Paddler Profile: Volunteer Jan Corcoran

1) Where are you from?

I had a fine time growing up in Gainesville, Florida...followed by 30 years of armed forces connected moves, stateside and overseas...then back "home," and now in St. Augustine.

2) When and how did you first become interested in paddling?

I've lost track of the "when," but the clincher was a Fargo-to-Suwannee trip on the Suwannee River led by Walt and Sally Jetter.

3) Describe one of your favorite places to paddle.  What makes it special?

Any place that gets me outside!  There are so many.  The (north) Withlacoochee River is a favorite.  Pellicer Creek when the lilies are blooming as far as the eye can see.

4) Describe what you do for Paddle Florida.  (Editor's Note: Jan got bashful on this question, so Executive Director Bill Richards was called upon for an answer.)

Jan is the co-founder of Paddle Florida.  She deserves much of the credit for any of the success we've been able to achieve.  She has promoted each event.  She has gone on every trip, and nearly every scouting trip.  She has handled all rest stops, menu and campsite preparations, and is really...the straw that stirs the drink, so to speak.  Without Jan, there never would have been a Paddle Florida.

5) What do you enjoy most about your work with Paddle Florida?  Least?

Most?  The awards and extraordinary salary I get!  Least?  Not having time to be with everyone as they paddle and get to know each other.

6) Who is the stronger kayaking water wars combatant--you or Bill?  On what do you base this assessment?  

Stealth wins out over strength!  Based on my many victories!!!

7) Tell us something about yourself that would surprise folks to learn (...that's printable).

I'm half Cuban and half Polish, I was a tomboy, I once ate 86 shrimp in one sitting...the rest is not printable.

8) We've met some of your grandkids on PF trips.  Are you encouraging them to paddle?

I talk to them about it all the time.  I would love it if any of them became avid paddlers.  It would help if they lived nearby...I could grab them and go any time.

9) Have there ever been any behind-the-scenes surprises or emergencies on PF trips that you've had to help resolve?

Have there ever NOT been surprises???  No power, ramps under water, roads under water, no water source, gate number changes, car breakdowns, etc.  Getting to the rest stops is always an adventure--some by boat!

10) What advice do you have for folks considering a Paddle Florida trip?

Well, I'm always interested in the FUN part of it.  Bring a camp chair, a musical instrument for beside the campfire, a masthead or flag for your boat, water gun, and most importantly a repertoire of jokes for the fireside competition.  Also...no whining (leave that to me!)

Paddler Profile: Jon Sairs

1) Where are you from?  Your profession (or former one, if retired)?

I am from Vermont and have been self-employed in residential remodeling and building for 15 years and spent the last 12 years working in the craft shows circuit.

2) When and how did you become interested in paddling?
My parents were paddling a cedar canvas Thompson canoe on Lake Michigan when I was a newborn!  In the early 60's, my dad built an 18' sailing canoe in our backyard in San Diego.  We didn't have any toys with keys.  When we moved to Vermont in 1969 we joined the Green Mountain Club, an active hiking and boating group.  At 13 years old, I saved up for my first boat--a 60's Folbot Super.  The club led multi-day trips to the Rangely Lake region of Maine as well as the Temagami region of Ontario.  We camped as often as we could given Vermont's short summers.  I restored cedar canvas canoes for about five years in the 80's during winters when construction was slow.

3) Tell us about your SAILING kayaks....
I was building sail rigs for our canoes and for our cedar canvas customers, took a break for 15 years to get into windsurfing, and just started kayaking three years ago.  I knew the answer for sore shoulders was a sail, so we picked out Easy Rider kayaks that were set up for sailing in the factory.  The trouble with sailing kayaks is you stand out a bit.  So we asked to join a Folbot Flotilla which met in Florida Bay one winter, and we had so much fun we started selling the BSD sail kit.  As we got to know Florida better, we heard about Paddle Florida.  Now an icy winter in Vermont is a tough sell!

4) Where is your favorite place to paddle?
Open water warmer than 55 degrees?  Florida Bay and the Keys are tops on the list.  We also want to see more of the Panhandle, so we will definitely be trying a Paddle Florida river trip soon.

5) How many Paddle Florida trips have you gone on and to where?
Our first was last year in the Keys on the 100th anniversary of Flagler's Overseas Railroad paddle...er, sail...trip.   We hope to go again this year in January and may squeeze in another trip on our way north.

6) Can you describe a particular Paddle Florida trip 'highlight?'
Just knowing that dinner was waiting and our gear was dry.  Actually, each day in the Keys was amazing.  When waters were calm, you could check out the turtles, fish, and wildlife as you paddled or visit with people from all over the U.S.  On windy days, I was sailing with a tail wind at 8 miles an hour.

