Elias and Synnott Sail from Maine to Boulderfest 2018

Mark Synnott and Sam Elias spent two weeks this summer sailing from Maine to Nova Scotia to take part in The North Face Boulderfest 2018.

The two top climbers sailed on Synnott’s boat called Camelot. They experienced fog and rough seas but eventually found themselves on Dover Island with a number of climbers who made the trip for the annual get together.

“As some of you know, I’ve been dreaming about sailing to Nova Scotia since I got my first sailboat back in 2005,” said Synnott. “It’s hard to believe, but it has taken me 13 years to prepare for the voyage.”

And now for a bit of a break from the regularly scheduled programming. I recently launched on a sailboat from Maine, USA to explore the waters and climbing of Nova Scotia, Canada with @m_synnott on his boat Camelot. It’ll be something different, and that is what I need from time to time. I’m in a lull time. Relaxed time. It comes after intense time and focused time. I spent most of May and June in Rifle, Colorado taking things pretty seriously. I did what I wanted — I sent some routes, and it was awesome. However the awesomeness was only in part due to the accomplishments. I was just really happy I could climb at all, because I injured a shoulder quite badly at the end of February in Hueco Tanks. The weeks after were difficult and filled with uncertainty about what to do. Thankfully the injury wasn’t that drastic, and thanks also to a crew of trusted people (@captainwangles and @esthersmithdpt and @mindsetdr) and incredible places (@momentumclimbing and @grassroots_physical_therapy), I was able to train and do physical therapy out of it. I came out better all around than if I wouldn’t have gotten injured at all. I was forced into considering the ways I approached myself, the ways I spoke/speak to myself, the ways I work with myself. And in addition to those, I also considered how I related outwardly. Through that process, I felt some shifts in my perception about what’s important and what is not. So, I made a quick and evolving list. If you like it, borrow it. If not — alter, add, subtract — or plain make your own. Just remember to try to make it pretty damn simple. At certain times maybe I’m doing good by my list, and other times I’m a failing fraud. Look. I’m not just a human be-ing. I’m a human be-ing-in-process. ///\\\ Life is fragile A human’s time and energy are finite Choose to feel good often Make things/create stuff Try to help others feel good Collaborate well Never stop learning Mistakes are normal and unavoidable Fun and laughing matter Die/exit/retire/quit/fail well ///\\\ @thenorthface @thenorthface_canada #NeverStopExploring @ClimbNovaScotia

A post shared by Samuel Elias (@bookofsamuel) on Jul 20, 2018 at 2:19pm PDT

What’s they made it to Dover Island, they shook off their sea legs and got to work bouldering on hard problems.

Elias said one of his favourite problems from the trip was Community Service V9. “It was put up by my friend and an OG climber Nick Sagar a while ago,” said Elias.

“I did a lot of climbing on little Dover Island over the weekend, till midnight both nights. It’s pretty surprising my soft skin and swollen boat feet were up to the challenge after two weeks of nothing but sailing.” Watch highlights from their trip below.

“In any case, I was very impressed with the setting, and the quality of the stone,” said Elias. “The community was really welcoming and stoked to have Mark and I there. Thanks to all the organizers and volunteers and participants. We had an awesome time with everyone in that special little spot.”