Mission22 is starting to receive donation through my site.
I have made to great contacts. One is providing great Intelligence on the water ahead of me. The other is providing much needed support when I get to Portland.
My son is coming tomorrow with a new Garmin GPS and few other things. He will transport me to Machais where I will have a small amount of time to get to a campsite.
I am feeling positive and will be rested and ready.
Glad I have food with me. Weather is calling for rain and thunderstorms for today.
Received 2 Mission22 donations today. Sent thank you right away.
It appears from a google search last night that every news agency in Maine covered my incident. The coast guard is praising me for having the right equipment and knowing how to use it.
I will spend today packing and repacking the kayak to avoid a repeat of Sunday.
I will go to post office to get a box and ship a few things to my son.
Still drying out some gear.
Okay end of yesterday. I called a hotel and got a room but had to find a ride. The ambulance driver was there on a call and offered to pick me up after he finished his shift in a few minutes.
DAY 2 MORNING
There is no taxi service so I tried to see if the police would do a courtesy escort and that failed. The desk clerk called a veteran service and within minutes I had someone on the way. He gave me a ride to the coast guard station.
Saw all my gear in the garage at the coast guard station. Went inside did the report and then they gave me the number of a hotel down the road. I was informed that a reporter from the Portland Press Herald wanted to interview me over the phone.
I started to empty the kayak to find the front and back dry(?) wells were half full of water. So it was unpack and assess the damages. Get the water out. Now I know why it was so damn heavy.
Second reporter shows up from the Quoddy Tides to interview and take pictures.
I have gear everywhere drying out.
It is raining so I am limited in my travels but it is 3 in the afternoon and I will think about dinner soon. There is a microwave in my room and I have plenty of freeze dried food and water.
I will publish day 3 tomorrow it should be short.
Well we launched and pulled back in weight wasn’t balanced. Moved some stuff then it felt stable. Launched at 1:04PM from Quoddy Head Light. Paddled for 1hr stopped in cove for lunch. Kayak flipped quickly I wet exited. Walked it to shore fixed weight took off.
Made next cove seas getting rough pulled. Again reduced weight on back to front. Kayak felt very stable.
Seas building with some 5 & 6 foot waves. Kayak handling nice.
Came around one point then headed to next one. This put me a mile offshore. Decided to head up the channel to Machaisport to find MITA campground.
Was going to hunker down as forecast was rain for 2 days. As I started to turn into channel the kayak flipped. I couldn’t get it righted. So I called Mayday. Gave coast guard my INFormation. They request I turn on my PLB.
I was swimming with the kayak towards shore to stay warm. Water temp is 39. I was in the water for 1 hour and starting to chill.
When the coast guard pulled me on board I started shivering. The made me get out of my gear and put me in a hot bag. Called ems for checkout. Took me into docks to transfer me to an ambulance. When they checked me out my body temp was 94. Heat packs and hospital.
They took blood, pulse, blood pressure, EKG, chest Xray, IV of saline. In the end I am fine so they released me.
In hotel for the night then to find ride to coast guard station 46 miles away.
Will have to empty n repack the kayak to fix weight problem before I continue.
Oh I lost my Mission22 hat and my Gamin unit. I thought the Garmin floated?
It suppose to rain hard for 2 days so I will restart after the rains if the seas are good.
This is just a minor setback.
I just found out the Quoddy Head is the eastern most point in the United States. Glad I picked it.
I met the caretaker Shaun and he graciously agreed to open a gate so that we can get to the launch point tomorrow. He is anxious to follow my progress down the coast.
We stopped for pizza before returning to the hotel and made new friends there that are also anxious to follow my progress.
Welcome to my new friends in Lubec.
Just finished intetview with Wareham TV. Got some footage out in the water.
Tomorrow is final work day. It is also payday. I have to pick up the banner hopefully it will be done.
My friend and kayak buddy John will pick me up at work and we will load everything in his car.