7) What advice do you have for folks considering a Paddle Florida trip?
Be prepared for a great time!  Paddle Florida offers a unique way to go out on a trip.  No one else does it this way.  It suits us since we know our way around the water and want to see new terrain without reinventing the wheel.

Paddler Profile: Guerry Bradley

1) Where are you from?  Your profession?  

I've lived in various parts of Florida for my whole life, and I am a firefighter with the City of St. Augustine.

2) When and how did you become interested in paddling?

When I moved to St. Augustine, I realized that I was surrounded by water in the form of creeks, inlets, etc.  I have always enjoyed canoeing, but as soon a I stepped into a kayak I knew it was the hobby for me.

3) Where is your favorite place to paddle?

My favorite place to paddle is Juniper Springs Run.  It's like a maze with all the branches and tree trunks blocking the way sometimes, but that's what makes it fun.

4) How many Paddle Florida trips have you gone on and to where?
I have been on five trips total.  I went on the Suwannee River trip three times and the Keys trip twice.

5) What keeps you coming back?
The thing I love most about Paddle Florida trips is the fact that I can get away for a week doing something I really enjoy, without having to do all of the planning.  I love the sense of teamwork that comes with it as well.

6) Can you describe a particular Paddle Florida trip 'highlight?'
One event that will always stick with me was an experience that left me with the nickname "The Beaver Guy."  I was paddling on the Suwannee River when I spotted something bobbing in the water.  Paddling closer, I realized it was a very weak baby beaver about the size of my hand.  I took my favorite hat off my head and placed the baby beaver in it.  It was a perfect fit.  When we arrived at the River Rendezvous campsite that afternoon, my biggest concern was finding Paddle Florida Director Bill Richards so that we could find help for this stranded animal.  However, it was Easter Sunday, so no park rangers were available to come out and take a look at it.  They advised us to let nature take its course.  That night, several of us huddled around the hat keeping the poor baby beaver company, anxious to see if it would recover.  In the middle of all this tension, the most comical thing happened.  A lady walked up and suggested we put the beaver back in the water "so it could breathe."  (Editor's Note: Beavers don't have gills?)  The outrageous suggestion was just enough to lighten the mood.  However, the beaver passed away shortly afterwards.  None of us had thought about what to do with it after it passed.  After a few minutes, someone suggested that we hold a beaver burial service.  So we buried the little guy, said a few loving words, and had ourselves a beaver funeral.  Although it was a sad event, I can now look back on our beaver burial with some humor.

7) What advice do you have for folks considering a Paddle Florida trip?
Bring lots of blankets and a good attitude.  As much fun as the trip is, it can get a little tiring and it's always nice to come back to a warm tent with lots of blankets, especially in the colder months.  Also remember that you can do this.  Some people get so worked up about the "hows" and the "what ifs."  With the right mindset, we can all do this together.

Paddler Profile: Ron Schultz

1) Where are you from? Your profession? (…or former one, if retired?) 
I was born in Buffalo, NY and grew up in a small village (Cassadaga, NY) 50 miles south of Buffalo in hill country. I am a retired geography professor, having spent 35 years as a faculty member at Florida Atlantic University. I am still doing some consulting for Florida cities primarily in the formation or revision of commission election districts.

2) When and how did you become interested in paddling? 
I grew up next to a series of small lakes (Cassadaga Lakes) and learned to swim and boat at a young age. I was active in scouts and at 14 went on an eight-day canoe trip in Algonquin Provincial Park with my Explorer troop. My high school buddies and I also ventured out on overnighters in canoes and rowboats down local rivers, including the Allegheny. Our parents must have assumed we were indestructible or expendable as they were willing to drop us off and pick us up along rivers we knew little about! When I attended grad school in Seattle at the University of Washington, I met other geography students who were outdoor enthusiasts and thus Pacific Northwest rivers, lakes, and mountains became places I ran to whenever time allowed. I have backpacked, hiked, and paddled those places every year since 1966.

Where is your favorite place to paddle?
I have many favorites. In Florida, I love the spring runs. I also really enjoy the Santa Fe, Ocklawaha, and Suwannee Rivers. Out west, I use an inflatable kayak on modest whitewater and have done some long boating (sea kayaking) on the Columbia and some estuaries/tidal rivers.

How many Paddle Florida trips have you gone on and to where?
Five so far: the first Suwannee trip, the first Wekiva/St. Johns trip (record cold!), the first Ochlockonee River trip, the 2012 Peace River trip, and I just completed the Rock Springs Run/Wekiva/St. Johns trip.

What keeps you coming back?
Going with the flow. I love paddling my own craft. Also, Paddle Florida has a great staff. I enjoy talking and camping with Bill and Jan and all the other PF staff and paddling enthusiasts. Who could ask for more?

