Greenland Paddler Mini-Profile: Joe O’Blenis

Name – Joe O’Blenis

Location – Thunder Bay Ontario Canada

Years paddling – 32 and counting (I was born at a very young age and soon began paddling)

Favourite Paddle Craft – Wow, have to make a list… Tahe Greenland, Nigel Dennis Greenlander Pro, Clipper Sea 1 expedition solo canoe, Clipper J200 C1 Marathon solo race canoe, also very excited about my two new Tahe Wind 585′s on the way for ny Vancouver Island Speed Record Expedition 2010.

Greenland Paddle Suppliers – Joe O’ Paddles (My own operation obviously, all paddles hand-built in our home based shop).

Why do you like the GP – More efficient for long distance paddling, easier on the body (less fatigueing/ less chance of injury), much more versatile for everything from strokes to sculling, bracing, rolling etc. Looks and feels better and I love embracing the traditional paddle.

Favourite place to paddle – I’ll name a couple here! West Coast of British Columbia Canada’s Vancouver Island, particularity Cape Scot to Brooks Peninsula. Highly exposed, rugged, mountainous…simply amazing! Atlantic Canada’s Bay of Fundy, home to the highest tides in the world.

Most memorable paddle(s) – Vancouver Island circumnavigation in 2007 for the solo speed record, Solo Cross Canada Canoe Expedition in 2004.

Most embarrassing paddling incident – Forgetting my cookset and stove in my Dad’s car at the Quebec/ New Brunswick border in 2001 at the start of a solo kayak expedtion to paddle 1000 kilometers of the New Brunswick coastline. Happy ending though in that my Dad searched for me the next day at any road access point and we met up in the fishing village of Dalhousie where he handed me my missing gear. Saved me from waiting for the local stores to reopen the next day and hope they had something to tide me over. THANKS DAD!

What is your dream paddle trip – Well having already paddled solo across Canada (by canoe), having done Vancouver Island and doing it again in June 2010, I’d say the big one I’m hoping to pull off in a few years would be the Canadian Arctic’s Northwest Passage. Ideally from Inuvik to Labrador.

Final Comment – Do what you like, Like what you do! Cheers…Joe O’