Jack Bark. Deep Roots in Salt Water & Prone Paddling

I’ve known Jack Bark since he was a little kid; when he would be onboard his dad’s escort boat during the Catalina Classic Paddleboard Race. Jack is one of the four children of paddling icon and master board builder, Joe Bark; so he’s been immersed in the paddling world since birth. It is definitely in his blood.

I’ve been around to watch him go from a young gun to becoming one of the most accomplished prone paddling athletes of his generation. The apple has not fallen far from the tree.

Jack shares the stories of growing up in the awesome Bark household; surfing, fishing, spearfishing, paddling, growing up on boats and in the water from a very young age. If you know the Barks, you know Jack is part of paddling royalty; and the coolest, most inclusive and humble people you’ll ever meet.

Jack has established himself as one of the world’s premier prone paddling athletes and has earned multiple prone paddling championship titles in the sport’s most prestigious races. With wins in the Molokai to Oahu race (M2O) he went on to a defining competitive achievement in 2024, when he won the Catalina Classic Paddleboard Race and broke the 25 year long course record. The same year his sister Emily won it. Amazing.

With this win he became the first person ever to complete the crossing in under five hours. If you’ve ever paddled the Catalina Classic, or crossed the Catalina channel on a prone paddleboard you know just how fast that is.

Still in his early 30’s, Jack is coming up on his 15th Catalina Classic, which is already an incredible accomplishment. It’s a family affair as all of the siblings have paddled this iconic race. We’ll have to wait and see if Jack pursues his dad’s record of completing 38 Classics. You never know… and I would not be surprised.

On top of all of this Jack has a long list of extreme endurance, adventure paddles and runs; and he shares the stories, and his why, in this interview. On top of the paddling, Jack is a firefighter, a board builder, a husband (to an amazing waterwoman) and a new dad. It’s a heck of a life, and a hell of a story… and it’s really just starting.