From riding tech wave to kayaking the globe

The remarkable journey of John Traendly

The technology of moving products by air, land and sea put John Traendly’s analytical mind and enterprising spirit on a career journey spanning the world for more than three decades. He mounted the tech wave during the early days of the Internet and rode it to executive positions at three large companies, later starting and selling three of his own. But it was in a boat with paddles in hand after retirement that the logistics ace discovered the adventurous man he never suspected lived within. He traded the boardroom for the iceberg-dotted sea and his desk for a kayak and tent. His desire to share his awakening has impacted thousands, including paddlers with the Lanier Canoe & Kayak Club.

Earlier this year the international paddler bought six new canoes for young LCKC beginners and 12 recreational kayaks for the adult recreation and learn to kayak programs. “I’m trying to help people get out on the water,” said the man who shares the epiphany that changed his life. He’s the guy who makes things happen, investing his “can do” attitude and wallet into watery ventures near and far.

At 79 Traendly (rhymes with friendly) appears fit, lean, square-shouldered and straight backed with a confident gaze and ready smile. He met with Lakeside News at The Boathouse at Lake Lanier Olympic Park and spoke of an obsession that has transported him, more than 1,500 college students, plus countless youngsters and adults to distant waters and across quiet local coves. His neatly creased slacks and blue button-down embroidered with a gold “GT”  portray an engineer’s penchant for precision and an enduring commitment to his alma mater, Georgia Institute of Technology.

TV ad changed his path

He recalled a demanding career run on the tech track that left him bored in front of the TV at age 61. “Being an entrepreneur is a seven-day-a-week job. I was gone a lot, all over the world. After selling my third company, I didn’t want to do another one. I decided to retire. As a serial entrepreneur I didn’t have a hobby.”

For once, the logistician had no plan, no destination. Parked in front of the TV, he saw a commercial that launched a new passion. “It was a drug commercial that showed people sea kayaking. I thought, ‘That looks like fun’.’’

“So I drove down to Tybee Island and bought a kayak,” he said. He ambitiously plotted a 30-mile debut paddle in the salt marsh. Never athletic or outdoorsy, he had no idea about his physical limitations in the breeze and currents. After 16 miles, he stumbled exhaustedly onto dry land. “I wondered what I might get for a slightly used kayak,” he laughed.

But he persisted. Kayaking took hold, luring him back to Tybee for symposiums with the British Canoe Union and certification as a 4-star instructor and coach. “I got to know the person who designed the boat I paddled,” he said. He also hauled his boat from the home he shares with his wife, Susie, in Smyrna to train on Lake Lanier, Lake Allatoona and other southeastern waterways. He still drives three hours round trip to practice on Lanier at least once a week. He dove into the 15,000-plus member American Canoe Association and achieved a level 5 certification as an instructor trainer and developed technology to modernize ACA course reporting. In 2022, he started racing sprint kayaks.

A camping novice

As he developed paddling prowess early on, he pondered “Now what?” He envisioned discovering a vast world stroke-by-stroke in a sea kayak. “International trips would require overnight stays … so I bought a tent and sleeping bag,” he said. The city boy had never camped before. Since 2012, he has pitched tents on snow and laid his head under the starriest skies on personal paddling/camping expeditions to Alaska, Chile, Greenland, Iceland, Russia, New Zealand, Wales, and Yukon Territories.

“No one in my family was outdoorsy,” he said of the Traendly clan that dwelled in a Manhattan bedroom community in Connecticut and later settled in Jupiter, Fla. He struggled to explain to his four siblings, including a twin sister, why he would “go places that are really cold, live in a tent on the snow and all that.”

Reconnecting to Georgia Tech

Traendly’s fondness for paddling eventually merged with his appreciation of  Georgia Tech, from which he holds a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering (1968) and Master’s in Industrial Management (1973). Between college years, he served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. After the Traendly couple donated to Georgia Tech student veterans’ programs, they got invited to the president’s box at football games. It was there in 2011 he found out about the Georgia Tech Outdoor Recreation Program (ORGT). It lacked kayaking expeditions. He went all in.

He was ready to share sightings of humpbacked whales and curious penguins and the thrill of paddling in the wilderness. “It’s a lot more fun to share it,” he said. Susie occasionally accompanies him closer to home. Having no children and finding little to talk about with former colleagues, Traendly set out to put Tech students in kayaks. “They are bright, quick learners, and they appreciate it,” he said.

