Kayaker embarks on 8,600-mile Great Lakes odyssey

Traci Lynn Martin is hoping this winter without a winter will work to her advantage.

The resident of the Kansas City, Mo., area plans to start an epic journey on March 9 from Fort Gratiot Light Station County Park — where Lake Huron meets the St. Clair River — and open water would be nice.

"The ice is definitely a concern," said Martin, who plans to circumnavigate the Great Lakes — and beyond — in a kayak. "I'll just deal with it as I reach it."

She originally had planned to start at a later date in March, but she recently did a scouting trip to Port Huron and was encouraged to bump up her start by the lack of ice in the St. Clair River.

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"The winter up there has been relatively mild, so hopefully I'll be able to get through it," she said.

Martin plans to paddle a record distance of 8,600 miles in one year. She will be starting in Port Huron and heading north. Her goal is to finish her record-setting trip in December at Lake Erie Metropark in Brownstown Township.

Her journey is going to take her around all five Great Lakes, through the St. Lawrence River, south along the Atlantic coast and north up the Hudson River to the Erie Canal and back to Lake Ontario via the Oneida and Oswego rivers.

Martin said she's doing the trip "because no one has ever done it before, and I want to show people who have a dream that no matter what obstacles may potentially be in your way, you have to give it everything you have to reach your dream and to feel alive," she said. "What is it that makes you passionate, what is it that makes you feel alive so when you reach the end of your life, you look back on your life and you don't have any regrets."

Martin works as a registered nurse at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City. She was diagnosed several years ago with rheumatoid arthritis.

"I have taken care of a lot of people with chronic illnesses, and I have a chronic illness," she said. "I want to inspire patients with chronic illnesses that their life isn't over ... not to give up on their dreams, not to give up."

She is the mother of three children — a grown daughter and two sons who still are at home.

"That is going to be the hardest part, being away from my two boys," she said, noting they will be with her husband and after school is out for the summer, they will be able to follow her in a support vehicle.

A kayak racer, she has lots of experience on the water.

"I do ultra-marathon races," she said. "I prefer races that are 50 miles or longer. The longest race I've ever done is 340 miles across the state of Missouri."

Martin has competed nine times in the Missouri River 340, finishing first in the solo women's division twice. She also has finished second and third in the event.

"I've done the race in 54 hours," she said.

She said she hopes to paddle about 30 miles her first day out. She needs to average about 32.5 miles each day for 265 days to set the record.

She wants to be back in the Port Huron area, after having circumnavigated Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, by August before setting out down the St. Clair River through Lake Erie and Lake Ontario to the Atlantic.

Chris Stafford, of Kalispell, Montana, is the project manager for the expedition. He said he met Martin at a kayak race in South Dakota.

"I had plans to take 2017 off for my own expedition, which was not nearly as long as Traci's," he said. "I had offered to help with ground support this coming summer. Ultimately, I decided I would take the whole year off and help."

He said Martin has a passion for kayak racing.

"She's kind of quiet, polite, pleasant, sweet, friendly, generous — I could go on and on with adjectives," he said.

"But when it comes to racing, she really has a focused attitude, and she's a winner when it comes to racing."

Contact Bob Gross at 810-9898-6263 or rgross@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobertGross477.

More information

• Traci Lynn Martin, an experienced kayak racer from Kansas City, Mo, will attempt to set a record for the most miles paddled in a solo expedition in one year.
• She plans to leave Fort Gratiot Light Station County Park on March 9.
• A team of filmmakers will be accompanying her on the journey, capturing footage for a film called "Just Around the Pointe."
• The expedition is called "The Stellar Tour de Force," and Martin will be wearing a tracking device so people can follow her progress at raceowl.com.
• Martin's website is at justaroundthepointe.com.
• Martin will be paddling a Stellar USA Racer kayak that has been modified with extra hatches for gear and supplies.