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ThePaddler.co.uk magazine
Issue 1 September 2012
Open publication



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The Spare Seat completes at the Statue of Liberty

  
   

On Wednesday 22nd May 2012 adventurers Glenn Charles and Richard Harpham finished their 503 mile Spare Seat Kayak Expedition at the Statue of Liberty, New York City.  They completed the ‘Wedding of the Waters’ pouring water from Lake Erie into the Atlantic as a fitting tribute to the ceremony completed in 1825 by DeWitt Clinton after opening the original Erie Canal, also known as Clinton’s Ditch.  The human powered journey saw the team paddle between two of the world’s most iconic locations, Niagara Falls and Statue of Liberty.

The New York State Spare Seat Kayak Expedition was designed to be an adventure but also highlight the incredible heritage, locations, people and outdoor spaces located in New York State. Every day Richard, and Glenn were accompanied by ‘Spare Seaters’, over 28 in total during the journey who would come and kayak with the team for a day.  The team were also joined by a huge number of other paddlers who opted to ‘Bring a Seat’ and brought kayaks, row boats and even stand up paddle boards to create incredible ‘Forest Gump’ style moments with supporters. Two of the Spare Seaters were from the UK, Mike and Klaudia who won our competition for two people from Britain to join the expedition.

This has been an incredible journey for the pair seeing them reach the latest total of over 21,500 miles of human power between them in the last three years. Richard and Glenn decided on the first paddling day that they will return on their Salsa Fat Bikes later in the year to cycle the route in reverse and tell the story and show images and video of the Spare Seat to all the beautiful communities along the way.

A huge thank you to all the people who supported us, our kit sponsors, the TPA’s, (Local Tourism Partners), villages and communities and of course I Love NY.

   
   
     

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