In this episode of The Dubcast with Dubside, Dubside sits down with longtime friend and expedition paddler Skip Pauls on San Juan Island to trace a lifetime of sea kayaking. Skip recalls cutting his teeth on long-distance days along the New England shoreline—circumnavigating Cape Ann, crossing from Plymouth to Provincetown, and threading the islands of Maine—before discovering the raw, three-dimensional coastline of Mendocino, California.
From solo explorations of unmapped sea caves and surge channels to bull kelp forests, abalone divers, near-misses in rock gardens, and an unforgettable close encounter with a gray whale in stormy seas, Skip paints a vivid portrait of what it means to really know a coastline. Along the way he reflects on mentors, boat choice, safety, and the unique headspace required to paddle big water day after day.
