Time for some adventure
Enough of my January jet-setting (back in South Africa now, speaking in Stellenbosch, beautiful countryside, blah blah, training in the sun, blah, Cape Town, blah blah hotel…) I thought I'd point you in the direction of a couple of chaps that are having a slightly more hardcore start to the year.
The first (I linked to this a few days back) is Børge Ousland and Mike Horn's winter North Pole expedition. The pair are on the ice now (after a bear attack early on) but the conditions sound pretty epic.
The second is the less famous, but no less deserving Chris Martin – a friend of my brother (and his team mate at Molesey Boat Club). Chris is currently rowing the Atlantic solo, and his daily diary updates make rivetting reading. If I were looking for another expedition team mate, Chris sounds like he's made of exactly the right stuff…
I sat down for lunch just after midday and was quietly enjoying a nice tin of hot chocolate (the mug got washed overboard in the capsize) when yet another large wall of white water energed on my starboard side. Having dealt with these before I immediatly jumped to the other side of the boat and felt my heart leave its normal place and head for my mouth as the boat tipped sideways… Luckily I had just managed to have the presence of mind to hold onto my tin so still had a bit of hot chocolate in the bottom although quite a lot had ended up over me and the remainder was a bit salty. Getting back to the oars I noticed something was wrong…
— Filed under Other expeditions