Bob Purdy senior paddle boarding

Above photo: Bob Purdy at 61 years young. A group paddle on Kalamalka Lake, Vernon, B.C. Canada. Bob Purdy senior paddle boarding master.

Bob Purdy, the Okanagan’s best known stand-up paddler, passed away. February 2, 2018.

Read the following, fascinating profiles of Senior paddle boarding enthusiasts:

Nancy-Breakstone-senior-paddle-boarding 
Larry-Froley-senior-paddle-boarding
Bill-Whiddon-senior-paddle-boarding
Bob-Purdy-senior-paddle-boarding
Judy-Shasek-senior-paddle-boarding.html

Bob Purdy senior paddle boarding authority.

I’m not sure we smile enough in the World today! I have introduced SUP to a lot of people over the years, and I can say with certainty that every single person comes back from their first experience with a grin from ear to ear! Even more cool is the smile factor that happens every time a person hits the water, even if that person paddles every day! Want to “Change the Way we live on the Planet”, get out there and paddle! Fair warning, be prepared to smile!…
— Wise words from “Standup Paddesurfing Elder in Training” Bob Purdy.

Bob has since passed. He will not be forgotten for his dedication to making the world a better place.

This interview was conducted by email in 2014

Bob Purdy
Standup Paddlesurfing,
Elder in Training from “Paddle for the Planet”

Founder
Paddle for the Planet
and World Paddle for the Planet

Supporter
David Suzuki Foundation

Contributing writer
www.supradioshow.com

Awareness movie/s
Featured in “The Canadian Surfer Movie” and “The Paddler Movie”

Twitter
https://twitter.com/paddlesurfer365

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/bob.purdy.52/

Paddle for the Planet
http://paddlefortheplanet.ca

World Paddle for the Planet
http://www.worldpaddlefortheplanet.com

The Paddler Movie – Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/thepaddlermovie

Bob Purdy senior paddle boarding maestro

Kathy
I have read that you tried stand up paddling for the first time in 2007 at Cocoa Beach, Florida. Tell us about that day and put into words what it is about paddling that inspired you to to become an avid paddler from that day forward. Prior to “Paddle for the Planet” what was your SUP life like? (between the Fall of 2007 to January 1, 2011)?

Bob
I saw a picture of Laird Hamilton and crew in a magazine the summer of 2007, and I decided on the spot I was going to try SUP! At that time there was no info in Canada, so I decided to go to Surf Expo that September to check out this new fangled sport! While there I tried SUP for the first time, 3 to 4 foot Florida surf, which I got into ok and managed to survive. On the way back in to shore I was a bit slow on the get out, and a wave caught the board and flung it into my face, broke my nose. That entire Florida trip just reinforced the feelings I had looking at that first picture of Laird and crew. I had an epiphany, this sport I just found was going to be huge, I just knew it in every cell of my body. I saw the potential that SUP had right away.

Total body and soul workout, every cell from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet is involved, and I felt connected to something much bigger than myself from day one. (Bob Purdy senior paddle boarding speciality).I made a commitment to share the sport with everyone I could, and ordered everything I would need to start a retail store. I shared the sport with anyone who would listen, which at the time was a challenge, everyone I talked to thought I was nuts. Long story short, I ran “Orange Otters” until 2010, at which time I sold to Kevin O’Brien from Kalavida Surf Shop. During that time the sport grew, my little shop grew, and it became apparent that the vision I had in Florida in 2007 was actually happening.

When I sold the store to Kevin, we were chatting one day about what I would do, and I said “Hey, I know, why don’t I paddle for a 1,000 days”! We had a good laugh and I went home, and couldn’t stop thinking about what I said. I made a commitment many years ago to send a healthy and vibrant Planet into the future, and I started to brainstorm ways to put these two things together. That was the summer of 2010, and that was the beginning of Paddle for the Planet. Bob Purdy senior paddle boarding hero.

Kathy
The SUP world along with environmental and other interest groups, know that you are paddling every day since January 1 of 2011. You continue to paddle to raise awareness to help “change the way we live on the planet.” What is the measure of response and impact that “Paddle for the Planet” has received to date?

Bob
Right from Day 1 I felt that “Changing the Way we live on the Planet” would resonate with a large percentage of the population. That has been the message from the beginning, “We need to change the Way we live on the Planet”. I had no budget, still have no budget, although I would love to have a budget. I had some marketing skills, and an inkling of the potential of social media, although I had no experience of social media. I learned how to function in the worlds of facebook and twitter, and called on the connections I had in the SUP world to get me started. I learned very quickly the power of social media.

On Day 10 I had a bit of a meltdown, and announced that Paddle for the Planet would not go on. The perfect storm of overwhelm hit me on that day, at the time a new job I was going to fell through, so I was unemployed, the reality of paddling every day hit me, it was cold, and the magnitude of the message really hit me, is it really possible to “Change the Way we live on the Planet”? I completely broke down. Almost the second I announced on facebook that I was quitting, posts started coming in encouraging me to keep going. Family and friends encouraged me to keep going, somehow I found the strength to get out on Day 11, and I have not looked back. The support I had was way more overwhelming than my inclination to quit, and that support started only 10 days in.

