Time to reflect

Hi Folks,

So I have spent a week getting to know my family again and have started wading through the paperwork and phone calls and other stuff that has stacked up since I have been away.

My Mum flew home yesterday and we shall all miss her, especially Shea Bella who got to spend quality time with her English Grammy and loves her very much. I couldn't have done the VI trip without your help Mum. Thank you so much!

My body is almost completely healed. A huge blood blister appeared on my left heal which explained why it hurt so much for the second half of the record attempt. Otherwise I am in good shape and already replacing the lost pounds and losing my six pack once again. Ah well!

Thanks to everyone that has sent messages of congratulations. They are all really appreciated and whilst I have tried to respond to them all, if I have missed you out please accept my apologies. If I can help anyone planning a similar style of trip feel free to get in touch either by email: sean@riverandocean.com or my cell: 415-816-8746.

I will be giving a first slide show presentation about my trip at California Canoe and Kayak's Sacramento store on Saturday November 8th. Contact the store for more details: 916 851 3600.

I have also conducted interviews for Wavelength magazine and Canoe Kayak magazine and will be writing an article for Sea Kayaker magazine as well.

I wanted to show you some photos from the trip as a taste of what you might see at one of my slide shows. The first is of my kayak after landing on the beautiful Catala Island, located in Esperanza Inlet on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island, between Nootka Sound and Kyuquot Sound.

It was the most perfect day and I shared my campsite with a very tame deer and had my dinner listening to sea otters squeaking at each other in the Sound. Idyllic!

The second photo is of a close encounter with large male killer whale in Johnstone Strait, just east of Race Passage. That dorsal fin was about 6ft high! He was with a pod of about ten whales that were feeding in the powerful eddies created by the ebbing tide. They didn't seem to mind me at all and kept following me even when I paddled off, the youngsters exploding out of the water giving me quite a shock. I was paddling with them for about an hour. Truly one of the highlights of my kayaking career.

The final photo speaks for itself. I was overjoyed to finish. Not because I had beaten the record, just that I wanted to go home to see my family.

It will be quite a while before I do anything quite so long and hard again. But never say "Never"....