In the summer of 2015, Traci Lynn Martin’s mom was in the final weeks of a battle with cancer. A hospice bed was set up in her mom’s living room in Kansas City. Traci would sit by her side and talk as they looked out the window.
Traci asked her mom about everything — her childhood, her memories, her wishes. And during one of those conversations, her mom surprised her.
“She said, ‘You know, I really regret not ever learning how to swim, and I really regret that I never learned how to play the piano.’ And she pointed to the piano, and she said, ‘You know, if you have anything you want to do, Traci, do it. Don’t wait, because you don’t know how much time you have.’”
Traci realized there was something she wanted to do: circumnavigate all of the Great Lakes in one year by kayak.
No one had ever done it before. This was it: a chance at total freedom and release on the water — with only herself, her body and her boat to rely on.
Traci just had to figure out how to make it happen.
Credits:
Producer: Ellie Katz
Editor: Morgan Springer
Mixing and Sound Design: Matthew Mikkelsen
Additional Editing: Dan Wanschura, Claire Keenan-Kurgan
Feature Image: An artist’s rendering of Traci Lynn Martin kayaking through the storm at the point of Tobermory, where Georgian Bay connects to Lake Huron. (credit: Shana Talebpour)
