, helping to raise awareness and help the people that are going through that.

00:22:25.883 --> 00:22:29.864
That's wonderful. And doing the paddle in honor of your mom and her fight.

00:22:30.964 --> 00:22:35.064
Yes. And supporting Cabafel. So we'll make sure that we put links in the show

00:22:35.064 --> 00:22:39.824
notes for folks to be able to check out Cabafel and make their donation as well

00:22:39.824 --> 00:22:43.188
and continue to support in a different way, but similar than you've done.

00:22:44.701 --> 00:22:47.664
No, it was wonderful. And it was wonderful to be able to fly that flag.

00:22:47.664 --> 00:22:52.104
I was very, very lucky to have been given a pink P&H Scorpio for the challenge.

00:22:52.104 --> 00:22:56.525
So very much flying the pink flag with my boat as well which was which is beautiful

00:22:56.722 --> 00:22:58.957
that's super super now how'd you like the boat,

00:22:59.629 --> 00:23:04.244
yes it was fantastic i paddle with scorpio fairly regularly anyway so it was

00:23:04.244 --> 00:23:09.504
lovely to have a pink one and to yeah to celebrate copperfield and,

00:23:10.284 --> 00:23:15.375
they say tickled pink and for breast cancer and about to fly that flag and just

00:23:15.526 --> 00:23:19.434
yeah to have something that reminded me every time i looked down that what i

00:23:19.434 --> 00:23:22.974
was doing and why i was doing it even when i was quite scared because of the

00:23:22.974 --> 00:23:25.134
big water or the big long crossings.

00:23:25.318 --> 00:23:29.376
It was just reminding you kind of why on earth I'm doing this and whom I'm doing it for.

00:23:29.746 --> 00:23:32.556
And that, yeah, I can be brave as well.

00:23:33.096 --> 00:23:38.250
Super. And there aren't many pink P&H boats out there. They make those special.

00:23:38.888 --> 00:23:43.834
Yeah, absolutely. So what went well on the trip other than the weather?

00:23:44.589 --> 00:23:46.313
Yeah, that was a big plus.

00:23:47.684 --> 00:23:49.900
I think it was a great reminder that,

00:23:51.013 --> 00:23:55.479
You can do things scared. I think that went really well. Some days the water

00:23:55.479 --> 00:23:57.382
was very big. I had a very big first day.

00:23:58.479 --> 00:24:03.989
Lots of surgy, surfy, dumpy waves going on for a very long time as I crossed

00:24:03.989 --> 00:24:08.729
from Biamaris on the Angra Sea over towards Clangdidnia and the Great Orme,

00:24:08.729 --> 00:24:11.726
which was a long 12km crossing, if I remember correctly.

00:24:12.569 --> 00:24:18.564
And it was a big, big tailwind, but the corp was causing quite dumpy, surgy waves.

00:24:19.334 --> 00:24:24.759
But just even after that just reminded that you you you can do things and I

00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:29.489
think that was that went well but also my tidal planning it was wonderful I

00:24:29.489 --> 00:24:31.582
absolutely adore tidal planning and,

00:24:32.238 --> 00:24:37.309
just the gratification you get when you get on the water and you've done it right,

00:24:37.969 --> 00:24:42.469
and I think that's such a wonderful feeling to be like yes and yes the water

00:24:42.469 --> 00:24:45.619
can change what it wants to do and the weather I know full well as a guide that

00:24:45.619 --> 00:24:48.150
it does whatever it wants not whatever I want it to do,

00:24:48.834 --> 00:24:55.566
but that the kind of the satisfaction you get when you know you've planned well um and,

00:24:56.235 --> 00:25:00.259
that went really well and I think just how much I ease into it I went into it

00:25:00.259 --> 00:25:03.539
kind of nervous which sounds silly as a kayak guide because I shouldn't be nervous

00:25:03.539 --> 00:25:05.469
to go for a paddle but like I said,

00:25:05.969 --> 00:25:09.990
I'd not really have the self-confidence to do things solo solo in that sense

00:25:10.372 --> 00:25:14.547
but I think what I learned about myself and my family.

00:25:16.115 --> 00:25:21.569
Belief in myself and my confidence as i went on was phenomenal and and yeah.