Kathy
The project “Paddle for the Planet” and the man “Bob Purdy” became synonymous immediately after its onset. Could you explain your thought process and what the early motivators were that fed you to actually begin this grand project?

Bob
Very simply, I made a commitment to hand off a healthy and vibrant Planet to future generations. We have significant challenges in today‘s world, and many of them need our immediate attention.

Kathy
I have read an on-line article in “KelownaNow” stating that you and Sharon (your wife) have had a mindful relationship with the David Suzuki Foundation for over 20 years. Your love for paddling and passion for making the planet a better place, created an exciting merger namely “Paddle for the Planet”. You state that paddling to raise funds for the David Suzuki Foundation is the ongoing focus. What is the funding raising goal? And how does the David Suzuki Foundation support “Paddle for the Planet”?

Bob
David Suzuki has contributed a lot to the World, and when I decided to raise funds for an organization as I paddled, the marriage was a no brainer. I raised funds for the foundation for the first 2 years, and raised about $5,000. After the second year Paddle for the Planet started to gain momentum, and I started to see a bigger picture. By this time PFTP was fairly well known in SUP circles, and I wanted to make the jump to let mainstream population know what we are doing. The foundation did not see the same vision I did, so we parted ways. I am still very supportive of the Foundation personally, and share their work with anyone who will listen. A living legend in his own right Bob Purdy senior paddle boarding.

Bob celebrates three years of paddling (1096 days) on Okanagan Lake, B.C., Canada, December 31, 2013

Kathy
A project of this calibre can only continue with dedicated, willing, passionate supporters on board…all those who are close to you and all those who share your everyday energies must offer you on-going encouragement and motivation for this everyday event. From this perspective who are your greatest supporters?

Bob
So much support, way too many to capture here. Highlights, my wife Sharon, none of anything I do would be possible without her. Lelsie Kolovich and Joan Vienot from Panama City Beach, Florida, inspire and encourage me every day. My sponsors, Suplove, O’Neill, Kalavida Surf Shop, Great bear Bites, Redsands Graphics, Paddlesurf.ca, my goodness, so many people! 

Kathy
To date, describe:
a) the most inspiring day of paddling you’ve experienced and why?
b) the most difficult day of paddling you’ve experienced and why?

Bob

• Most inspiring day, again so many! Let’s go with the second “World Paddle for the Planet Day” in Florida, 2013. I paddled for 24 hours to support all the paddles going on around the World, and we had about 70 paddlers on Lake Powell! There were paddles going on in Abu Dhabi, Australia, South Korea, South America, Hawaii, Peurto Rico, all over Europe, and all over North America. This was the point I felt PFTP was beginning to have an impact!
• Day 10 as described above. Coldest day, Feb 2011, -28 Celsius with a 40 to 60 kmh offshore wind. I went to step off my board, and nearly fell on my face, my feet were frozen to the board.

Kathy
On June 16, 2012, for “World paddle for the Planet Day,” you paddled Okanagan lake from Penticton, B.C. to Vernon B.C., a distance of 80 miles. How long did it take you to complete the session. And what were the highlights of that day

Bob
Approximately 19 hours! Leslie and Joan came from Florida to cover that first WPFTPDay, and Leslie paddled 16 miles with me! Her previous best distance was 7 miles, and I will never forget the look on her face, or the sound of her voice when we told her she had paddled 16 miles. Also about 2 hours from the finish I made the mistake of taking a sip of an energy drink, it made me violently ill. I took 10 steps off the beach at the finish and threw up all over, fortunately no cameras to record that event! I threw up two more times and was totally useless in packing up all our gear, the crew did that! Sharon was up for about 30 hours straight doing everything from making sandwiches, to  riding along in the support boat, to packing up gear at the end, to driving everyone home safely after it was all over!

Kathy
September 26, 2013 was a milestone marking 1000 days of paddling for “Paddle for the Planet”. At this point, what were your thoughts on continuing?

Bob
WPFTPlanet Day in Florida was only a couple of weeks away, and I thought I might as well paddle at least until then! I was in Florida for a month for that paddle, and I thought it’s only a couple of months to the end of the year, might as well make it an even three years. in that two months I had many people encourage me to keep going, and I was already thinking that anyways. I was feeling that PFTPlanet was beginning to have an impact, I watched how people who knew about the project react to it, and the changes that were happening as a result. I also felt if I could get the message out to mainstream population, we could have an even greater impact.

Kathy
What is “World Paddle for the Planet”? And what happens at this event?

Bob
At the end of 2012 I wanted to begin to reach more people, and started exploring ways to do that. I had the idea to invite paddlers of any type of craft to “pick a change, paddle for it on a World Paddle Day, then commit to it until it became reality”. I also felt I needed to do something a bit spectacular to get people to notice, which is where the idea came from to paddle the length of Okanagan Lake. Leslie and Joan really helped to put this event on the map, and they offered to host a second WPFTPDay, and went above and beyond, they put on a 4 day festival that was a huge success.

