erden Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 Hello friends... I am back on land since June 2nd, in General Santos City (GenSan) on Mindanao Island of the Philippines. Running out of food after 312 days at sea, with resupply impossible where I was, and being carried north by the ocean away from PNG into the path of typhoons, I had to make a quick and final decision, as difficult as it was: save the boat to row another day... the last thing I wanted was to create a rescue situation later on when desperate, and when we did not have control over our options. Frabelle Fishing Corporation from the Philippines came to help in my "orderly retreat." One of their light boats towing me to their larger refrigerated carriers destined for GenSan. After the typhoon season, we will take the boat to the same spot where the tow was accepted, to resume the journey where I left it off. In the meantime, I will do my part as a belayer to my wife to earn her permission for another extended leave. While I have not touched rock since Spring 2007, she has been climbing 12a's lately!!! For a while, I had hopes that I could reach PNG (Wewak was 136nm due S) or Jayapura (199nm due SW) before the winds turned on me, setting the seas northbound all the way to 4N, another 240nm away where the counter current flowed eastbound. Had I been able to reach New Guinea, there was a remote chance for permits to climb Carstenz. Alas, it was not meant to be. I have to spend some time perusing the winds and currents, and talking to the fishing boat captains for local information to decide when and where to go from the tow-accepted-point. Coral Sea and Australia look likely, presenting Kosciuszko as an option, all in the context of the Six Summits Project. I will look forward to joining you guys at one of the pub gatherings. Should be back in Seattle sometime mid to late June. Best. Erden. Quote
dmuja Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 Welcome back to terra firma Erden! Of coarse we were all checking in on your progress very often, What an awesome job you did!! Thanks for your inspiring efforts. Quote
wayne Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 Absolutly , feels good to have you back E ! Thanks for not pushing it. and Wow to Nancy! Quote
pindude Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 Erden, Welcome back and congratulations! Good call to go onboard the Champion 52. This latest leg of your journey, with all your time in convergence zones and the new typhoon season, was to me the most anxious yet. I was rooting for you to get to New Guinea for the possibility of Carstenz, but more importantly am glad you're epic wasn't an even bigger one, and you're safe and heading home. Cheers, Steve Reynolds Quote
Stefan Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 Erden, I read your updates and I am always amazed. I can't believe you are even typing. Holy cow. Quote
billcoe Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 Erden, I read your updates and I am always amazed. I can't believe you are even typing. Holy cow. Ditto: totally amazing Erden! Welcome back....for now:-) Quote
ivan Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 interesting to see that there ARE women who put up w/ more shit from their husbands than mine! Quote
Bug Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 I should send this to both of my ex-wives. But not my fiance'. Welcome back Erden! Quote
erden Posted June 6, 2008 Author Posted June 6, 2008 thanks guys. Nancy is a big part of this journey. She not only lets me go, she also believes that this is a worthy challenge. She has helped shape Around-n-Over and how we work. I was proud to have raised $19k during our Pacific crossing for iLKYAR Foundation in Turkey, for which we located a matching grant as well. So iLKYAR will receive $38k total for rural area students that come to centrally located boarding schools for their primary level education. These kids sometimes show up without appropriate clothes or shoes, let alone notebooks or pencils... Erden. Quote
EWolfe Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 Erden, you have my greatest respect for what you are doing and your causes. Glad you made it to land! Erik Wolfe Quote
erden Posted June 9, 2008 Author Posted June 9, 2008 iyi yolculuklar! Now that sounds familiar ;-) Çok teşekkür ederim. I am going to be flying back from Manila to Seattle arriving this weekend. I will be doing the rounds to see friends again beginning next week. I will have to keep the cc.com pub gatherings in mind as well. A quick way to see many friends... Best. Erden. Quote
Gary_Yngve Posted June 9, 2008 Posted June 9, 2008 Looking forward to seeing you and hearing the inspirational/adventurous stories in person! Quote
scott_harpell Posted June 9, 2008 Posted June 9, 2008 Great job Erden! Glad to hear you back(-ish) safe. You gotta set and a half man... Quote
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