The Spare Seat Kayak Expedition across New York State
The Spare Seat is the brainchild of two adventurers, Richard Harpham, from Great Britain and American, Glenn Charles who are giving random people the chance to join them for a day on their next adventure.
Each day someone will get to join them on their kayaking challenge, getting involved and being part of the team. “We hope that this will inspire a great many people to explore their dreams, adventures and possibilities in their lives”. Part of the intrigue of the Spare Seat is who will join, what will their stories be and how will the entire story end.
The New York State ‘Spare Seat’ kayak expedition is an epic journey of over 500 miles across New York State, from Niagara Falls, to the Statue of Liberty, New York, finishing on the 125th anniversary of its construction. We aim to capture the heritage, culture, wildlife and iconic locations along the route from Niagara Falls, along the Eerie Canal, a UNESCO world Heritage site to Albany where the team will join the Hudson River and paddle south to Manhattan, New York City and the Statue of Liberty.
Richard and Glenn are two experienced adventurers who have covered over 17,000 human powered miles between them by kayak, canoe and bikes. They have a passion for inspiring young people and communities through their challenges. They will be sharing their experiences by giving talks about their adventures, hosting coaching clinics and documenting life and interviewing people they meet along the way. We also hope that people will join us for small stretches along the way and ‘Bring Your Own Seat’ to paddle.
An exciting element of the project is the UK competition for two lucky winners to join the team for 3 days on the water in the Spare Seat in each double kayak and also a city break in the ‘Big Apple’, New York City. This once in a lifetime prize is courtesy of New York State, Division of Tourism, Delta Airlines and Travelbag. There are also a host of other fantastic runners up prizes including Vango rucksacks, Paramo Clothing, Olympus Cameras and even a day paddling in the UK for four with canoetrails.co.uk.
They are inviting people from different walks of life and communities along the route to join them for a day in the Spare Seat and share their life stories on film and an interview with Inspired Life. The team are no strangers to media, Glenn is a world class photographer who made his living with a camera and Richard has spent much of his time working with international media, through his own expeditions and also as the manager of the Ghana Ski Team at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
“Who will join in the spare seat? How will the story develop and how will it finish?” Follow the story as it unfolds and spread the word about this exciting adventure and social experiment to inspire people.
To follow their adventures then visit their dedicated website www.thespareseat.com or visit Richard’s Big 5 kayak challenge www.big5kayakchallenge.com or Glenn’s Wabi Sabi your life www.wabisabiyourlife.com.
