Q&A With Lauren & Kirk

GLB: How did you first learn about the Great Lakes region?

L: Michigan was kind of in my backyard and for Kirk it was most of the lakes, really—Huron, Erie and Michigan. But once we got our sailboat, it was the first time we spent a lot of time out on the lakes for any extended period.  

GLB: So you guys do a lot of traveling then?

K: We are constantly on the move. For the last two years we’ve never been in one spot for very long.

GLB: What do you like most about boating in the Great Lakes region compared to the other places you’ve been?

L: I think if we hadn’t already brought our boat down to salt water we wouldn’t know how great the Great Lakes really are. The fact that they are freshwater is amazing for boaters, because the salt in salt water physically destroys your boat. Also, it’s just not as fun to be in. When we were sailing on the Great Lakes we could just drop an anchor and jump overboard and really enjoy actually being in the water. And then we could get out at the end of the day and be clean. It’s like taking a bath.

K: You could see 30, 40 feet down in the water there. It was like glass.

GLB: Have you been able to connect with other boaters on the Great Lakes through social media?

K: Quite a bit. In fact, a lot of people reach out to us, probably more than once a day it seems like, because of our YouTube or Instagram videos. One of the coolest meetings we had was with a couple of young girls named Kaylee and Jessie who did the loop four or five years ago. They were a big inspiration for us by going around the loop. We chatted a lot with Jessie who has since sailed across the Atlantic from Michigan or Detroit. We’ve also spoken a lot with her about sailing and that was all over social media. However, we’ve never actually met in person, so social media has brought us all together.

Find Lauren and Kirk on their Instagram account titled “Sailing Soulianis” @sailingsoulianis. Or find them on their YouTube channel under the same title.

Survey Results

Where do you prefer to boat in the Great Lakes Region?

Lake Erie - 18.75%

Lake Huron - 0%

Lake Michigan - 56.26%

Lake Ontario - 12.50%

Lake Superior - 6.26%

Other - 6.25%

Giveaway

Want a waterproof backpack to accompany you on your adventures? We are giving away a LocoDry DownUnder ZipDuff from Seattle Sports. To participate in the giveaway, post a picture of your favorite boating adventure on the Great Lakes and tag us in your post.