Steve's Big Adventure
From the Heartland to the First Coast – on a sailboat?

Growing up in Ottawa, Kansas, I remember talking about making a raft out of wood and barrels, then floating down the Maris de Cyne River. That was during my grade school years in the mid-fifties, before the Corps of Engineers built reservoirs, levees and dikes to tame the spring rain floodwaters. My grade-school buddies Eldon McCurdy, Larry Crawford and I had the usual Huck Finn fantasies as we played and fished on the old riverbanks.

Fast-forward to the late 1980's and early 1990's. Many was the time I found myself anchored on one of the Corps of Engineers' lakes, Lake Perry, Kansas, aboard Telesis, a Newport 30, Mark II sailboat, hull #1005, originally built in 1980 and purchased by me in 1986. Like the boy inside me, I longed to get over the lake's dam, down the Delaware River and the short distance to the Kansas River. Once on the Kansas River it would be about 50 miles to Kansas City and the Missouri River – well on the way to the Gulf of Mexico. At such times, usually after a few "adult" beverages, I would often comment to Nancy, my wife, and others: "If we could only get Telesis past that dam, we'd be on our way to the Gulf!"

Well, I got Telesis past the dam, not over it onto the Delaware and Kansas Rivers, but by truck. Telesis was dropped off 45 miles away at the Missouri River at Atchison, Kansas (The Heartland). From there, it was about 1300 statute miles to the Gulf of Mexico at Mobile, Alabama, and then another 970 statute miles to Jacksonville, Florida (The First Coast). I took my time on the trip and spent 14 weeks traveling the 2270 statute miles. (Note: The river charts and Intracoastal waterway charts are marked in statute miles, although I used nautical miles in my daily log once I was off the rivers.)

That's what this website is about – my trip, which began in September 1999 and ended in December 1999. It contains maps, daily logs, photos and some published and unpublished articles about the trip. I had a great adventure, made even better by the opportunity to share it with friends, families and strangers on this electronic media. I wrote it as the events happened. I'm sure that I will come to enjoy rereading the log myself in the months and years to come.

Now that the trip is over, I have a few observations about the concept of the trip.  How I came to my decision to make the trip is covered in the intro to the daily log if you are interested in those details.  Once I made the decision and announced my plans, I got one of two reactions.  They were either; “WOW, what a great trip, I wish I could do that, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity!” or “You must be crazy, it is too dangerous, if your lucky you may only loose your boat, if you’re not, you could easily drown on the rivers!”   In fact the skeptics went on to tell me how very dangerous the Missouri River and the Mississippi River were.  Muddy water full of silt that would destroy my engine water pumps causing the engine to overheat, stall and the boat would then crash in the current.  Floating logs and debris that would either hole Telesis or snag the anchor setting her adrift in the night, again causing the boat to crash in the current.  Large barge tows and push boats that would send out huge wakes, swamping Telesis, causing her to crash in the current.

Well, the folks that said “WOW!” were right, it was a once in a lifetime trip.  The other folks were not completely wrong, those dangers did exit, but they were somewhat predictable, manageable and avoidable.  As I have said many times, there were dangers, but it was not dangerous.  The lesson here is to learn all you can, plan and prepare well, then execute and have some fun!  Lot’s of Fun!  I had lots of fun and no real problems.

As you read the logs and the articles, you will see that I had the full support of my family and many friends, especially Nancy, my wife, and my Mom.  To them and everyone, I am very grateful.  But I am especially grateful to my mother, for her support could not have been given easily.  For you see, back in 1982 my youngest brother, Joel, in the prime of his life at age 26 with a loving wife and two small children, drowned in a boating accident on that very Maris de Cyne River that I used to dream of rafting down.  How very frightening it must have been for my mother to hear the skeptics talk of the many dangers I would face and wonder if she might loose another son to the raging river waters.  Yet she never discouraged me, she never suggested I do anything other than pursue the adventure.

Nancy not only encouraged me to make the trip, but also participated in the two segments that had the most uncertainty and exposure to real dangers.  She was with me the first week when we launched into the Missouri River, by far the most challenging of the rivers with its swift current, many bends, commercial tow traffic and few places to anchor away from the channel.  She also made the Gulf of Mexico crossing from Apalachicola, Fl to Clearwater, FL, 165 nautical miles; almost 30 hours on open water, well out of site of land on a very dark night with rough seas.

Individuals have commented on how brave I must have been to take this trip.  Well, Nancy is far braver to have accompanied me as she did.  And if you want to know real courage, consider how brave my mother was in giving me her full support, even as she continues to feel the pain having lost a son to the rivers and a daughter to an undiagnosed health problem.

This adventure is now over.  I shall add it to the many other great memories I have.  Back packing on the continental divide with my boys and backpacking partners, the Mitchell family.  Sailing on chartered boats at various cruising grounds.  Setting goals, planning and achieving successes in the business world. Big game hunting with my brother, Stan.  Helping others to learn and grow in business and life in general.  Sharing with family, the good and the bad.  Ski trips when the snow was deep and fresh.  Yet, I’ve often said, “My favorite memories are the ones I haven’t made yet!”  I see other adventures ahead of me, and I’m sure they will involve sailing and the larger water world, now that I’ve gotten past the dam at Lake Perry, KS.

For now I am re-entering the working world.  My feelings are best expressed by the opening lines from a poem by Don Blanding, which Jimmy Buffet used to close his book, A Pirate Looks at Fifty.

The Double Life

How very simple life would be
If only there were two of me
A Restless Me to drift and roam
A Quiet Me to stay at home.
A Searching One to find his fill
Of varied skies and newfound thrills
While sane and homely things are done

By the domestic Other One.
And that’s just where the trouble lies;
There is a Restless Me that cries
For chancy risks and changing scene,
For arctic blue and tropic green,
For deserts with their mystic spell,
For lusty fun and raising Hell
But shackled to that Restless Me
My Other Self rebelliously
Resists the frantic urge to move.