ORGT assistant director David Knobbe described his first meeting with Traendly, whom he describes as an amazing man who has changed the world for the better. Knobbe recalled the vice-president of student affairs asked him to take this guy he met at a football game on a kayaking trip. “I thought, ‘What do I want to take an old guy on a trip for?’ I had no idea the level of paddling John did.” He enlisted four fit Tech students. “I said, ‘Take care of this guy. I don’t want to hear any stories about you leaving him behind. Be respectful’.”

“When the doors opened on the van after the trip, the four fit guys rolled out. ‘Knobbe,’ they exclaimed, ‘we have never seen anybody able to paddle like that man!’ ”

On days he’s not on the water, Traendly cross trains in his basement gym, helping him maintain strength to out-paddle kids a quarter of his age. He believes it also helps that he began the sport with “fresh shoulders” without injuries senior athletes often accrue.

Helping others see the world

Since his initial ORGT expedition to Scotland in 2013, Traendly has led nine trips abroad, including two to Antarctica in 2018 and 2023, plus nearly 160 short trips with 1,400 students. He not only trains them, drills them on rescue techniques, mentors and leads them, he and Susie, buying all equipment – tents, kayaks, drysuits – spending $20,000 to $30,000 per student on the international trips. Students pay airfare.

“We appreciate his generosity, but more than that we appreciate his time and talents,” Knobbe said. Asked how Traendly secured his trust to guide students into potentially dangerous environments, Knobbe described the leader’s unparalleled skills as a paddler, instructor, and manager. “He’s all around committed to this organization and its young people,” he said. The next planned expedition with Traendly will be in August 2026 to the Yukon Territory in Canada, Knobbe said. He expects it to fill up at 12 to 16 students.

Traendly described several especially memorable trips. The most logistically complicated and rewarding was his 2018 Antarctica voyage, part of ORGT’s goal to set foot on seven continents in seven years. The odyssey, limited to five students due to expense, involved a refurbished “no frills” Russian research vessel, side trips to Chile, sea-kayaking the sub-Antarctic, trekking across glaciers and polar plunges. On solo and ORGT excursions in Greenland, Traendly floated waters “far removed from civilization.” For striking scenery, he said Greenland and Iceland win, but unless traveling by kayak, visitors will never see that beauty. His most arduous: a 10½ day, 470-mile paddle in the Yukon Territories. Perhaps the most interesting: paddling on the Bering Sea with an assigned Russian escort who “was supposed to be a kayaker” but was actually a water polo player with no sea kayak experience. The “guide” knew little English; Traendly, spoke zero Russian.

“I’ve made up for all the vacations I missed,” he mused.

Long-time paddling buddy Todd Hyatt, 64, has witnessed Traendly’s coolness in competition. Hyatt encouraged Traendly to diversify  from sea kayak to surf ski to a racing kayak. “John is really good,” said his occasional racing partner and travel companion. “It’s a challenge going from a wide, stable sea kayak to a tippy K1 or K2. Hyatt and Traendly paired up on the Southeastern Paddle Sport team to take several K2 medals in ACA Sprint Nationals. Last year Traendly medaled in nine of 10 events in his 75-79 age category. For the third year, Traendly is on target to accumulate the most overall points in the Southeast Paddle Sports Series.

Described as ‘first class’

“He’s a great guy, calm, willing to do whatever is best for the team,” Hyatt said, including paying for the team’s accommodations in the August ACA Nationals in Washington. Traendly is also one of the organizers of the paddle series. “John is first-class,” Hyatt said.

Kim Martin, LCKC executive director concurs. “(John) cares deeply for the sport and I think he agrees with me that it is a very therapeutic experience. John is willing to help because he believes in what we are doing. I am so thankful for his support,” she said. He also donated for the club’s trip to ACA Nationals and helps fund, organize and run two of the club’s major races.

What is it about kayaking that lured Traendly? “It’s being outdoors … it has a soothing peaceful effect. It’s documented that when people spend time outdoors it helps with their mental well-being,” he said. “You can go places where the only way you can get there is by kayak … Plus, you have to work, you get tired. You become independent, self-reliant.”

His advice for retirees: Find something to do that is physically active and has a social aspect. He might recommend kayaking.

Trip Photos: provided by John Traendly; Traendly photo: by Jane Harrison; LCKC photo: by Kim Martin