After 20 years of art expeditions by canoe from Labrador to Alaska (www.robmullen.com), Covid kept me home in Vermont. In 2020, I hiked the Long Trail “End-to-End” as a painting trip (20 pieces done and sold). In 2021, looking for something new, I decided to sail Lake Champlain End-to-End (and more). But I needed a bigger boat for a floating studio. I found a 20-foot canoe yawl at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum that had been in a barn for 12-years. My wife Bonnie and I spent all of April and May restoring her and she launched on June 9, 2021, for a six-week art expedition. While a highly experienced wilderness canoeist, I had not sailed in nearly 40 years. It came back fast. The sprit rig was a learning curve. Happily, the LCMM put me in touch with a sailor in Burlington who had owned an Elver for 30 years and he and his wife helped with the restoration and he crewed with me for a couple of days in the beginning. While I did the sailing alone, for the most part, seven other artists joined me for a day or two each at several points and the resulting art show and sale benefited the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, the Lake Champlain Committee, and the Vermont Wildlife Coalition Education Fund.
