Surf-skier visits Little Girl's Point on journey around Great Lakes

By RICHARD JENKINS

rjenkins@yourdailyglobe.com

LITTLE GIRL'S POINT - Little Girl's Point may have played a small part in a world record this week as Traci Martin stopped at the Point during her quest to become the first person to paddle the coastline of all five Great Lakes and set a world record for most miles paddled in her type of boat.

Martin credits her mother's cancer diagnosis with the inspiration to attempt the journey.

"The last couple weeks of her life, she had a lot of regrets about things - she always wanted to learn to play the piano and never did - things she wanted to do," Martin said after arriving at the Point Tuesday. "So she told me before she died if there is something that I want to do in life, do it now and not to wait."

Martin said she spent the next two years planning and gathering the equipment necessary to complete the roughly 5,800-mile journey. If successful, she would not only be the first to circumnavigate all five lakes in the same year - but would topple the current record of just over 3,800 miles for the most miles paddled in a surf-ski kayak.

"People have circumnavigated one lake a year, different people have circumnavigated the lakes - but no one has done all five in the same year," Martin said.

While Martin has undertaken the journey for a number of reasons, inspiring those dealing with chronic illnesses plays a big role.

Martin, who has rheumatoid arthritis, works as a nurse and frequently sees patients who have given up.

"They'll say, 'I hurt really bad. I just don't want to move, I don't want to get up,'" Martin said. "So I'm trying to inspire people with chronic illnesses."

Her message to those with chronic illness is that refusing to let the illness stop people from participating in their hobbies usually improves how the person feels.

"Even if you're not feeling good; if there is something that you love to do and you get up to do it and start feeling better mentally, then you're going to start feeling better physically," Martin said.

While she has some days where it's just not possible to paddle, most of the time Martin said she feels better after forcing herself to get out on the water.

"With rheumatoid arthritis; there's days I get up and my hands are swollen, I hurt, my joints hurt - but I know if can I get up and on the water, once I'm on the water and I start moving, I'm going to feel better mentally and then I just start feeling better physically," she said. "Don't stop doing the things you love, because that's what life is all about."

She started her journey in Port Huron on March 9. She said she had originally planned to start April 1, but locals she met on scouting trips said it had been a mild winter and there wasn't a lot of ice on the lake.

"So I bumped (the starting date) up, and then within a week of starting there was a horrible ice storm," Martin said. The storm delayed her for a couple weeks after the start of the trip and she was able to regularly hit mileage goals until the original April 1 date.

She has already completed her journey around Lake Michigan and paddled close to 1,700 miles.

The surf-ski Martin is paddling is more commonly seen on the east and west coasts, where it is used for racing.

"They're longer, they're more narrow. My boat is 18-inches wide and 19-feet long. They have an open seating area," Martin said "They're designed to surf on top of the waves and they're very common on the east and west coasts - they're a racing boat, for ocean racing. My background is racing and so I race exclusively in surf-skis."

Martin said the advantages of the surf-ski give her a better chance at accomplishing the trip than those who have attempted it in the past.

"The people that have attempted it and failed have done it in sea kayaks, and a surf-ski is a lot faster. Usually a person paddling a sea kayak, if they do 15 miles in a day, that's usually a good (distance)," Martin said. "When I first started on Lake Michigan, I was averaging 30 miles a day. And one day, I paddled 42 miles. I can paddle faster and get more distance than someone in a sea kayak."

While the journey is a first for Martin, she's no stranger to the water. Martin has been canoeing and kayaking since she turned 18 - she celebrated her 50th birthday Sunday - and has been a competitive kayak racer since 2008.

Over the last several months she has been struck by Michigan's beauty, both along its shoreline and in its people.

"It's been amazing. All of the people here in Michigan, especially in the Upper Peninsula, have been just amazing and generous and kind," Martin said. "It's so beautiful out there. Pictured Rocks is amazing and even the areas that don't have a lot of publicity for tourists, if you put your boat in some of these places - like a state park - and paddled, I mean it's just so beautiful."

While Martin is from Missouri, her journey has left her captivated with the Wolverine state.

"I plan on moving to Michigan, I've absolutely fallen in love with Michigan," she said. "I've already told all my friends and family, 'When this is over (I'm moving).'"

The two highlights of the trip were traveling past Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes downstate and Pictured Rocks, Martin said.

"Pictured Rocks was definitely amazingly beautiful ... you'll see pictures of it, and I was totally blown away by seeing it in real life," she said. "The pictures don't do it justice, you have to go out and see it."

After she completes her journey around Lake Superior, Martin will return to Port Huron where she launched and then travel down the Detroit River and into Lake Erie. Once going around one side of Lake Erie, she will have to single-handedly portage her boat around Niagra Falls before traveling around Lake Ontario and then back past the falls to the rest of Lake Erie.

While she has until Dec. 31 to finish the journey under Guinness rules, Martin said she is hoping to complete the journey by the first or second week of December at Erie Metro Park, outside Detroit.

"I won't quit until I'm done, but it would be nice to spend Christmas with my family," Martin said.

While she wants to inspire people to pursue their dreams and hobbies, Martin also has more practical advice for those on the water - always use the proper safety equipment, including life jackets.

"I'm amazed at how many people I've paddled by that are out wearing swimming suits on Lake Superior without a life jacket on," Martin said. "You fall in and the water is cold and you can't get back in your boat."

She has a sticker from the Coast Guard certifying she has all the necessary safety equipment, including items like a marine radio, to safely complete the journey.

Those interested in following Martin's journey can visit her Facebook page at Traci Lynn Martin, or her website -

JustaroundthePointe.com

She said the site's name came from her technique of breaking the journey down into manageable pieces.

"Usually you're out there and you're tired and I keep saying, 'I just want to get to the next point, I just want to get to the next point,'" Martin said. "You think about the huge undertaking of this, it overwhelms you; but if you break it down to 'I just want to get to the next point,' it's easier."