00:25:23.235 --> 00:25:26.909
I i was really proud coming out of it that i'd done that it didn't feel real

00:25:26.909 --> 00:25:28.802
and i think in some sense i still don't feel,

00:25:29.365 --> 00:25:34.469
like it does that i could have done something like that but for me i just leaned

00:25:34.469 --> 00:25:39.193
into it and i i run ultra marathons as well so i love endurance i love,

00:25:39.721 --> 00:25:43.879
going into the pain cave the suffer fest and just keeping going and so for me

00:25:43.879 --> 00:25:46.153
in the end it was covering 60 kilometers a day,

00:25:46.734 --> 00:25:51.709
and i loved it i loved racking up the miles every day and just yeah paddling

00:25:51.709 --> 00:25:55.099
over for breakfast in scotland from england was the most incredible thing with

00:25:55.099 --> 00:25:56.422
a beautiful sunrise as well,

00:25:57.090 --> 00:26:00.666
that's wonderful now that you mentioned 60k days what was your biggest day,

00:26:01.388 --> 00:26:03.089
i think it was just,

00:26:03.914 --> 00:26:11.049
potentially just north 60k so not nothing too crazy but i originally had expected

00:26:11.049 --> 00:26:16.579
and i said to james from online sea kayaking and i had planned about 30 40 kilometer

00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:18.237
days thinking probably that would be,

00:26:18.719 --> 00:26:23.889
my max but i just the moment i got in the water loved it and i loved,

00:26:24.487 --> 00:26:29.241
pushing myself and every day when i thought oh i'll probably just do 40k i'd

00:26:29.351 --> 00:26:34.646
turn i'd message my partner and say scrap that i'm i'm gonna do another extra little bit and,

00:26:35.325 --> 00:26:37.055
i just found.

00:26:38.009 --> 00:26:41.636
So much peace outside and so much joy and just,

00:26:42.420 --> 00:26:47.279
getting the miles in and just seeing what i could do and eating well and fueling

00:26:47.279 --> 00:26:50.115
well i think that was one of the biggest things for me that went well was,

00:26:50.638 --> 00:26:55.599
just how well i fueled because it really really kind of reiterates that food

00:26:55.599 --> 00:26:58.509
is fuel because the more you eat the further you can paddle which was great

00:26:58.660 --> 00:27:02.039
because it was it was basically just a A paddling, eating and running time,

00:27:02.039 --> 00:27:03.287
which was the best time for me.

00:27:04.550 --> 00:27:08.278
But it was, yeah, I think that was one of the best things about it was just

00:27:08.278 --> 00:27:12.385
how much more I could do and how much more than I thought.

00:27:13.259 --> 00:27:18.268
What was your go-to fuel on the water? I have to say I ate a lot of cereal bars.

00:27:18.268 --> 00:27:21.346
I don't normally, and now I don't want to look at them.

00:27:22.628 --> 00:27:26.628
But I found that cereal bars, I eat a lot of peanut butter. I'm usually known

00:27:26.628 --> 00:27:29.536
for eating so much peanut butter. So that for me was quite a big one.

00:27:29.966 --> 00:27:33.068
But there are a few cereal bars now I don't think I could look at yet.

00:27:33.068 --> 00:27:37.810
And it has been nearly three months away from it, but I still don't think I'm ready to see a cliff bar.

00:27:39.258 --> 00:27:44.720
That's probably too soon still. All right. Now, how much time elapsed for the trip total?

00:27:45.472 --> 00:27:49.008
I believe it was 22 days. I say that, I should know this with confidence,

00:27:49.008 --> 00:27:52.316
but I've been in guiding mode for three months now, but it was 22 days.

00:27:52.432 --> 00:27:57.758
In the end, I only had one rest day, which I was expecting, again,

00:27:57.758 --> 00:28:01.928
to have a lot more, but I just said to my partner, Johnny, every day,

00:28:01.928 --> 00:28:05.618
I just, I love it. And I was trying to work with the weather.

00:28:06.238 --> 00:28:10.698
I was very, very grateful because it meant that I could have days where I could

00:28:10.698 --> 00:28:14.585
push a little bit more and do a little bit more than I would have done if it was windy.

00:28:14.823 --> 00:28:19.898
I got blown off course quite a few bits. I came due to the weather.

00:28:19.898 --> 00:28:25.168
I actually ended up running a few sections, which I really, really would like

00:28:25.168 --> 00:28:27.818
to go back this year or next and tick them off paddling.

00:28:27.818 --> 00:28:30.648
But for me, it wasn't a mission that I had to paddle it all.

00:28:30.648 --> 00:28:36.918
And it had to be, you know, meter by meter perfect. It was a journey where I wanted to get there.

00:28:37.922 --> 00:28:40.633
And do it in a time frame that worked for our guiding commitments,

00:28:41.316 --> 00:28:46.038
but do it in a way that challenged me. And I think I spent a while afterwards

00:28:46.038 --> 00:28:48.787
being annoyed that I'd had to run some sections.

