Team members: Martin Rother
Hometown: North Vancouver, British Columbia, CA
Race vessel: Rockpool Taran 18 Kayak
LOA: 18′
Human propulsion: Paddle
Connect: facebook
As far as we can tell, there isn’t a single government agency or vanity non-profit whose mission is to advocate on behalf of neglected and underused couches—but if there was, we would be calling the hotline on Team Northshore Paddler.
Why? From what we can tell from the comfort of our couch-based internet search, Martin hasn’t sat in idle comfort in years. Team Northshore Paddler’s paddle profile looks like he’s not just racing on kayaks every week, he’s win, place, or show on most of them—and he won the 444-mile Yukon River Quest.
Whoa.
This means that he’s probably also training in between, which means that while you and he spend roughly as much time sitting, it’s different. Your ass is spending quality time bonding with your couch. His is wedged into some kayak, athletically shoveling water around the wilds between North Vancouver and the North Pole; his couch is sitting in a bathrobe at home watching the clock and wondering if it should just start the movie and eat this bowl of popcorn by itself. Again. Sigh.
We sat down with Martin Rother of Team Northshore Paddler over a bowl of back bacon and maple syrup to talk about adventure, his apparent fear of sails, and developing a plan to spend more time with his living room furniture.
What are the necessary components of a good adventure?
Surprises, going through highs and lows mentally and physically, enjoying beauty we see along the way.
What’s a lesson you learned the hard way?
Turn around before it’s too late.
What’s your claim to fame?
Well, there are so many amazing people out there which makes me a little uncomfortable to answer that one. But I guess winning the Yukon River Quest counts for something.
It’s drizzling, freezing cold, and you’ve missed the tide. The cabin is leaky and the stove won’t light. How do you keep the good vibes going?
“No rain, no rainbow” pops into my head.
Forget the 10k or the steak knives. What does success look like for you and your team?
Arriving in Ketchikan within the allowed time. Knowing I gave 100% and happy with my decisions I made. Coming home with an amazing experience and new knowledge.
Defend your vessel. What makes it worthy?
It’s a thing of beauty and difficult to replace.
Blank space, baby. Share some things:
I just wanna thank YOU guys for putting this race in place!!! It’s just amazing! Occasionally, I’m tearing up just thinking about this race. I feel super privileged and thankful to be on the start line (hopefully)🤞🤞
Would love to thank my family and friends for the amazing support. In particular my son; who gave me the green light to miss his graduation because of the race… I owe him one.
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Welcome to the R2AK, Team Northshore Paddler, and welcome to two to three weeks of sitting in motion. It seems like your son is taking this well. As long as you promise to spend some quality time when you get back, we’ll break it to your couch.