Saturday morning we are off to Quoddy Head Me.
Sunday is get to launch point load the kayak take pictures n video. Then at high tide i launch. The trip starts no turning back no quitting.
(West Marine / BlueFuture Website / BlueFuture Heroes 10)
Joseph Mullin
Wareham, Massachusetts
Normally, BlueFuture Heroes shares the stories of the nonprofit organizations that are helping to improve young people’s lives through access to the water. This month, however, we’re shining our spotlight on a paddler who’s making a difference in kids’ lives in a different way—by supporting their veteran parents.
The really cool part? He’s doing it through an incredible ocean journey, and his story serves as inspiration for all generations interested in spending time on the water.
Starting May 1, Joseph Mullin will embark on a 2,000-mile sea kayak expedition from Quoddy Head, in Maine’s Bay of Fundy, to Key West, Florida. His goal is to bring awareness to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the shocking rate of veteran suicides—18 to 22 per day—so veterans can get the help they deserve. He’s also fundraising through the nonprofit Elder Heart organization and its Mission 22 program.
“Our veterans are taught to always be strong, to stay strong, but the quick transition to civilian life can leave them reeling,” Mullin says. “PTSD is like 20 to 30 emotions hitting you all at once, and how do you handle that? It takes tremendous courage for a veteran to ask for help. That’s why I want to do this. To raise fund and awareness for their sake, and for the sake of their children, because a suicide isn’t just one life lost. It’s a family destroyed.”
U.S. Naval Air Reserve veteran, Mullin has personal experience with PTSD, which largely stemmed from his time working as a search-and-recovery diver.
“I spent 20 years doing underwater recovery,” he says. “We worked in all types of water, in ponds, rivers and lakes as well as the ocean. We were involved with vehicle recoveries, evidence searches, drownings.”
When asked how he managed the strain of recovery work, Mullin falls silent, then observes, “It was always about the families, about giving them closure so they wouldn’t spend the rest of their lives wondering.”
Mullin retired from underwater recovery work in 2001. He says he continued diving for awhile, but he developed shortness of breath and depleted his tanks too quickly. Then he discovered kayaking, and it was the right thing at the right time.
“I spent my life on the water, starting with surfing and then diving,” he reflected. “Honestly, I feel more comfortable on water than I do on land. It’s both energizing and peaceful.”
When Mullin began planning his fundraising adventure, he realized his old kayak would never be able to make such an intense offshore journey. It performed like a barge upwind and proved to be unsteady in following seas.
So, Mullin is now the proud owner of a 17-foot, 6-inch Necky Looksha Elite touring kayak, which is more than up to the performance challenge and can carry more than 60 pounds of gear. Mullin will pick up resupply boxes at various waypoints on his route, and he’ll also go ashore for periodic fundraisers. The rest of the time, he’s on his own.
“I’m staying in the ocean, about a half or three-quarters of a mile offshore, rather than paddling the Intracoastal Waterway,” he notes. “Ironically, the ICWA is too dangerous due to all the boat traffic and wakes in a confined space. I know the ocean. I can handle it better. I study the water and find my line.”
Mullin expects to be on the water for at least six months. He hopes to arrive in Key West in December, but the finish line is not his main priority.
“Success for this trip is going to be the amount of money I raise to help my fellow veterans get the help they need,” he shares on his website. “Saving lives and families is more important than the miles I paddle or the people I meet… they are just a plus.”
We at West Marine were pleased to be able to work with Garmin to help facilitate the donation of a GPS unit for Mullin’s long journey. We wish him bon voyage and look forward to following his progress as he uses his own waterlife to make life brighter for so many others, of all ages.
To learn more, visit https://acske2017.org.
Most people will think it is going to be the number of miles i am going to paddle. Some may think it is the number of people i will meet.
Success for this trip is going to be the amount of money i raise to help my fellow veterans get the help they need.
Saving lives and families is more important than the miles i paddle or the people i meet. They are just a plus.
acske2017 