Shall I Try Again – It’s Too Soon to Say

On my ill-fated return from the first attempt I said I would take three months to make up my mind. I had my wife Catherine’s support as indeed I have it again. I am so fortunate. But I promised and I wish to help her this year finish her Appalachian Trail hike from Georgia to Maine and with any luck she will complete between June and August. I drop her off from the small motor home we have each morning with one of our two dogs. She hikes 8 to 15 miles depending on terrain. I sometimes see her along the way if there is a cross road over the trail but mostly I get to the end point for the day and with our other dog I hike in to meet her. We camp in or by the motor home and repeat the next day. It’s a great joy for both of us and it’s something Catherine wants to have finished. So this year is hers. Next year (August 2016) I plan with my oldest son Alan, and now maybe with some friends as well to motorcycle from Prudhoe Bay Alaska to Key West Florida a distance of 5,477 miles which we just might do in under a week. Then in summer 2017 a group of us are thinking of cycling across America to raise money for the Foundation for Physical Therapy. So it would not be till November of 2018 that I would be able to try the solo again. I will be 80 years of age at that time and much will depend on my health and on what changes I make to Kiwi Spirit or if I in fact exercise the option of building a newer and somewhat smaller boat – say 56-58 feet rather than the 64 feet of the present Kiwi Spirit. I shall wait two years before making up my mind but later this year I will beginning working on an Owners Brief for the new boat so as to put together all I have learned and to test the viability of my ideas. A pity to waste the experience. But if my excellent health sustains then there is every possibility of another attempt. Future blogs. I suspect I shall update this page every few months. However I will soon access many of the communications that were sent while I was at sea and on my return and reply to many of them in these pages. I thank everyone for their support and concerns. I keep being surprised at just how many people followed my adventure. Best wishes for now. Stanley Paris.