Can you describe a particular trip 'highlight?'
There are many, many wonderful moments on these trips. One that comes to mind is the morning mists on that first Suwannee trip. Pushing off early into the morning mist was just grand. Of course getting up that first morning on the Wekiva when temperatures dipped to the low 20’s is also not to be forgotten!

What advice do you have for folks considering a Paddle Florida trip?
Go with the flow! The trips are just grand. You can socialize while you paddle or you can go solo and listen to the river... a bit of each is my approach. I have made friends that I continue to talk to and see and others that I 'catch-up with' when they reappear on another trip. The Paddle Florida experience is wonderful way to see and experience parts of Florida hidden from terrestrial travelers.

Paddler Profile: Paul Westberry

1) Where are you from? 
I am a native Floridian who has lived all over the state, with the most years (17) spent in Gainesville. I began teaching at Terwilliger Elementary in 1968. After earning my Master's degree, I moved to Wyoming for 17 years with 10 spent as principal. I later returned to Florida and retired in Naples after a 37-year career. Armed with Master Naturalist and American Canoe Association certifications, I have been immersed in environmental volunteerism and "work" as a kayak tour guide in the mangrove estuaries of Southwest Florida.

2) When and how did you become interested in paddling?
About 30 years ago, I took my first trip in an OLD vinyl-clad, wood-framed Folbot in a three-day drift down the Green River in Wyoming. That clinched it for me. Backpacking in the Wind River Range and camping/paddling the waters of the West became great sources of joy for me. After I returned to Florida, I bought a couple of used kayaks and began learning the coastal waters of South Florida.

3) Where is your favorite place to paddle?
I love the backwater mangrove areas. The mix of water and bottom structure make it "...like a box of chocolates. You never know..." Even though I take tourists out daily and sometimes twice daily during our season, I can always anticipate something unique each time. I am blessed to be able to continue teaching.

4) How many Paddle Florida trips have you gone on and to where?
A bunch! I met Jan Corcoran and Bill Richards on a Suwannee trip from the Okefenokee Swamp to the Spirit of the Suwannee sometime before they started Paddle Florida. I've probably made 9 or 10 trips, and several years ago I was inducted into the exclusive "Squat Team" for having completed four trips on the Suwannee. I would have to dig out all my tee shirts for an accurate count of Suwannee and Peace trips. I really enjoyed the recent Ochlockonee trip. It may become my favorite.

5) What keeps you coming back? 
Any day spent on the water has great potential for possibilities. The natural beauty of earth, sky, water, and friendships make an alluring mix.

6) Can you describe a particular trip "highlight?"
About six years ago, a very large sturgeon surfaced right next to my boat and lingered long enough for me into gaze into its expressionless dark eyes set off by warts, nodules, and undulations of fins and flesh that were astoundingly dinosaur ancient in appearance.

7) What advice do you have for folks considering a Paddle Florida trip?
If you haven't come yet, add it to your bucket list. Buy, rent, borrow an appropriate boat. That little 10-footer you putz around in on the lake is not a good idea. Make sure you can paddle the mileage required.

Paddler Profile: Patty Pape

1) Where are you from? 
I live in Michigan in the summer and spend winters as a 'snowbird' in Titusville, Florida.

2) When and how did you become interested in paddling? 
I have paddled since I was very young...I grew up on a lake. I started sea kayaking about 17 years ago. I really enjoy taking all my camping gear with me and heading out into the wilds of Lake Superior, Georgian Bay, and Lake Powell, among other places.

3) Where is your favorite place to paddle? 
Florida is definitely my favorite place to paddle because of the abundance and variety of wildlife that you see while paddling. From gators and crocodiles to river otters, dolphins, manatees, wild pigs and monkeys, and hundreds of species of birds...you just don't see that variety of wildlife in other parts of the country. Florida also offers a wide range of paddling opportunities from saltwater to freshwater, lakes, rivers, streams, spring runs, even swamps and mangrove tunnels.

4) What made you decide to go on a Paddle Florida trip? 
I know Walt and Sally Jetter (regular Paddle Florida volunteers) and I had heard them talk of past trips. When I heard about this year's Keys Challenge, I knew I wanted to participate as paddling from Key Largo to Key West has always been on my 'bucket list.'

5) What did you enjoy most about the Paddle Florida trip you went on?  
I had 15 friends from Michigan who came down to paddle with me on the Keys trip, so that made it special. In Michigan, you can 'walk on water in the winter, so they were eager to escape the cold and snow and come to the Sunshine State for a few weeks of paddling. Paddle Florida was a great way to meet new people from other parts of the country. And with the work of meals, campsites, route planning, and hauling gear all done for you, it made the trip easy for participants. I would love to do another Paddle Florida trip to explore another area of the state.

