Vartabedian: An Amazing 4,000-Mile Kayak Journey

Show me someone that doesn’t have a bit of adventure in their lives and I’ll show you someone cringing with inertia. Climb a mountain, take a hike, run a road race, swim a lake. Whatever your niche, it’s bound to bring you a certain amount of self-esteem and pride. Even the more passive can find something to arouse their spirit. For two guys I met recently in Florida, theirs was an adventure of a lifetime. They kayaked 4,000 miles from Brazil to Juno Beach, Fla., where I was spending a week basking in sunshine. Their mission was pure and simple: to share their story with schools, churches, and anyone else willing to lend an ear. There to greet them at the Loggerhead Marine Life Center was a group of 30 well-wishers who were more than enamored by their maritime journey. Included in the reception party were their parents. Their dad designed and built their 18-foot kayaks. “Welcome to America,” someone yelled. Being a first-time kayak owner, I couldn’t wait to hear their story. It appeared like something out of Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki. If you haven’t read the book or seen the movie, treat yourself. First, let me give a plug to this marine center. It’s actually a turtle hospital I’ve grown to admire for all the work that’s being done putting injured loggerheads and other reptiles back into the ocean. It was the perfect landing for Russell and Graham Henry after seven months kayaking at sea. Both men also happen to be environmentalists and remain bullish in protecting our natural resources. While growing up together on the West Coast of British Columbia, they were blessed with a freedom to explore this environment and challenge themselves with an odyssey like this. “We see outdoor adventure as a potent learning tool, one that can have a powerful impact upon those who take part,” they said. “It can turn someone’s life around, heal wounds, and influence a healthy lifestyle.” Not to mention the striking Caribbean sunsets and aquatic life they encountered, the dramatic cloud formations along the way while passing through Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic, and Bahamas. The world was at their fingertips. There’s something therapeutic about bristling through the water in a kayak and listening to the churn of the waves as they strike your vessel. I cannot imagine any greater sense of self-indulgence as the Henry brothers pointed out. Paddling 5-knot currents the last day enabled them to finish the 90-mile leg in a mere 17 hours. The brothers said they encountered nothing beyond their capabilities after convincing the Brazilian government that they shouldn’t have to pay a $4,000 import tax on the kayaks. The dispute did delay their launch by six weeks. After that, it was smooth sailing. The biggest virtues they practiced through this mission were “patience and perseverance.” As for the people they encountered along the way, that was another bonus. “Strangers were taking us into their homes,” they said. “We were put up in boats, even resorts. We often camped out on beaches. One night was spent in our kayaks. Only once did we pay for a hotel room. People were awesome.” The routine they followed involved a 6:30 a.m. wake-up, breakfast, being on the water by 8 and paddling until 4 or 5 p.m., locating a reef break or harbor, camping, and usually retiring around 8 or 9. “Compared to our long mud and bug-filled days in South America and even our island-hopping days of the Lesser Antilles, the days have been loaded with surprises and friends,” they said. After a bumpy crossing from Culebra to Puerto Rico, it took another day to reach San Juan. They planned to stay in a hostel for the night to get some laundry done and restock their food supply. Upon befriending the marina manager, they wound up staying in an abandoned boat at the marina. The next evening they made some new friends, including another guy who kayaked around the Caribbean. A yachtsman invited them aboard his sailboat for the night. Toward the end of their journey, the brothers were caught in a violent storm as they paddled from Exuma to Nassau. When they eventually made it to shore in Atlantis at nightfall, a Good Samaritan insisted on renting out a room for the night at the going rate of $500. Said their parents, “Here we were watching the Olympics and no doubt, this was a gold medal experience for my sons. They turned into the most resourceful young men I could ever have imagined.”

Vartabedian: An Amazing 4,000-Mile Kayak Journey

This story is FREE for you...

Tom Vartabedian

This story is FREE for you...

Tom Vartabedian

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