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intro part 1
- Older in Siberia 2004: News update from May 5, 1999 - Newer in Siberia 2004: intro part 2
It was 1998. I was 53 years old, and I?d made somewhat of a name for myself as an expedition sea kayaker. They say that if you?ve rounded Cape Horn under sail you?re allowed to toast the Queen with your feet on the table. Well, I rounded the Horn in a kayak and I?ve paddled around in the Arctic sea ice a bit, but deep in my heart I knew that my accomplishments are due more to perseverance and guile than technical prowess. There are sneaky ways through the ice and around the Horn. It?s like skiing a long line rather than a steep gnarly one So, I wanted to cross an ocean in a ridiculously small boat -- not just dabble around the edges. And as long as I was at it, getting older and all, I decided to cross the biggest ocean ? The Pacific ? and then what the hell, I may was well head into the ice choked Arctic reaches of the North Pacific while I was at it. In skiers lingo, it?s a beautiful line, never been done, 3000 miles of uninhabited islands, current shears, hurricane-force winds, rattle your teeth out surf, and one of the wildest coastlines on the face of the earth. Little did I know that I was about to embark on a mental and spiritual journey that seems to have just begun.
Dated: 03/01/2004
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