This year was a bit lower key, I didn’t have a major paddle in me, we focussed instead on bringing attention to B.C. and some of the environmental challenges on the horizon. This year the paddle was held in Tofino, and the community took us under their wings for another very successful event. In Florida I also started raising funds for local projects, we raised about a thousand dollars for “Mother Ocean” there, and this year we raised about $2000 for Clayoquot Action. We will be announcing next years event soon!

Kathy
We have enjoyed your articles at www.supradioshow.com for some time—for this who don’t know this website, explain what kind of articles you are publishing?

Bob
Leslie owns and operates the SUP Radio Show in Florida. We became fast friends after her trip to BC to cover the first World Paddle. After the second WPFTPDay in Florida, she asked me if I would be interested in writing a weekly blog for her show. I jumped at the chance, and we had our first anniversary of articles in November. The blog is called, “Standing up for the Planet”, and is an eclectic variety of various thoughts I have. The articles range from things we can do environmentally, socially and economically to “Change the Way we live on the Planet”, to personal insights, to inspirational people that are doing amazing things for the Planet, basically just “Talking Story”!

 Bob Purdy senior paddle boarding is a hero!

Read the following, fascinating profiles of Senior paddle boarding enthusiasts:

Nancy-Breakstone-senior-paddle-boarding 
Larry-Froley-senior-paddle-boarding
Bill-Whiddon-senior-paddle-boarding
Bob-Purdy-senior-paddle-boarding
Judy-Shasek-senior-paddle-boarding.html

Kathy
What significant other global events does “Paddle for the Planet” and “World Paddle for the Planet” merge with to raise awareness?

Bob
The best way to answer that question is to tell you about the “Ceremonial Paddle”. I had two wood paddles that I had been saving for a special occasion, and in January, 2013, that occasion presented itself in the form of a rally during the northern gateway joint review public hearings in Kelowna. The public was locked out from participating in those hearings, and Idle No More organized a rally in the parking lot to display public opposition to the proposal. I got wind that Grand Chief Stewart Phillip would be there, and I had the idea to gift him one of the paddles. I asked for permission to do this, and once I got the go ahead, I began planning.

I decided I would sign one of the paddles for Grand Chief, and ask him to sign one for me to take with me on my travels. I signed both the paddles “Standing Together”, I wanted to demonstrate support for First Nations everywhere, and I figured I had better make an effort to gift him a paddle with good “Spirit”. I used the paddle I was going to gift him on my morning paddle that day, as it turned out, one of the more challenging paddles I have had, in the wind, in the cold, in the dark, a paddle that normally takes me about an hour took me closer to two. I figured the paddle had the right stuff and gifted it to him!

Since that first signature there have been many others, First Nations, politicians, athletes, community builders, artists and more whose signatures represent somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 million people. I tell you this story to illustrate the thought process that goes into everything I do. I do a lot of public speaking, and attend a lot of different events. I actively promote anything that has the effect of “Changing the Way we live on the Planet”, everything from World Water Days, to Sustainable conferences, to rally’s, to fundraisers, etc. etc. Globally, I will participate in things like Earth Day in a variety of ways thru social media and personal local appearances.

Kathy
Your vision — What will your “ultimate goal accomplished” look like for “Paddle for the Planet”?

Bob
When I see clean air, clean water, fertile and productive land, healthy and vibrant societies, good leadership from our decision makers, grass roots efforts to make change in combination, or individually, I will know that we are on the right track. There is a groundswell happening right now, and it is building. The question for me is, are we doing enough, soon enough to fulfill my promise to send a healthy and vibrant Planet into the future? I will continue doing the things I am doing until that goal is met, for as long as my health holds.

Kathy
You have participated in two Canadian movie productions, “The Canadian Surfer Movie” in 2013 and “The Paddler Movie” to be released in early 2015. Could you share your insight on how “The Paddler Movie” is expected to impact environmental awareness?

Bob
Carey Missler from DCD productions is the film maker on both films. He called me at 5 in the morning from Mexico early in January this year to ask if I would be interested in doing a second film with him, he already had a name for it, “The Paddler Movie’. We agreed to chat when he got home, and within 2 hours we had the framework for the movie.

The movie will tell a bit about my story, mostly it will tell the story of water, what it means to us, what the challenges are, and what we can do to send clean water into the future. We are telling that story through a series of interviews, a series of very powerful interviews, and will give specifics of what people can do to contribute to healthy water. We are also going to highlight some of the incredibly beautiful and pristine places I have been fortunate enough to paddle, including the Great bear Rainforest, an area that most people will never see in their lifetimes.

These areas need our protection, and through the film we will connect the dots and demonstrate how intricately connected everything is! After watching this movie, the viewers will have a very good sense of the “Spirit of the Place, and the Spirit of Water” through the beautiful footage we have, will possibly learn some things they did not know about water, and some steps that can be taken today to ensure clean water for future generations! Bob Purdy senior paddle boarding is an inspiration.

Read the following, fascinating profiles of Senior paddle boarding enthusiasts:

Nancy-Breakstone-senior-paddle-boarding 
Larry-Froley-senior-paddle-boarding
Bill-Whiddon-senior-paddle-boarding
Bob-Purdy-senior-paddle-boarding
Judy-Shasek-senior-paddle-boarding.html