00:28:49.605 --> 00:28:53.418
For example, the Mulligallo way, I didn't manage to paddle that section,

00:28:53.418 --> 00:28:58.028
which was going to be big. And I jumped on the water one day and it was quite

00:28:58.028 --> 00:29:04.098
big, very big and possibly a little bit too much for me when I was that tired.

00:29:04.278 --> 00:29:07.529
And so I decided to run that section instead.

00:29:07.918 --> 00:29:11.618
And so I made up the miles, and if not longer, because it takes a lot more out

00:29:11.618 --> 00:29:14.059
on your body, or certainly my body, to run.

00:29:14.666 --> 00:29:19.728
But it meant that I could keep moving and that I could keep positive about it

00:29:19.728 --> 00:29:22.138
rather than sitting out. I didn't want to have too many rest days.

00:29:22.138 --> 00:29:25.458
I wanted to keep moving if I could, because I was aware that we were leaving

00:29:25.838 --> 00:29:28.339
to guide shortly afterwards.

00:29:28.978 --> 00:29:32.188
I think you made a really important point in there, and that is knowing your

00:29:32.188 --> 00:29:36.788
limits and having an alternate plan and being able to have the fortitude to

00:29:36.788 --> 00:29:42.323
say, I can change my plan to do whatever's different,

00:29:42.997 --> 00:29:46.308
and I can come back and paddle that location on a different day when it looks

00:29:46.308 --> 00:29:47.827
different and meets my needs.

00:29:48.532 --> 00:29:52.088
Yeah, I think that was probably one of the biggest learnings and something that

00:29:52.088 --> 00:29:55.585
I still struggle with because I'm very quick to dismiss it.

00:29:55.730 --> 00:29:59.310
When people talk about it, I say, oh, you know, I didn't paddle that section though.

00:30:01.040 --> 00:30:04.538
It's clearly struck a nerve in some sense with me, but also So I think it's

00:30:04.538 --> 00:30:10.008
a good reminder that plans don't always go to plan and that actually it's no

00:30:10.008 --> 00:30:11.472
one else's expedition. It was mine.

00:30:11.948 --> 00:30:17.408
And it looked like what I needed it to look like, which was being not necessarily

00:30:17.408 --> 00:30:19.524
being on the water that day. And I tried. I got on.

00:30:20.378 --> 00:30:25.048
But it was far bigger than I hoped for. And I knew that I was hitting some very

00:30:25.048 --> 00:30:30.055
tidal sections and some tide races. And I didn't want it to kick up a notch because...

00:30:31.095 --> 00:30:34.706
Wasn't necessarily going to be the best outcome for me and I think,

00:30:35.501 --> 00:30:39.036
even though I am annoyed about it in some sense it's also been a great learning

00:30:39.036 --> 00:30:42.976
like you say things don't always go to plan and you have to be dynamic and that's

00:30:42.976 --> 00:30:47.626
the very nature of water it's dynamic and it does whatever it wants and you

00:30:47.626 --> 00:30:48.639
have to be dynamic with it

00:30:49.021 --> 00:30:52.746
so I'm quite proud of myself for making those decisions but I still maybe have

00:30:52.746 --> 00:30:57.222
somewhere to go in terms of reminding myself that even though I can talk about it it's

00:30:57.617 --> 00:31:02.487
actually it was okay to change it and i never said that i would paddle every single section i said,

00:31:02.986 --> 00:31:07.196
that it is a paddling and running expedition and that's what it was and so i

00:31:07.196 --> 00:31:10.576
think that's definitely something maybe i've learned from it but i'm also still

00:31:10.576 --> 00:31:13.884
learning from it yes and we always will learn but

00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:17.696
again congratulations on making that making that decision and knowing that you've

00:31:17.696 --> 00:31:21.732
got choices and being able to to have that flexibility

00:31:22.173 --> 00:31:25.081
so what did you not anticipate on the trip,

00:31:25.854 --> 00:31:30.181
i didn't anticipate the weather would be that good to be honest i gave myself a few extra days.

00:31:31.352 --> 00:31:36.536
I guess i didn't anticipate how far i could paddle a day i think i underestimated

00:31:36.536 --> 00:31:42.376
myself which as a lot of people often females particularly and do we kind of

00:31:42.376 --> 00:31:44.666
don't believe we can do as much as,

00:31:45.266 --> 00:31:50.016
we can and i think i definitely didn't anticipate that I feel like I fueled

00:31:50.016 --> 00:31:53.672
really well I prepared really well and my tidal planning wasn't,

00:31:54.400 --> 00:31:57.536
it was hard to plan when you didn't know what the weather was going to do for

00:31:57.536 --> 00:32:03.456
that long period of time so it was just over 750 kilometers and so it took.

