Flotsam&Jetsam neWs From the PAddLinG WorLd
Joe and ed.
Photo: couRtesy Joe MuLLen
PrOFILe by becKy moLinA
“Old” Men and the sea
seventysomethinG instructors PAddLe 00 dAys A yeAr
In the late afternoon when most sep- last ferry, he paddles home.) When not pad-
tuagenarians head to restaurants for early bird dling, he plays tennis. Joe frequents the greens,
specials, Ed Engel, 71, and Joe Mullen, 76, are having moved to a golf course community
more likely landing their kayaks on the beach, from Maine.
riding the final wave of their weekly “out of A retired engineer, Ed tinkers constantly. He
sight” trip, which involves paddling into the holds a patent on a kit boat he designed and pro-
Gulf of Mexico until they can no longer see duced in his backyard, and he teaches Greenland
the condos of southwest Florida. People of any paddle making. He builds skin-on-frame kayaks
age could get exhausted simply reading about out of PVC pipe and blue plastic tarps. Joe’s
the treks and trials of these kayak veterans. enthusiasm makes him the social director. On
Ed and Joe have been best friends for eight trips, he arranges nightly wine and cheese.
years. Together, they have completed the Wa- Their grandfatherly style has made Ed and
terTribe Challenge, a 300-mile unsupported Joe popular kayak guides and instructors.
race from Tampa Bay to Key Largo, four Both ACA-certified, they have inspired hun-
times. Having organized and guided several dreds of students. Their outgoing nature has
Baja tours, they returned to the Sea of Cor- led as easily to worldwide friendships as it has
tez last fall for a challenging circumnavigation to the rescue of complete strangers.
of Guardian Angel Island. They’ve paddled What drives these guys? Companionship,
the Maine Island Trail and the St. Lawrence wanderlust and a sense of play that come with
Seaway (during a journey from Lake On- second childhood. They tease each other in-
tario to Lake Champlain). They have wetted cessantly and throw back cold ones with thir-
hulls from the Gulf of Alaska to the Sea of tysomethings at the take-out. They volunteer
the Hebrides. Having already paddled the In- as students or victims during BCU and ACA
ner Hebrides, they will return for five weeks training sessions, hamming it up like Academy
to paddle the Outer Hebrides this summer Award candidates.
and then follow the Caledonian Canal system These chronologically gifted chums seem
across Scotland, passing through Loch Ness. to have uncorked a fountain of youth whose
Though paddling about 200 days a year sets secret ingredients are kayaking, relationships
this pair apart from most retirees, Ed and Joe and adventure. And a positive attitude doesn’t
have a typical Florida lifestyle. Ed traded New hurt. When asked what injuries plague them,
Jersey suburbs for a bungalow on an island they recite the golden rule that pushes them
only accessible by boat. (When he misses the across the nautical miles: No whining!
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