For anyone who loves big paddle adventures, here is a good one to follow. Freya Hoffmeister is into her second year of a multi-year trip. From her press release-

"This expedition around North America will be Freya’s third continent and her challenge for the next 8-10 years. It is impossible for her to judge how long it will take to complete.
The distance is roughly 50.000 km/ 30.000 miles, to be paddled in blocks of 3-5 months on and off the trip. It’s another mind-boggling and insane long distance trip – tougher and longer than Freya’s first and second continent trips combined."

She is in her second year and is just about to enter the Bering Sea....so far she is not being greeted nicely- conditions haven't allowed entry yet. She resumed her Alaska leg of the trip June 1st relaunching from Kodiak Island and worked her way out to False Pass on the Alaska Peninsula where she can paddle into the Bering Sea. She is doing a daily written update and on the top of those updates, you can click on the red position coordinates that links to her current onshore position.

I have been following this off and on for awhile but now it is about to get really interesting.

Freya Blog Updates

Cool! I'll be following along periodically.

Thanks for the post!

Beav...and you calling it an insane long distance trip? Surprised you aren't tagging along.


:-)

dr bob

DrBobDg: "Beav...and you calling it an insane long distance trip? Surprised you aren't tagging along.
:-)
dr bob"

Clarification- that quote is from HER website. I think it's a perfectly normal long distance trip!

As far as tagging along....mostly because I wasn't asked and partly because I haven't forgotten what a Yupik fellow told me 5 years ago:)

DrBobDg: "Beav...and you calling it an insane long distance trip? Surprised you aren't tagging along.

:-)

dr bob"

That's right. It ain't a canoe trip unless it involves portaging over Chilkoot Pass.

Dang! I rather like being an armchair explorer complete with cushy seat, air set to preferred temperature and a beverage of choice. Did I mention not having to worry about my readers getting misty or frozen over unless I shed a tear over the hardships and mishaps encountered within the pages?

Extremely brutal conditions very common is my understanding where she is at. I would be concerned about getting blown out to sea.....does she have a support team?

Jackfish: "

DrBobDg: "Beav...and you calling it an insane long distance trip? Surprised you aren't tagging along.


:-)


dr bob"

That's right. It ain't a canoe trip unless it involves portaging over Chilkoot Pass."

Your right! I completely forgot the portage requirement... my mistake

dr bob

BeaV, I too instantly thought back to the amazing trip you shared with us. I have this vision in my mind of you paddling up next to her as she's sitting there analyzing things and saying "follow me, I've got this".

DeanL: "BeaV, I too instantly thought back to the amazing trip you shared with us. I have this vision in my mind of you paddling up next to her as she's sitting there analyzing things and saying "follow me, I've got this"."

"Paddle harder", would be the appropriate BeaV quote.

BeaV: "

...........and partly because I haven't forgotten what a Yupik fellow told me 5 years ago:)"

Which was............?

masterangler- Support Team? From what I've seen/read of her trips...no she does not have a shore support team. She does her day to day stuff on her own or with paddling partners. Like this year she alternates paddling partners- she probably wears them out! I think she does have a very good support team at home in Germany. She has been doing huge adventures for a long time now and has people to help with the details and planning. Stuff like shipping replacement gear, food supplies, places to stay, PR, international border crossings, and transportation is probably coordinated as she progresses.

DeanL: "BeaV, I too instantly thought back to the amazing trip you shared with us. I have this vision in my mind of you paddling up next to her as she's sitting there analyzing things and saying "follow me, I've got this"."

I think the only thing I would have to offer is "local" experience which is only gained one way. Other than that, her on-the-water experience far exceeds mine. I have been reading her blog updates this summer and not much rattles her.

With that said, I hope she doesn't make the Bering Sea coastline paddle seem easy. That would make me look like a cry baby for all the complaining I did;)

I just read her blog entry from last night, and her and Michal's paddle yesterday was filled with difficulties and some bad language with a hint of fear. This post of her's was noticeably "different" than the others I've read.