00:32:04.557 --> 00:32:08.102
You know, I could check the weather and plan everything, but actually it wouldn't always work.

00:32:08.102 --> 00:32:12.602
And so there was a few times where we were frantically, or I was frantically

00:32:12.602 --> 00:32:16.612
planning and getting my partner to have a look over it as well, because I wasn't sure.

00:32:16.612 --> 00:32:19.832
And we didn't necessarily have the information for those sections.

00:32:19.832 --> 00:32:22.972
And I think I probably definitely could have prepared a bit more,

00:32:22.972 --> 00:32:27.830
but I was also very lucky to have been given the opportunity to guide in Antarctica just before.

00:32:28.271 --> 00:32:32.692
And so in hindsight, if I hadn't have gone to Antarctica, I would have been

00:32:32.692 --> 00:32:37.692
prepping a lot more over Christmas and New Year into March but I was given an

00:32:37.692 --> 00:32:41.628
opportunity and I think it made it more dynamic as well if I had to do,

00:32:42.243 --> 00:32:46.112
everything was a little bit more rushed to begin with but also it still went

00:32:46.112 --> 00:32:50.932
and it was still okay and it was still wonderful and I think it was a nice reminder

00:32:50.932 --> 00:32:52.481
that doesn't have to be perfect,

00:32:53.188 --> 00:32:57.832
it just has to be safe and enough and you have to have all the all the things

00:32:57.832 --> 00:33:01.192
ready in the background but you don't have to get everything in motion yet which

00:33:01.192 --> 00:33:04.015
i think was a good reminder that of the dynamic nature of,

00:33:04.780 --> 00:33:09.012
of expedition paddling yeah getting getting there is only half the equation

00:33:09.012 --> 00:33:13.408
getting back is the other half and the most important half yeah absolutely and i think,

00:33:13.952 --> 00:33:17.262
that you can be i could have been as ready as i want and i still don't think

00:33:17.262 --> 00:33:21.145
i'd have been ready so actually being able to be a slightly more dynamic and.

00:33:22.292 --> 00:33:25.202
It made it some days a little bit stressful for myself and my partner johnny

00:33:25.202 --> 00:33:31.370
but also it was my expedition and i'm i'm so proud that i was able to just,

00:33:32.404 --> 00:33:35.412
you know acknowledge the fact that i'd stress myself out a little bit but what

00:33:35.412 --> 00:33:36.485
an opportunity i was given,

00:33:37.157 --> 00:33:42.792
as a reason to stress myself out for and and so yeah it all went it all fell

00:33:42.792 --> 00:33:47.092
into place and it was it was amazing that it good what did you learn and what

00:33:47.092 --> 00:33:49.397
would you do different on your next expedition,

00:33:50.372 --> 00:33:52.034
i think i would Yes.

00:33:53.398 --> 00:34:01.060
Tell myself how much more I can do. The amount of times that I was going through

00:34:01.060 --> 00:34:05.005
tide races that often have the word notorious in front of them by other people.

00:34:05.626 --> 00:34:09.730
I make that in my head so much more than I need to do. And then I get on,

00:34:09.730 --> 00:34:15.140
like Doris Moore, for example, towards Eibon in Scotland is known for being

00:34:15.140 --> 00:34:20.483
a notorious tide race. And in my head, I got a bit overwhelmed by it.

00:34:20.971 --> 00:34:25.100
And then when I was paddling through it, looked on the map and realised I'd

00:34:25.100 --> 00:34:28.111
already paddled through it and I didn't need to get that wound up in my head.

00:34:28.593 --> 00:34:32.220
And that was just me to a tee of how silly I was to do that.

00:34:32.220 --> 00:34:36.810
And I think I learnt a lot that I can title plan. I know I can.

00:34:36.810 --> 00:34:38.195
I'm a very good title planner.

00:34:38.409 --> 00:34:42.400
Why on earth would I ever think that I was going to go through it on a big when

00:34:42.400 --> 00:34:44.155
it was stupidly big? Because I knew I wouldn't.

00:34:45.036 --> 00:34:51.681
So I learnt a lot about myself in that respect because I shouldn't be a plonker as we say in the UK.

