‘Because it’s there’: British kayaker, approaching 70, in Great Lakes for epic paddle journey

Interlochen Public Radio | By Ed Ronco

Published September 9, 2025 at 4:58 AM EDT

Steve Chard poses for a photo in front of Interlochen Public Radio on Sept. 4, 2025. Chard is paddling "The Great Loop," a 5,200-nautical-mile route that includes the Great Lakes. (Photo: Ed Ronco/IPR News) — Steve Chard poses for a photo in front of Interlochen Public Radio on Sept. 4, 2025. Chard is paddling "The Great Loop," a 5,200-nautical-mile route that includes the Great Lakes. *(Photo: Ed Ronco/IPR News)*

Steve Chard came ashore in Charlevoix to avoid a windstorm on Lake Michigan — long enough to tell IPR about his more than 5,200-nautical-mile trip along ‘The Great Loop.’

Where is he?
Steve Chard is carrying a tracker on his journey and you can follow along here.

Steve Chard will be 70 soon.

Well, he's turning 68 this month. So, "soon" is a relative term. Still, seeing the milestone birthday on the horizon, Chard — who lives in Dorset, a picturesque area in southwest England — decided he wanted to go for a big long paddle in his kayak to mark the occasion.

"It was going to be a four-day, 120-mile kayaking event in the U.K.," he told IPR. "But someone gave me a book about The Great Loop. I was inspired by the story so much I thought, 'Surely, that can be done in a kayak.'"

Steve Chard poses with his kayak shortly after crossing under the Mackinac Bridge. Chard is paddling "The Great Loop," an epic 5,200-nautical-mile route that takes people through the Great Lakes, down the Mississippi River, across the Gulf of Mexico, up the eastern seaboard and back into the Great Lakes, eventually. (Photo courtesy of Steve Chard) — Steve Chard poses with his kayak shortly after crossing under the Mackinac Bridge. Chard is paddling "The Great Loop," an epic 5,200-nautical-mile route that takes people through the Great Lakes, down the Mississippi River, across the Gulf of Mexico, up the eastern seaboard and back into the Great Lakes, eventually. *(Photo courtesy of Steve Chard)*

So here he is, sitting in our studio at Interlochen Public Radio, in the early part of a voyage that will take him from Ontario, through two Great Lakes, down the Mississippi River, out into the Gulf of Mexico, over to Florida, up the east coast, back into the inland waters of New York, and — eventually — to about where he started in Ontario.

That route is called "The Great Loop." It's 5,200 nautical miles, which is about 6,000 statute miles (the measurement we use on land). It's estimated about 150 boats complete the loop each year.

The Great Loop, as illustrated by America's Great Lakes Cruisers' Association.

Chard, in his 18-foot sea kayak, will follow the seasons to keep with warm weather, doing the southern part of the loop as winter sets in and returning north as spring arrives.

"The thing I will be watching out for once I get onto the river system are water snakes," he said. "They can be aggressive." And venomous.

But really, it's the weather that's given him the hardest time.

"The wind is my biggest enemy," he said. "You can paddle in rain, as long as it's not too heavy."

Gusty winds and churning waters tossed him up onto some rocks and broke one of his paddles in Lake Huron's Georgian Bay where, luckily, he was able to safely wait out the storm.

Chard says he averages about 20 miles a day, and while he's out on the water, he just unplugs. His cell phone, which he carries for navigation and emergencies, stays in airplane mode. He doesn't listen to music. He just takes it all in.

"I love being alone. But I also want company in the evening, so some people will always wild camp and stay by themselves, but I deliberately look for somewhere to land where I'm going to have company," he said. "But during the paddling day, I just switch off. It relaxes me."

Aside from the water snakes, of course.

Steve Chard’s paddle around the Great Loop is also meant to raise money for the Andrew Simpson Foundation. Simpson was a British Olympic sailing champion who died in an accident while training in 2013. His foundation gets kids out on the water — sailing, kayaking, and more.