The damage she's endured.

KarlBAndersen1: "

BeaV: "...........and partly because I haven't forgotten what a Yupik fellow told me 5 years ago:)"

Which was............?"

Something like this... "you get off Bering Sea quick. If wind blows don't stop. When you get tired, keep going. When you come to bays, don't go in and paddle by shore. Take risks and go straight across. Do whatever you can to get off the sea fast!"

Grandma L: "

DeanL: "BeaV, I too instantly thought back to the amazing trip you shared with us. I have this vision in my mind of you paddling up next to her as she's sitting there analyzing things and saying "follow me, I've got this"."

"Paddle harder", would be the appropriate BeaV quote. "

When I was going west on Pickerel in Quetico last fall I chanted this into a decent headwind. Bob channels God, I channel BeaV. :)

Grandma L: "

DeanL: "BeaV, I too instantly thought back to the amazing trip you shared with us. I have this vision in my mind of you paddling up next to her as she's sitting there analyzing things and saying "follow me, I've got this"."

"Paddle harder", would be the appropriate BeaV quote. "

When I was going west on Pickerel in Quetico last fall I chanted this into a decent headwind. Bob channels God, I channel BeaV. :)

Yesterday's paddle was a good one after a difficult start trying to launch through the surf zone. They did 37 miles with 3 potential opportunities to exit the water. The first 2 were not safe but their last option worked. I appreciate their sense of relief on being able to get to shore.

Today's outlook is less desirable with only one good looking exit located 77 miles away! I expect they're hoping for smaller surf to allow for a landing before that. Bad stretch to go out into with no hope of landing if the Bering Sea wants to get mean.

I can't help but mildly laugh at myself........I am worried about paddling the north shore of isle Royale because in some stretches it is 10 miles between possible landings.

But I like life.....life is good and the water is cold.

I suppose one must weigh the odds.........but one must also consider the consequences of the odds beating you. 77 miles, Bering Sea, whew! To scary to even think about it. That weather can turn on a dime and then it's all over. Huge waves and big tides can combine to overwhelm anything that floats.

That being said one must admire the courage, stamina, skill and bravery it must take to contemplate and accomplish such a feat. Kudos and God speed to her and any companions.

killing the ongoing quote.

Sounds like a fascinating adventure!

mirth- how'd you fix the ongoing quote issue? I tried to correct it when I replied to KarlBAnderson but wasn't successful. I'm assuming it was something in his reply that turn things awry?

Hey BeaV,

It's a piece of HTML code you have to stick in... Basically what happens is someone goes to quote somebody else's post and then types their response above the closing tag for the quote (expressed in html code as < /quote> without the space between the < and / ) and then deletes the closing tag. This makes the stylesheet for the message board blow up and treat everything that follows as if it's part of the original quote.

Whenever I encounter them & I go to fix the issue I'll typically throw in a few closing quote tags as one usually isn't enough to do the trick. I've found 3 tends to do the job pretty well, so I'll start my reply with < /quote>< /quote>< /quote> first, then type something to the effect of killing the ongoing quote, etc, or something relevant to the thread.

For examples here, I had to put a space to break the tag so the messageboard wouldn't interpret it as HTML code and thus render my example invisible to you. Valid tags would not have the space.

Thanks mirth...I believe I could fix a post gone bad now. And your explanation of why it happens is way better than my theory of "strong winds causing the letters to sway".

Update-

Freya is not making much progress, mostly of her own accord. She took a break from the adventure and flew down to the lower 48 for almost 2 weeks, brought back a new paddle partner, and lost 3 days due to weather trying to get back to the Bering Sea.

According to her update, she is regretting taking the break and seems to be in a bad funk right now- even contemplating quitting for this year. She has only paddled 5 of the last 25 days. Maybe her new paddling partner will get her back into her adventure. Or maybe a couple of good days on the water will help her forget the pleasures of the outside world.