00:34:52.677 --> 00:34:57.512
That what I would do differently is definitely believe in myself more and just,

00:34:57.959 --> 00:35:03.120
yeah just stop being silly and just just do it in a way that's safe and and

00:35:03.120 --> 00:35:06.295
good but believe in myself a heck of a lot more and just,

00:35:07.044 --> 00:35:12.565
get on with it and push and try and I think it was wonderful one day where I did get on and,

00:35:13.058 --> 00:35:18.400
I got off halfway through where I was meant to go I was meant to cover 20 kilometers

00:35:18.400 --> 00:35:22.720
if not more as an as an extra little add-on of the day and I got straight off

00:35:22.720 --> 00:35:23.756
and had to run that section

00:35:24.151 --> 00:35:28.750
and I just think it was nice to just realize that nothing matters actually if

00:35:28.750 --> 00:35:32.630
you get on and you fail you can get off again and I can control that and I can

00:35:32.630 --> 00:35:34.681
I can manage that and I think that's yeah,

00:35:35.337 --> 00:35:39.180
it was that's what I would do definitely is definitely not listen to sometimes

00:35:39.180 --> 00:35:40.323
not listen to my brain a little bit.

00:35:41.151 --> 00:35:46.054
But also, I would have camped, I think, possibly a little bit more than I did.

00:35:46.798 --> 00:35:49.628
Not always, because I think sometimes you don't need that added stress,

00:35:49.628 --> 00:35:53.027
but also I do wish I'd done it better.

00:35:53.404 --> 00:35:57.248
But also, I don't know who that better is for, because it was my expedition,

00:35:57.248 --> 00:36:00.771
and I did it in the way that worked for me, and everything went well.

00:36:01.310 --> 00:36:05.408
But part of me does wish I had camped a lot more, but also it doesn't matter.

00:36:05.408 --> 00:36:08.998
There'll be plenty more expeditions to come. We've already got planning lots

00:36:08.998 --> 00:36:13.168
of different ones that's right and it is your expedition as you'd mentioned

00:36:13.168 --> 00:36:15.376
certainly what's what's next,

00:36:16.007 --> 00:36:21.708
um at the moment we i am in a way guiding before heading home to work we just

00:36:21.708 --> 00:36:24.890
started our own sea hiking business doing our own expeditions.

00:36:25.564 --> 00:36:29.488
And having the opportunity to work together my partner and i so we'll be doing

00:36:29.488 --> 00:36:35.168
a lot more for us um but then I would like to go back and do the sections that

00:36:35.168 --> 00:36:40.347
I missed because I think that would mean a lot to me just to be able to prove to myself that I,

00:36:40.882 --> 00:36:45.158
can do it and it's not for anyone else it is for me but we also have a number

00:36:45.158 --> 00:36:51.805
of expeditions we're kind of looking at towards Antarctica and Scotland and,

00:36:52.271 --> 00:36:54.575
anywhere really the two of us are very much,

00:36:55.201 --> 00:36:58.884
yes I now I have that confidence i'm looking to push myself both with my partner

00:36:59.117 --> 00:37:01.462
and with friends but also just,

00:37:02.099 --> 00:37:06.678
with myself as well and i think i want to do a lot more solo because i think

00:37:06.678 --> 00:37:08.043
it's a wonderful thing to realize,

00:37:08.675 --> 00:37:14.088
realize for yourself that you are better than you think good now any uh are

00:37:14.088 --> 00:37:17.518
those expeditions that you're thinking of expeditions that you would guide or

00:37:17.518 --> 00:37:21.414
that you're thinking of doing either yourself solo or you're along with your partner.

00:37:22.092 --> 00:37:26.950
We have a number of ones that we want to guide or we will be guiding this year,

00:37:27.550 --> 00:37:32.998
in Scotland planned so I get back home in two weeks time from Norway and straight

00:37:32.998 --> 00:37:36.801
up to Scotland and doing trips around RSA and whatnot.

00:37:37.863 --> 00:37:41.897
But there are a number of trips that we won't have in our pipeline for us because I think,

00:37:42.671 --> 00:37:45.871
It's really hard when you do such an incredible job and you are able to share

00:37:45.871 --> 00:37:49.074
the water and give that experience and facilitate that experience for others.

00:37:49.497 --> 00:37:53.041
And it's such, I'm so, so grateful to be, have a job where, you know,

00:37:53.041 --> 00:37:54.359
I get to play on the water every day.

00:37:55.834 --> 00:37:59.891
And I look forward to it all the time, but we do need to remember that we have

00:37:59.891 --> 00:38:03.271
to do stuff for us as well. And it's not just, can't be just guiding.

00:38:03.271 --> 00:38:08.419
So we're hoping to get out and do a few big expeditions just as well, for sure.

00:38:08.971 --> 00:38:12.611
And then the hope is that this year I'll be able to work towards my C-CAT coach

00:38:12.611 --> 00:38:14.723
as well. So fingers crossed.

00:38:14.921 --> 00:38:18.131
Care to share any one of those big expeditions that you're thinking about?

