E71: Mike Malone & Ruthie Reaves - Crewing for 8 in the MR340

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Mike Malone and Ruthie Reaves, two of the 14 person crew team that took care of The Ocho, the OC-8 Riverhawk boat that took 1st place overall at the 2026 MR340. We cover so much in this episode from creative ways to resupply a 55 foot boat in fast moving water, saved by a VHF radio, logistics for crew safety and racer performance, in-race audibles, crewing the MR340 vs. the Alabama 650, ice socks, the importance of downloading offline maps, and barge captain heroes. And if you’re enjoying the show please share it, follow it, or visit dabblinginpaddleism.com to find archives, what’s coming soon, book recommendations from guests, and ways to support the show through merch, memberships, and more. There’s so much more to this episode, but I’ll let you hear it from Mike and Ruthie themselves on this 71st episode of the Dabbling in Paddleism Podcast…

Mike’s book recommendations: -Bad Monkey, by Carl Hiaasen

10th Life Kayaking: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/14mDpsi1xSU/