Unless her mind is focused on making progress, the Bering Sea will have the upper hand.

Currently reading Paddle to the Amazon. Love reading these long adventures!

"First time in my career, I total-wrecked my boat…" Quote from Freya.

Since last update, they paddled 1 day, weather-bound 2 days with a bunch of bored fishermen, paddled another day and then on a surf landing attempt, Freya capsized and the waves smashed her kayak in two. She was not hurt. That was last Sunday and now they are waiting to be "rescued" by some of the fishermen they met previously.

Life on the Bering Sea!

I think you had something similar happen to you Beav. Did your boat escape destruction because of the type of beach? I imagine Freya's boat caught some rocks.

TomT: "I think you had something similar happen to you Beav. Did your boat escape destruction because of the type of beach? I imagine Freya's boat caught some rocks. "

Different type of conditions- at least initially for my Bering Sea tumble.

Freya was trying to get to shore to camp-on a shoreline that didn't offer much for protection. This condition is called a surf landing- and there are many variables (wave spacing, height, underwater features, depth of water at shoreline) that make surf landings exciting/high risk. Freya referred to what she had to get through as "fat dumpers" meaning the depth of water is deep coming right into the shore. The waves then don't break until near the beach and they dump all their stored energy right there. The fat dumper is what smashed her kayak in two. The beach was sand, she was wearing her helmet, and she had prepared to make a fast exit- all these things helped protect herself from harm when things turned to crap in an instant.

My dump in the Bering Sea was different and initially caused from an oddball sized wave that decided to break just as it got to my canoe. I had no time to react with my bow - the breaking wave smashed into my boat and grabbed me and kept me. At first I was broadside getting pushed toward shore (this is no way to surf!). Then I was able to get the canoe pointed in the direction of travel. The big wave kept breaking all the way to shore and, of course, as it reached shallower water, got nastier. I was stuck in the breaking wave like a surfer wants to do. Eventually my bow submerged under water and instantly I was lifted up and flipped upside down. This all happened outside the surf zone.

But then I had to swim the boat through "fat dumpers" to reach shore. Likely it didn't look very graceful, but I managed to get the boat on the beach with only minor damage to the rudder. Picture me pulling a Kruger Sea Wind full of water up the beach...a 500 pound boat with 20 cubic feet of water in it becomes 1700 pounds once out of the water. Yup hurt my back a bit trying to pull it out.

I used to live in Dutch Harbor, and I had a sea kayak and a drysuit, etc. All the comforts. Sometimes after work I would go and suit up and paddle out a bit. I never ever left the bay, every second I was out there - always in calm conditions, it scared the wits out of me. I'm glad there are women and men who do this level of adventuring - I'm the guy who buys your books, watches your videos. Bless you.

poobah: "I used to live in Dutch Harbor..."

That sounds like an interesting time in of itself. I am sure local talk from fishermen instilled respect for the Bering Sea.

Curious, for future reference, at what time of year do the nasty "blows" (bad storms) hit the Dutch Harbor area?

So 5 days following their crash shore landing, a local fisherman was able to get to them yesterday. The fishermen took Freya's new paddling partner, Natalie, and the broken kayak back to the fishing village. Freya took the spare kayak that Natalie was using and continued on alone now.

Frustrating day, again, for Freya yesterday. Headwinds, tidal current, and pulled back muscle made progress tough in the morning. She made a smart decision to wait 4 hours on shore anticipating for the tide to turn and be in her favor.

To wait 4 hours is not easy. Landing on shore can be difficult to begin with. Then you just don't pull your boat on shore, tie it off, and wait. Because of the tides, the shoreline is ever changing. She would have had to spend a lot of time and energy to unload her boat and carry everything above the anticipated high tide line. Then after some hours of boredom, she had to muster the guts to choose to go back out to sea. Carry gear back to water, reload, and relaunch. All this in the anticipated hope of making good paddling speed.