00:38:18.868 --> 00:38:22.401
We were looking to do the inside passage, but I don't think timings will work

00:38:22.401 --> 00:38:24.104
out this year, next year. But...

00:38:26.769 --> 00:38:30.664
He has a habit of sending me lots of different ones. So we're looking somewhere

00:38:30.664 --> 00:38:33.226
down Antarctica, which would be rather incredible.

00:38:33.829 --> 00:38:38.524
And also the outer Hebrides as well. So hopefully something big coming soon

00:38:38.524 --> 00:38:41.259
again to fish myself. All right. Wonderful.

00:38:41.787 --> 00:38:47.524
So you mentioned earlier you did your expedition in honor of your mom and in support of Coppapheal.

00:38:47.824 --> 00:38:52.203
What advice would you have for someone considering a similar charity expedition?

00:38:52.921 --> 00:38:57.154
I think reach out and talk to them it was wonderful to have their support as

00:38:57.154 --> 00:39:02.614
well um and to be able to make an impact for them it was lovely having another

00:39:02.614 --> 00:39:06.708
purpose as well as my own of just doing it for me actually doing it,

00:39:07.190 --> 00:39:12.264
on behalf of a charity to remind you that even those days where you feel rubbish you know,

00:39:12.849 --> 00:39:17.744
you're tired you're fed up of eating cereal bars that actually everyone for

00:39:17.744 --> 00:39:22.764
me everyone like my mum was going through something and had to be brave and

00:39:22.764 --> 00:39:25.858
had to be strong and didn't have an opportunity or a choice,

00:39:26.386 --> 00:39:30.174
to say I'm not getting out that day I don't want to do that and in kayaking

00:39:30.174 --> 00:39:32.814
you know on an expedition you do I could have said I don't want to join the

00:39:32.814 --> 00:39:37.468
water that day I'm not interested it's rainy it's windy I don't want to push myself but I think,

00:39:38.054 --> 00:39:42.193
doing it for charity helped me remember that actually even when you're tired,

00:39:42.867 --> 00:39:44.515
you sometimes just have to do things.

00:39:45.464 --> 00:39:49.484
Some people don't get a choice and I'm so grateful to be able to have the choice

00:39:49.484 --> 00:39:54.314
to be able to get on the water every day and paddle And so, yeah, it was a good reminder.

00:39:54.314 --> 00:39:58.744
And so I would recommend, highly recommend going for it and doing it for a purpose

00:39:58.744 --> 00:40:01.559
bigger than your own because it made it all the more special.

00:40:01.942 --> 00:40:06.134
As someone going through chemotherapy or any other cancer treatment doesn't

00:40:06.134 --> 00:40:07.904
have the choice to not do it.

00:40:08.630 --> 00:40:11.544
Yeah, I think that's it. That's what you do, but yeah.

00:40:12.588 --> 00:40:17.054
Yes, yeah, you kind of do. But also, I think you don't have a choice to say,

00:40:17.054 --> 00:40:19.814
and I don't want to wake up and face this today. You have to face it.

00:40:19.814 --> 00:40:25.484
And even the days that felt tough, it was amazing to have, almost to harness

00:40:25.484 --> 00:40:27.408
their power and their bravery behind them.

00:40:28.732 --> 00:40:32.587
Behind me as well because I was doing it for something bigger than just me and

00:40:32.587 --> 00:40:36.956
I think that felt really special and I don't know to be able to to fly their flag,

00:40:37.864 --> 00:40:43.536
and do something amazing for it good now um how much did you raise i raise three thousand eight,

00:40:44.334 --> 00:40:47.508
hundred and twenty pounds so far so a lot more than what i originally expected

00:40:47.711 --> 00:40:52.424
wonderful that's hope is that i can continue to raise it and i'm very was very

00:40:52.424 --> 00:40:57.094
lucky to be given the support of online sea kayaking so they are making uh some

00:40:57.094 --> 00:40:59.182
of the footage into a documentary and so hopefully,

00:40:59.687 --> 00:41:04.684
that story will continue to be told um and not only slightly more money raised

00:41:04.684 --> 00:41:12.428
but also So more knowledge shared and hopefully more encouragement for people to check themselves and,

00:41:13.008 --> 00:41:16.114
check out for themselves as well and check in with themselves. Yes.

00:41:17.566 --> 00:41:20.799
So that footage, you mentioned it was being made into a documentary.

00:41:21.403 --> 00:41:23.121
Share how that process goes.

00:41:24.654 --> 00:41:29.534
We're very lucky to have been given the opportunity with online sea hiking. So I submitted.