6) What advice do you have for anyone considering a Paddle Florida trip? 
Paddle Florida makes it easy to go on an expedition and discover the 'REAL' Florida! The fact that everything is taken care of for you and you just need to paddle makes it do-able for many ability levels. Using a tandem kayak may be a good idea for those not used to paddling longer distances.

Paddler Profiles: Emily Sperling & Paul Archacki

In honor of the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday, we're profiling a paddling couple this month. Questions below were answered by Emily, with input from Paul.

1) Where are you from? Paul is from Florida's right coast and I am from its left coast, which may explain our differing political viewpoints. Paul grew up in Lantana, and we now both reside in my hometown of Sarasota.

2) When and how did you become interested in kayaking? We really enjoyed a brief kayak tour we took with co-workers off Boca Grande. Then we learned that we had friends and family members with kayaks readily available for borrowing, and that sealed the deal.

3) Where is your favorite place to paddle? Choosing a favorite is difficult as we haven't yet found a spot we didn't like and have so many places we want to try. But for ease of access, interesting animal viewing (including the human variety), and ability to easily flip into clear, warm saltwater for a swim, we'd have to say tootling around the mangroves of Sarasota Bay is a favorite. When the long days of summer are upon us, we can make an after-work decision to go for a paddle and be on the water in less than 15 minutes.

4) What made you decide to go on a Paddle Florida trip? Ultimately, it was the opportunity to introduce our teenage niece and cousin to Florida's natural beauty. We signed up for the Peace River weekend, packed up the kids, forgot our tent fly, and joined the group. To those of you on that trip who still remember us: our sincere apologies. Having the type of quality time with our family that Paddle Florida provided was just priceless.

5) What did you enjoy most about the PF trip you went on? We've had the pleasure of doing both the Peace River and St. Johns River Ramble with Paddle Florida. The birds, manatees, and serenity during early morning launches certainly made both trips enjoyable. But nothing beats the company! We enjoyed meeting such kind, interesting, and fun characters along the way. To this day, family discussions often revolve around the people we met, conversations we had, and songs we made up on those trips. The people make the paddle.

6) Would you go on another PF trip? Absolutely...but you may have to convince us first that the temperature won't drop to 18 degrees! We were among the very brave and determined paddlers who survived the freezing cold of the December 2010 St. Johns River Ramble. When Paul is asked about his willingness to try another winter paddle, he replies "My litmus test is simple. If I'm going to wake up in the morning with ice crystals in my tent, then maybe. If you promise me a cup of cold coffee and a basket of biscuits with frozen butter, then I'm in!" [Editor's Note: This is why our Wekiva/St. Johns trip has moved to April!]

7) Does kayaking together strengthen your relationship or do you sometimes want to hit each other with a paddle? We usually get along okay while kayaking. Generally any frustration we have toward each other gets redirected to our teenage companions. We do get a little competitive though. Paddle Florida rules state nothing about drafting behind then passing your partner as you aim your boat to the shore like a torpedo in an attempt to arrive at the lunch rendezvous first in your group.
In retrospect, kayaking has helped us better understand each other. Though Paul knew I was an outdoorsy girl, he didn't truly realize how strong my need for outdoor adventure and the simple joys that come with paddling and camping were until we went on these trips. Likewise, I have become increasingly thankful for Paul's willingness to try new activities and the humor with which he approaches these adventures.

8) Describe your most stressful moment in a kayak. Was your partner helpful at the time? We both agree that our most stressful time occurred while tandeming on the bay in really choppy waters. What we can't reach agreement on is why it was stressful. Laughing uncontrollably as I related my ride in the back of the boat to that of a cowboy on a bucking bronco, I was having the time of my life. Feeling the instability of the front seat as waves broke over the bow, Paul envisioned himself as a passenger on the Titanic. "I'm out of here!" Paul shouted as he began paddling the tandem with reckless abandon to the nearest shore. I was convinced that once Paul dragged us both to shore (a nearby yet remote mangrove island), he would refuse re-boarding and I'd have to either leave him there or live the life portrayed in Gilligan's Island. I dragged my paddle, legs, arms, and anything else that could hang out of the boat in hopes of tiring Paul out. Ultimately, this and some 'verbal coaching' got us through the trip.

9) Does a tandem or two single kayaks work best for you? Believe it or not, we attempted tandem kayaking one more time on the Myakka River while enjoying a paddle with friends. Ignoring the difficulty of having two control freaks in the boat which caused us to hit bank after bank on our trip downstream, I suggested we navigate a narrower path to a bridge where people like to view alligators. We too enjoyed watching the alligators until we once again brushed up against a bank, both pushed off from the same side of the boat, and ended up in the drink. Really big alligators present a powerful motivating force for climbing back in a boat quickly! We decided on that day to retire the 'relationship boat'. We have been paddling together, separately, ever since.