And that didn't happen. The tidal current, for unknown reason, didn't turn in her favor. Sounds like she continued on moving at a dismal speed of around 2.5 mph. Frustrated with the day, she went back to shore only after one more hour, cussing the wind and the tides.

Back on shore only to be greeted by a swarm of no-see-ums as a little more salt in the wound for the day. No fun sleeping in a tent filled with those little buggers that will feed on you all night long.

A tough battle with the sea and only 25 miles to show for it.

Boy, that is brutal.

Freya is done with it for this year- and the Bering Sea could care less.

Bad, bad place for a vacation.

BeaV: "Freya is done with it for this year- and the Bering Sea could care less.

Bad, bad place for a vacation.
"

That bad ass came close to killing you, sir V. Congrats on surviving that bitch. You may be the only paddler that ever did.

Proud of her now! Did she somehow receive my comment about "vacation"? She is back on track acknowledging the importance of "the goal". She will relaunch again and finish out August on the Bering Sea.

Comment from her Blog-


"The weather is like it is, and I will take one day at a time. As much as I value paddling partners and any shore and water based support, at the end I am only responsible for myself. And my heart and feelings should be secondary to the goal of my trip.

NEVER STOP STARTING – NEVER START STOPPING."

Additional thoughts- What she is putting herself through right now most people won't understand how hard it is. Just a few days ago she resigned herself to quitting early and going home. Hard decision, but once made, her spirits must have been so high. Going home to family, friends, safety, known places and routines- she would have been flying high in anticipation of that. But then the realization of what she was doing- quitting/failure crept in and she realized she would regret not staying true to her goal. Wow! it is so hard at the point she was at, to change course. So hard to reject happiness so close again and instead choose 2 more weeks of hardship.

The Bering Sea still could care less.

AndySG: "

BeaV: "Freya is done with it for this year- and the Bering Sea could care less. "

You may be the only paddler that ever did."

Nope I have found another, Paul Caffyn did it in 1990 in a kayak.

He and I both agree that the worst part of the Bering Sea coastline is the area Alaskan's refer to as the armpit of Alaska. Freya won't get to that until next year- something not to look forward to.

Looks like this will be the last update.

She is done paddling for this year. She is stopping for now in a commercial fishing village called Naknek in the Kvichak Bay only a few miles from where I exited the Bering Sea in 2013. Next year when she returns will be interesting to me as she paddles the same waters as I.

For now she is happy to be done and at a location where a local business will store her gear. She recently had another bad day capsizing twice, frustrated with herself and the sea, and ready to be done with it for now.

How does your boat design compare to hers??.... yours looked like that Verlon (sp?) Krueger design.

dr bob

DrBobDg: "How does your boat design compare to hers??.... yours looked like that Verlon (sp?) Krueger design."

Yes mine that I used up there is a Kruger Sea Wind decked canoe. She uses sea kayaks.

How to compare?
Sea Wind has a huge volume inside for gear, but has much more surface area above the water. Wind and waves can use this against you. Speed is like a turtle compared to a sea kayak. I don't think I could out paddle a polar bear.

Sea Kayak is, well, designed for ocean paddling. I am not a kayaker so my observations are from the outside looking in but I have gone against them in long distance adventure races. They are uncomfortable. They are fast. They are very seaworthy. They can outrun a polar bear.

Which is better for paddling around Alaska....I would still choose my Sea Wind canoe. I am willing to concede the speed for comfort- this should allow more miles per day. I can crawl into my canoe for shelter, if need be. I don't like relying on outside help to resupply gear and food so I prefer the Sea Wind. If paddling big open water crossings and nasty waves, I'd want a sea kayak.

Freya is a kayaker so she will kayak.

I am a canoer so I will canoe. I just need to learn trick shooting with my shotgun for the polar bear chasing me on my stern scenario;)

I like the "never start stopping and never stop starting" comment.