00:41:32.694 --> 00:41:39.734
What my plan was for the expedition and alongside Justine was given Grant from

00:41:39.734 --> 00:41:42.651
Online Seek Hiking. So I met with James in the Sun train.

00:41:43.972 --> 00:41:49.204
He gave me a GoPro or a camera and a microphone.

00:41:49.367 --> 00:41:52.834
And now I mentioned that I don't always have the most self-confidence.

00:41:52.834 --> 00:41:56.214
I also don't really like pictures. So as you can imagine, filming yourself was

00:41:56.214 --> 00:41:57.657
a little bit more intense.

00:41:58.154 --> 00:42:03.414
But it made it more of a challenge for me personally not only did I have to

00:42:03.414 --> 00:42:08.374
kind of get up every morning and run and whatnot but also I had to film myself

00:42:08.374 --> 00:42:11.433
which arguably was one of the hardest parts I have to say,

00:42:12.290 --> 00:42:16.887
that the process was yeah that I would film myself and film the highs and the lows and,

00:42:17.416 --> 00:42:22.454
kind of what I was doing day by day and I was lucky enough that we have a drone

00:42:22.454 --> 00:42:27.274
alongside of it so we have some incredible drone shots of just how lucky I was

00:42:27.274 --> 00:42:28.422
with the weather, but also,

00:42:29.061 --> 00:42:33.274
just how incredible the UK is, which was really special to be able to capture those.

00:42:34.254 --> 00:42:37.794
And so every morning I would film myself and explain what I was doing that day.

00:42:37.794 --> 00:42:43.514
And I had some days where one memorable day where I sat on the floor of a car

00:42:43.514 --> 00:42:46.862
park crying because I was tired because I definitely underfueled that day.

00:42:47.874 --> 00:42:51.054
I definitely hadn't eaten enough and I wasn't having a good day.

00:42:51.054 --> 00:42:55.256
So I think the footage should be interesting of the highs and lows.

00:42:56.449 --> 00:43:01.249
Should be some interesting stuff. And filming on big water when I was probably

00:43:01.249 --> 00:43:05.599
out of my comfort zone or slightly, you know, getting close to my comfort zone,

00:43:05.599 --> 00:43:08.479
if not past it, was interesting.

00:43:08.479 --> 00:43:13.229
I think you'll hopefully hear my different voices where I'm comfortable and

00:43:13.229 --> 00:43:14.364
when I'm definitely not.

00:43:15.456 --> 00:43:19.720
Well, I'm looking forward to seeing the expedition on film.

00:43:20.039 --> 00:43:24.899
When do you expect that to be available? i'm not sure i met with james just

00:43:24.899 --> 00:43:29.036
before i came back up to norway and so the footage is with online sea casting now,

00:43:29.549 --> 00:43:34.959
and they are putting it together into the film just a short film and i'm not

00:43:34.959 --> 00:43:38.899
sure on time frame wise because they are launching other new platforms and whatnot

00:43:38.899 --> 00:43:41.163
as well so very lucky to have their help.

00:43:41.969 --> 00:43:45.309
But i will yeah definitely update people on social media and whatnot as and

00:43:45.309 --> 00:43:49.059
when it does good well james and simon are good good folks over there and glad

00:43:49.059 --> 00:43:52.239
they were able to help you out and help make your expedition happen and well

00:43:52.239 --> 00:43:53.635
like i said we'll look forward to seeing that

00:43:54.047 --> 00:43:56.869
once that's available we'll include that in the show notes and then of course

00:43:56.869 --> 00:43:58.440
as i mentioned we'll also include the uh,

00:43:58.910 --> 00:44:03.509
the link so folks can donate for themselves so as we as we wrap up here how

00:44:03.509 --> 00:44:04.837
can listeners connect with you,

00:44:05.307 --> 00:44:11.449
um i available either social media and my personal one is emma reese and then

00:44:11.449 --> 00:44:17.137
r-e-a-s um but also my business website which is passageguiding.co.uk,

00:44:17.771 --> 00:44:21.553
and we are on social media on Instagram and Facebook as well at the same handle,

00:44:22.171 --> 00:44:25.569
excellent well like I said we'll also include those in the show notes so folks

00:44:25.569 --> 00:44:29.629
can connect with you and ask their questions as well and learn from you about

00:44:29.629 --> 00:44:33.499
your expeditions how you continue to build your confidence how you give how

00:44:33.499 --> 00:44:36.200
you've been giving back to the sea kayaking community

00:44:36.607 --> 00:44:39.339
and to the cancer community as well so thank you very much for that,

00:44:39.890 --> 00:44:44.986
one final question for you who else would you like to hear as a future guest on Paddling the Blue?

