Well in this case it is a veteran helping fellow veterans. There is a connection amoung vets that cannot be explained nor broken no matter which branch you served in.
A person needs to be confident, knowledgable and experienced, prepared, have the right gear, and have support.
For my journey i have to be ready to be lonely for hours at a time maybe days. I have to be self sufficient as i do not have a support staff following me on shore. I have to rely on the goodness of people along the way.
I carry plenty of safety gear. I have an app on my phone called Life360 and i have 6 people in my circle who can follow me by the gps location of my phone. I have a PLB personal location beacon registered with National Search and Rescue. I have a marine radio that floats, a first aid kit, survival knife, strobe light, binoculars, signal mirror, whistle, and airhorn on my pfd.
I have charts, compass, and a Garmin GPS unit backed up with app on my phone from Navionics. I have courses plotted on the charts.
I am focused, confident, determined, and ready even though there are 2 months to go. I have one more food order to purchase and ship to my sisters, drysuit and vest to buy and i am still hoping for a new kayak.
People ask me if i am scared. I tell them no as i have a large amount of training to get through this and survive if required. I was asked if there was anything to worry about. I said yes worry is what keeps you alive and alert. I must be alert while on the water as kayaks are not that visible, people are not curteous to kayakers and of course the weather can change at any time.
My hopes for this trip…that i can save as many lives as i can and raise as much money as possible to help those i save.
There are others doing journeys as well. 2 guys are planning and getting ready to SUP the entire Mississippi River for Mission22. Maybe the 3 of us will get together for an expedition in the future.
acske2017 