Vanuatu-South Pacific 2008

Yup, I know that any marginally intelligent 12 year would use a computer to generate a real map. In contrast, I found delight in pulling out an old piece of tracing paper, laying it over my National Geographic Atlas of the world, and drawing a free-hand map. Yup, that's what we've got. I'm busy packing and the computer seems to be drifting away, even before I board the plane.

Here's out route: We fly to Port Vila in Vanuatu, pick up our Ocean Kayak Prowlers, and follow the trade winds north and west to the Santa Cruz Islands, where small communities of people live in relative isolation from the rest of the world. It's about 100 miles from the last island in the Vanuatu Chain to the Santa Cruz group, and another 250 miles from the most north westerly of the Santa Cruz to the Solomons.

Long way in a kayak.

The other day while I was out kayaking with the dolphins, I began to imagine myself in warm tropical waters, and strange new surroundings. Now that our departure date is less than two weeks away, and the preparations nearly finished, all I can think about are the new experiences I'll have. The tests of my physical and mental strength is really interesting to me, but more than that I'm looking forward to getting away from the western world, and into a new culture that I have only read about. Meeting new people, living closer to the land, eating different types of food, and exploring unfamiliar places will effect how I see the world, and I can't help but wonder what I'll learn from this experience, and how I'll feel upon our return.

Check Out Aundrea's glorious photos.

Jon Turk:

It’s been nine years since I’ve spent a night at sea in my kayak. In 1999, Franz and I endured a total of nine overnights in the frigid waters of the Kuril Islands in our WindRiders. I’ve been missing the void, emptiness of space and thought, the quiet niggling fear, the exhilaration of the smallest boats in the biggest oceans.

Last year, Nina Maclean and I toured the Vanuatu Chain in tropical waters, lined with palm trees, where we traveled among the hospitable, spiritual Melanesian people. This year, Aundrea Tavvakkoly and I plan to return to make longer passages to the outer islands, and if all goes well, to cross open water to the Solomon Islands. Our longest crossings, without landfalls, will be 230 miles, about the length of Vancouver Island, from north to south.

We will be paddling Ocean Kayak Prowlers, generously provided by my major sponsor, Johnson Outdoors. I believe that sit-on-tops are not only fun for warm-water recreation but also they are the best kayaks on the market for serious open ocean adventures in tropical waters. We will be spending many days at sea and I know that I would get cramped in a cockpit boat. We will relish the stability, speed, agility and the ability to wiggle around, all offered by the Ocean Kayak Prowler.

We will be using Lendal Wing Paddles and gear by Extrasport, Eureka Tents, Zeal Optics and Otterbox. See my sponsors page for details and links.