A while back Greg Stamer's account of the circumnavigation of Iceland he and Freya made was published in Sea Kayaker magazine. Greg has now put that story online on his blog at http://www.gregstamer.com/ . There are other stories and photographs that you might find interesting. I know I did. I understand that several Paddlewisers have already heard Freya's account of her Australian odyssey so perhaps they'd be kind enough to give us a review. I am hopeful of attending in Seattle on Feb 16th but that's not on a weekend and I live 160 miles away (and across a major mountain range) from Seattle so the trip is problematic; even during a warm winter. I guess I'm most curious to know if she spoke wearing the same clothes she paddled in. :P On the global warming front, the lake ice in front of my house has gone completely after four weeks of high temps in the mid-to-upper 40s and a few 50 degree days (all temps in F). As long as I've owned this house (back to the 1990s) the lake has been frozen from Nov. 15th to March 15th with but two exceptions (and one was last year). This year it froze on Dec 15th and has thawed on Feb 7th; which is a new record. I understand that people to the east of me are not having it so good and all I can say is, "neener neener". The news continue to cover the bad weather there but I know that if *we* had that bad weather they would barely notice. So they're getting more time in the news. :P I had intended to take advantage of the thaw and paddle today but our house was invaded by aliens in the form of two 8-year-old girls and part of the routine was to go ice skating last night (Saturday) and again today. Plus staying up 'til midnight, two walks to the school playground and back (5 blocks each way). And including several impromptu races up and down the stairs. If you want to train for the Olympics I can offer them up as overkill. I fell asleep at 6pm waiting for the last one's mom to come get her. I'm hoping to book them for a couple more visits before summer. Remind me to order more hydro-codone. There is also a copy - in Danish I imagine - of Fridjof Nansen's book on Greenland Life entitled, oddly enough, Greenlandliv; originally published in 1891. There are some interesting illustrations. Paddling Planet ( www.paddlingplanet.com) had the story in Danish but with a link to an English translation (of the web site, not the book) at the bottom: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=kajakbloggen.dk&hl=en&ie=UTF8&sl=da&tl=en. There are some chapters on Greenland kayaks and paddling; apparently Nansen became proficient at the skill while he was in Greenland. Another interesting read. And now, if you'll excuse me, my pain pills have started to wear off. Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Craig, I saw Freya's slide show in San Diego, the first USA stop, on Friday night. There was an hour of informal chatting beforehand. She was much more humble, and in some ways, more vulnerable, than I expected or had heard about her. But maybe my 2 1/2 years in Germany helped me understand the German psyche better. She is a fascinating and charismatic person, and I think she is doing the sport of sea kayaking a lot of good. Her slide show was actually one of the better ones I've seen. By any means, if you can see her slide show, I'd recommend going. Duane --- On Sun, 2/7/10, Craig Jungers <crjungers_at_gmail.com> wrote: > I understand that several Paddlewisers have already heard > Freya's account of > her Australian odyssey so perhaps they'd be kind enough to > give us a review. > I am hopeful of attending in Seattle on Feb 16th but that's > not on a weekend > and I live 160 miles away (and across a major mountain > range) from Seattle > so the trip is problematic; even during a warm winter. I > guess I'm most > curious to know if she spoke wearing the same clothes she > paddled in. :P *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I'll be hearing Freya at Ocean River here in Victoria later this week. I'm looking forward to her presentation. The last time I saw a presentation on an Aussie circumnavigation (early 80's) the audience sat in stunned silence as we saw pics of Paul C surfing in, 25 footers pushing him shoreward. And this chick, Freya, did it without a real support team. My goodness girl. Well, just asked my daughter if she was looking forward to the 2010 Winter Olympics. No, she wasn't as in no, not watching. I told her that was unfortunate as she and her sister will be paying for it for years to come. Hope it snows soon. Doesn't look like it will. But then, that's why folks move to Vancouver to avoid the harsh winter, right? Doug Lloyd Craig said: A while back Greg Stamer's account of the circumnavigation of Iceland he and Freya made was published in Sea Kayaker magazine. Greg has now put that story online on his blog at http://www.gregstamer.com/ . There are other stories and photographs that you might find interesting. I know I did. I understand that several Paddlewisers have already heard Freya's account of her Australian odyssey so perhaps they'd be kind enough to give us a review. I am hopeful of attending in Seattle on Feb 16th but that's not on a weekend and I live 160 miles away (and across a major mountain range) from Seattle so the trip is problematic; even during a warm winter. I guess I'm most curious to know if she spoke wearing the same clothes she paddled in. :P On the global warming front, the lake ice in front of my house has gone completely after four weeks of high temps in the mid-to-upper 40s and a few 50 degree days (all temps in F). As long as I've owned this house (back to the 1990s) the lake has been frozen from Nov. 15th to March 15th with but two exceptions (and one was last year). This year it froze on Dec 15th and has thawed on Feb 7th; which is a new record. I understand that people to the east of me are not having it so good and all I can say is, "neener neener". The news continue to cover the bad weather there but I know that if *we* had that bad weather they would barely notice. So they're getting more time in the news. :P I had intended to take advantage of the thaw and paddle today but our house was invaded by aliens in the form of two 8-year-old girls and part of the routine was to go ice skating last night (Saturday) and again today. Plus staying up 'til midnight, two walks to the school playground and back (5 blocks each way). And including several impromptu races up and down the stairs. If you want to train for the Olympics I can offer them up as overkill. I fell asleep at 6pm waiting for the last one's mom to come get her. I'm hoping to book them for a couple more visits before summer. Remind me to order more hydro-codone. There is also a copy - in Danish I imagine - of Fridjof Nansen's book on Greenland Life entitled, oddly enough, Greenlandliv; originally published in 1891. There are some interesting illustrations. Paddling Planet ( www.paddlingplanet.com) had the story in Danish but with a link to an English translation (of the web site, not the book) at the bottom: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=kajakbloggen.dk&hl=en&ie=UTF8&sl=da& tl=en. There are some chapters on Greenland kayaks and paddling; apparently Nansen became proficient at the skill while he was in Greenland. Another interesting read. And now, if you'll excuse me, my pain pills have started to wear off. Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Craig wrote: - >I understand that several Paddlewisers have already heard Freya's account of >her Australian odyssey so perhaps they'd be kind enough to give us a review. G'Day Craig, Freya gave us a fascinating talk in Sydney without the benefit of slides a couple of days after she finished the trip. I'm sure it will be even better with the slides. She also brought along her kayak and gear, which is well worth checking out. For the formal part of the talk she said a great deal with relatively few words and then was generous in spending a long time answering questions. A valuable session for those interested in long trips. The bravery and skill Freya exhibited would impress anyone. However, I was also taken with her willingness to find time to meet so many people and see as much of the country as she could, given the limited time at her disposal. She found many friends amongst our coastal communities. Another aspect to admire was the dedication with which she communicated her experiences, almost every day. I met Freya twice, once I gave her a lift to a house she was staying at and a group of us had dinner with her; the 2nd time I met her at the talk. On both occasions she was straightforward, matter of fact and well focussed on the practicalities of travel. There were also frequent flashes of wry humour, as when asked why she didn't cut her hair short for the journey and she responded that after all it was only natural to allow a few concessions to her femininity. Or her confession at dinner to a yearning for milk chocolate. Bring some along to the talk, she might be quite pleased! As for her appearance, she was more slightly built than I had expected and at the talk wore an elegant, sheer evening dress. All the best, PeterO *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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