00:44:45.703 --> 00:44:51.713
And I am a big, big fan of the podcast. It was with my ears throughout my paddle and it always is.

00:44:51.713 --> 00:44:57.923
Thank you. But I have a wonderful friend, Marielle Guggero, who is an incredible

00:44:57.923 --> 00:45:02.023
stand-up paddleboarder, canoeer, kayaker, who I work, I'm lucky enough to work

00:45:02.023 --> 00:45:02.971
with down in Antarctica.

00:45:03.395 --> 00:45:08.289
And she has been on some incredible journeys, solo, and with her husband, Ben.

00:45:08.702 --> 00:45:12.528
And she just has a wonderful view on life and such a poetic,

00:45:13.109 --> 00:45:16.703
nature that I think should be to be wonderful to talk through her expeditions

00:45:16.703 --> 00:45:20.889
and her why and what she takes from paddling and on the podcast,

00:45:21.440 --> 00:45:24.893
super well thank you very much for the referral to mariel we'll uh work with

00:45:24.893 --> 00:45:28.887
you to connect with mariel and and have her on the show and learn from her experience as well,

00:45:29.508 --> 00:45:33.333
so emma thank you very much for the opportunity this has been wonderful learning

00:45:33.333 --> 00:45:38.093
from you and hearing about your guiding history how it got you to guiding and

00:45:38.093 --> 00:45:41.923
then your experience with the National Three Peaks Challenge combined with paddling.

00:45:41.923 --> 00:45:44.116
So thank you very much. I appreciate you.

00:45:44.743 --> 00:45:47.036
Ah, thank you very much. It was lovely to talk to you.

00:45:48.339 --> 00:45:51.909
If you want to be a stronger and more efficient paddler, Power to the Paddle

00:45:52.153 --> 00:45:55.653
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00:45:55.653 --> 00:45:59.978
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00:46:00.338 --> 00:46:03.984
The concept and exercises in this book have helped me become a better paddler

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and they can make a difference for you too.

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

00:46:34.532 --> 00:46:37.822
Congratulations to Emma for completing her version of the National Three Peaks

00:46:37.822 --> 00:46:40.581
Challenge and for her support of CopaFeel.

00:46:41.034 --> 00:46:47.256
Visit the show notes for this episode at www.paddlingtheblue.com slash 172,

00:46:47.594 --> 00:46:51.262
where you'll find notes referenced during the episode, including how you can

00:46:51.262 --> 00:46:54.339
donate to CopaFeel and help crush breast cancer as well.

00:46:54.641 --> 00:46:58.523
And you'll also have opportunities to contact and connect with Emma as well.

00:46:59.175 --> 00:47:02.652
Emma mentioned a grant she received from the folks at OnlineSeaKayaking.com,

00:47:02.652 --> 00:47:07.377
and I wanted to send a thank you to James and Simon for creating their Expedition Support Program.

00:47:07.720 --> 00:47:10.962
Through this program, they provide financial assistance, media equipment,

00:47:10.962 --> 00:47:17.006
and documentary production to be featured in the Online Sea Kayaking Library to selected paddlers.

00:47:17.170 --> 00:47:21.366
And it's an annual application process, so stay in touch with OnlineSeaKayaking.com

00:47:21.651 --> 00:47:23.200
for future grant opportunities.

00:47:23.525 --> 00:47:26.872
And by the way, if you're not already a subscriber to OnlineSeaKayaking.com

00:47:26.872 --> 00:47:31.782
or OnlineWhitewater.com, use the coupon code PTBPODCAST to check out at either

00:47:31.782 --> 00:47:36.191
of those websites and you'll get 10% off just for being a member of the Paddling the Blue community.

00:47:36.754 --> 00:47:40.462
As a reminder, you can find programming and trips from me at paddlingtheblue.com,

00:47:40.462 --> 00:47:41.816
and I hope to see you on the water.

00:47:42.188 --> 00:47:45.612
As always, thanks for listening, and I look forward to bringing you the next

00:47:45.612 --> 00:47:48.467
episode of the Paddling the Blue podcast. Thank you.

00:47:50.214 --> 00:47:53.532
Thank you for listening to Paddling the Blue. You can subscribe to Paddling

00:47:53.532 --> 00:47:57.780
the Blue on Apple Music, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

00:47:58.064 --> 00:48:00.920
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00:48:01.052 --> 00:48:02.782
We truly appreciate the support.

00:48:03.079 --> 00:48:06.161
And you can find the show notes for this episode and other episodes,

00:48:06.289 --> 00:48:11.925
along with replays of past episodes, contact information, and more at paddlingtheblue.com.

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Until next time, I hope you get out and paddle the blue.