Amazing 7000 mile sea kayak journey

Discussion in 'All Things Boats & Boating' started by JosephT, Feb 25, 2014.

  1. JosephT
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    JosephT Senior Member

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  2. rwatson
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    rwatson Senior Member

    "“For the first month, I kept thinking to myself, ‘Why are we doing this?’” Graham recalled " ....

    I suppose its better than base-jumping, but really, they dont appreciate what they put their families through until they are much older.

    I wonder if you can get post-trumatic stress disorder from this sort of thing like soldiers do ? I have a couple of horror memories from bad sailing experiences that I dont need.
     
  3. philSweet
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    philSweet Senior Member

    A remarkable voyages thread - cool.

    http://www.vagabondjourney.com/backpacking-blind-story-of-alessandro-bordini/

    http://webhost.bridgew.edu/jhuber/readings/an_historic_accomplishment.html

    http://7summits.com/forum/index.php?topic=84.0

    I was on Denali with the Russians. It was quite an operation they had. Big support crew of world class climbers to do the rigging and schlepping, but they still did in fact climb the mountain under their own power.

    Frankly, I don't see what the big deal is as far as the kayak trip done by two adults. Thats basically what the inuits have been doing in for 5000 years in boats made of seal skins, not kevlar - and they can feed themselves as they go. How about the kid from California that sailed solo around the world, starting in a 23 footer. I think he started when he was 16.

    This was another one that really captured my imagination. I met them when I attended one of their presentations. They used no roads at all. They swam every river, including the Fraser and the Columbia -

    http://www.walkercreations.com/site/EARTHWALK/FRONT_MATTER/dust_jacket.html
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2014
  4. JosephT
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    JosephT Senior Member

  5. waikikin
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    waikikin Senior Member

    I think that's possible, I'm not sure if it's the same thing but a mate returned after a 13 year circumnavigation & had Post Adventure Depression, Doctor told him to get a dog & go fishing.........
     
  6. JosephT
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    JosephT Senior Member

    I was in adventure withdrawal for good year when I got out of the Marines 25 years ago. Cured it with a trip across the southern ocean. Baptism by hell waves and squalls.

    I'm cured for another 25 years.
     
  7. Mr Efficiency
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    I doubt PTSD enters into it, but there are definitely people of a bent that requires a degree of stimulation that the average person would baulk at. Some people call it adrenalin addiction, but there has to be a point where adventure-seeking shades into excessive risk-taking, which is maybe OK if you are gambling with your own life, but irresponsible if others are going to be very much the worse for your demise. I recall the case of a stunt-flying aviator taking up paying passengers, who had been having 'blackouts', but hid it from his doctors in the regular licencing checks, he crashed and killed himself plus the paying passenger. An extreme example perhaps, but being a daredevil at the expense of others is not something to admire.
     
  8. rwatson
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    rwatson Senior Member

    I remember the documentary of the guy who died trying to Kayak from Australia to New Zealand.

    They recovered the video he had been making when they found his kayak washed up on a New Zealand beach.

    He spent the first 4 or 5 hours of his trip when leaving Australia crying his heart out because he was heartbroken that he might never see his wife and new baby ever again.
    Prophetic as it turned out.

    Maybe a lot of these adventurers have an inner death wish - sort of like when then knights of old got on their horse and rode off to pick fights with other knights, or the young cowboys strapped on their guns and moseyed off to the local saloons.

    Sort of a 'trial by fire' where only the strongest and luckiest survive - thereby improving the species.
     
  9. waikikin
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    waikikin Senior Member

    I see that vessel on a regular basis, always gets the goosebumps up.
    Jeff.
     
  10. rwatson
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    Is it on display somewhere ?
     
  11. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    I thought of that too, just crazy, with a young wife and child in arms, and that video as a "memento", you can only shake your head and wonder.
     
  12. philSweet
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    philSweet Senior Member

    I've run into a couple of those with a death-wish. When I went to Alaska to climb Denali, I tried to set up my own expedition, figuring there would be a few like me that wanted to try it without guides. I wouldn't have done a day-hike with the folks that responded to my ads so I joined a guided trip. A Canadian guy who responded to my ad tried a solo attempt. He had zero experience and didn't want any advice. He said he wanted to figure it all out for himself - that was part of the game. We met him for the last time as we were descending from the summit. He still had about 2000' to go and appeared to have HAPE. He wouldn't turn back even though we tried to convince him. Back at base camp, we watched him fall to his death. We had alerted search and rescue and they were already geared up. First death in three years on Denali. He had a wife and two kids. He was killed because of the ridiculously good weather we had. He had terrible equipment and wouldn't have made it anywhere close to the summit in average weather.

    While working in Colorado, I offered to guide a coworker up an easy 14er. We met at the trailhead on a Sunday morning where I informed him that the climb was cancelled due to a bad weather forcast (no cell phones back then). He was pissed, but I told him I had failed to climb more mountains than anyone I knew, which was why I was still around, and we would hike it another day. Six hours later, I was on my way up that very same mountain to help carry three dead guys off the mountain that'd been struck by lightning. My coworker was little less pissed and a bit more contrite on Monday.
     
  13. waikikin
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    No, It's in an objects store room at my work.
    Jeff.
     
  14. rwatson
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    Some good learning stories there.

    The last one struck a chord, probably not totally relevant to this discussion, but an unfortunate tourist died in my area recently..
    http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2014/02/21/16/22/two-dead-at-cradle-mountain

    You get these great sunny days, wonderful for hiking, then suddenly the temperature drops. One male tourist ( only 21 yo ) got hypothermia - fatal.

    They have lots of warning signs at the start of the trek, but this guy probably didnt even speak English.

    I guess it pays to properly research all significant outdoor enterprises.
     

  15. philSweet
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    This is another account of a remarkable voyage. I've mentioned it before in another thread. Jerzy retired to Key Largo where I lived for ten years.

    http://www.booksandbooks.com/event/jerzy-tarasiewicz-open-boat

    Okay, just one more -

    If you ever stumble across any of this indomitable English woman's writings in a bargain bin, grab it. Basically, she invented travel blogging.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Bird

    Her description of being carried across a paddy dyke in china, and meeting an oncoming sedan chair in the middle of the dyke, and the melee that ensued between the two groups of coolies is classic. Hers won, and the other chair ended up in the paddy. She was in her seventies by then.
     
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