PORT TOWNSEND — A Denver man who seeks to inspire young people to appreciate the outdoors passed through Port Townsend on his way to Port Angeles this week while on a 1,200-mile solo kayaking trip between Seattle and San Diego.
Rich Brand, who has no fixed schedule, camped on the Dungeness Spit on Thursday and expected to stop in Port Angeles today or Saturday.
“This is unbelievable,” Brand said, talking on his cellphone while floating in his kayak just off Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge.
“There are all these seals in the water all around me, just playing in the sun and checking me out.
“They are wondering what this big green thing is.”
Brand, 39, is traveling in a 17-foot lime-green kayak stuffed with camping gear, supplies and technology that allows him to chronicle his adventures.
His company, Captured Heartbeats of Denver, gets sponsorships from manufacturers and other businesses to help with the expenses of his adventures.
“We live to show you what is possible,” says the website at www.CapturedHeartbeats.com.
“I’m doing this for adventure, and I’m doing this to inspire younger generations to get outdoors and get active and do something,” he said.
“You can’t inspire them if you are just sitting on your couch.
“I want to be out here taking photos and showing people what’s out there in the world.”
A photographer and graphic designer, Brand previously took a trip down the Mississippi River from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.
He expects this trip to be very different from that one.
Aside from a short time in New Zealand 15 years ago, Brand has never taken a kayak into the ocean.
But he’s undaunted, he said.
He expects to paddle out beyond the surf line, from 100 yards to a mile offshore, and find a channel that will take him down the coast.
Brand’s goals are loose. He has no operational or time constraints, and he expects to reach San Diego “in late July-ish.”
“My goal is to survive. I want to do this as safely and go as far as I can,” he said.
“There are a lot of variables. I may not make it all the way to San Diego, but I’m not going to quit this trip. That is not an option for me.”
The farthest Brand has traveled in a single day is 56 miles, he said.
Brand’s main photography tool is a Canon SLR with which he takes quality shots, he said.
He also is also carrying a GoPro video camera mounted to a flagpole and takes pictures with his phone for posting on his Instagram account, “Nevermissamoment.”
He isn’t carrying a laptop on this trip but is keeping an audio journal recorded on his phone.
A live tracker — http://share.delorme.com/Capturedheartbeats — posts his location at all times, and details of his trips are on his website.
The location data come from a satellite tracking unit Brand wears on his vest.
“If I’m ever in trouble, I just press a button and send a distress signal to the Coast Guard,” said Brand, who checks in with the Coast Guard at every stop where the agency operates.
In Port Angeles, Brand plans to visit the Coast Guard and use any information gathered to plan the trip’s next step.
Brand said he doesn’t do a lot of deep thinking while on the water.
During those times, he is most concerned with surviving and staying safe.
He chose to not bring along a music device “because I want to stay aware and listen to what is happening in my surroundings.”
He hasn’t spent much money on the trip aside from his airfare and the cost of shipping the kayak from Denver to Seattle.
The $6,000 vessel was given to him in sponsorship from the manufacturer, Wilderness Systems.
He eats well, a selection of freeze-dried delicacies that includes a variety of tasty pasta dishes.
He carries two weeks’ worth of food at a time and gets a new supply shipped to marinas on the way or to friends’ houses where he stops to stay the night.
Brand doesn’t have any trouble meeting people, he said.
There is something about a 6-foot-4, 260-pound man dressed all in green that makes them want to say hello, he said.
“This is an adventure,” he said.
“I don’t get caught up in any grand things.
“I spend time appreciating every day, the sunrise and the sunset and the amazing people I meet along the way.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
