Those old, funny-turned-annoying Southwest Airlines ads on TV that asked "Wanna get away?" were marketing genius. They were brilliantly straightforward; make people realize how ridiculous the daily hassles of life are. Then make them think they've earned a vacation because of them.
Beginning today, 27-year-old Gloucester native Will Rich is ditching those every day hassles in favor of what will likely be a four month voyage. He is truly "getting away."
Today, Rich and his close friend Mike Simpson will begin an unprecedented journey of touring the East Coast, only they won't be looking out to sea. They will be looking inland.
"Early last summer Mike kind of thought it up and just mentioned it in passing one day," Rich said. "I was like, sure I'll do that. The next week at the (kayak) shop we were working and I was like, so were you serious about that trip? Cause I kind of need to know now."
Mike confirmed the outlandish thought.
"We'll stand-up paddle board starting in Key West, Fla. and then work our way up the entire coast over the course of a few months."
It is unconfirmed as to whether or not they will be the first duo to pull of the feat as there is not yet a stand-up paddle board chapter in the Guinness Book of World Records. But the duo insists that just about the only agenda here is to see the Eastern seaboard from a totally different point of view.
"Think of it like this, in a roundabout way part of the reason people go on boats is to be able to see land," Rich explained. "It's that and we simply love paddle boarding, it's a great sport."
Rich was introduced to the fast-growing sport by Simpson, who spent a great deal of his time paddle boarding in Hawaii. While at times, the sport can look leisurely, make no mistake, it is a brutal workout.
"I guess you could say I'm a gym rat and I do the squats, dead lifts, all of that. But I have never been so sore than I was after I was done paddle boarding for the first time," Rich said. " There's just such a great deal of energy exerted. I only went three or four miles that day. Trying to stay balanced, it works every muscle in your legs that you didn't think you had. The upper body obviously gets it too with the paddling itself."
Lodging
No, Rich and Simpson will not be sleeping on their boards in the middle of the Atlantic (though they probably would on a dare). The pair has gained quite the following online through their blog, supthecoast.com, and have had many people step forward and offer up a spare bed or couch for the night.
"We've had complete strangers contacting us and offering a place to stay, it's a great thing," Rich said. "The plan is to duck in for a day and night, relative to the weather. Weather is going to play such a huge part in the schedule."
The duo will have plenty of help from the mainland as Mimi Whitmarsh will be the IT department, PR, HR, communications and most importantly, food transport" for Rich and Simpson.
Rich will also be getting back to his Cape Ann roots on the first leg of the trip. On the first few nights he will stay with former Gloucester head hockey coach and former neighbor Dick MacNeil in Key West.
"We grew up right across the street from him and he was my hockey coach in high school," Rich said. "I told him what we were doing and my parents will be staying there as well the first couple nights so we're all excited to see each other."
Pack rats
When Rich first stepped on the paddle board, there wasn't a chance he could handle so much as a spare t-shirt on the board while keeping his balance. As a refined paddle boarder these days, however, Rich isn't afraid to carry some extra weight on board.
"We're gonna have electronics with us coming out our ears," Rich said. "We'll have a solar panel spot tracking device, 3,000 inches of storage space for sleeping bags, stove, clothes, food and safety equipment. So, it definitely changes the aspect of things when you start adding weight. It can really start slowing things down quite a bit."
Rich, who is employed at Gentle Giant Moving and Storage and is used to a large workload, says the two will treat each day like going to work. Put in the time and see where you end up.
The final destination is Portland, Maine. Be on the lookout for the duo as they pass Cape Ann sometime around, say, June.
Please see future editions of the Times Sports Page, Twitter account and gloucestertimes.com/sports for updates on Rich and Simpson's East Coast journey.
