Portraits of Kayakers
At some point, while you were warm in your home, well fed, and content, five kayakers were on the water.
In the dark. Scared. Bold. Lost. Exploring. Lonely. Reflective. Exhausted. Inspired. Sad. Joyful. In pain. In love. Paddling.
They wouldn't have it any other way.
Photography by John Bolivar
Text by Mike Kord
This article first appeared in Kayak Touring 2006.
My Brother's Keeper
When Simon Osborne says he didn't really know what he was getting into when he decided to circumnavigate the United Kingdom, he means it. That the 26-year-old had never actually sea kayaked before only accentuated the urgent need for instruction from renowned kayaker Nigel Dennis. "Fortunately, he didn't tell me to just go home and think about what I wanted to do with my life," Osborne said.
Osborne was driven to complete the grueling 3,000-mile journey to raise funds (22,000 pounds) for leukemia research and in memory of his brother, Mark. Two years later, Osborne circumnavigated Ireland, a 900-mile travail that raised 30,000 pounds for leukemia research.
Osborne spoke about his enormous challenges both on and off the water before a packed theater at last fall's West Coast Sea Kayak Symposium. He received a standing ovation. "I never expected that," he said. "It blew my mind away."
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