Dave Cornthwaite

A morning bike ride, a weekend walk in the country, even an hour’s reading each night, they’re all ways to give yourself time to think.

It’s easy to forget yourself as the months and years tick by. Even if nothing changes in your job, your home life or your schedule you are always changing and you need to make time to keep knowing yourself.

One of the best ways I’ve found to make time is to force time. Leave the stresses and pressures of land behind, experience the world like you’ve never seen it before and, most importantly, get away from the commute and the postman. Sail away.

In early 2012 I spent three weeks on Sea Dragon, a 72ft yacht owned by Pangaea Explorations. Pangaea spend most of their time sending scientists off on research missions, whether it’s into ocean plastics or acidification, island populations or marine studies.

But in 2013 they’re working on a whole series of different trips around the Caribbean. Sailing, swimming with dolphins and whales, snorkelling, more sailing. Bliss! If you want to combine some away time with the experience of a lifetime then look no further than the list of trips below:

Feb 1st - 3rd
Dry Tortugas
Diving & Island Exploration 

Mar 5th - 10th
Key West to Cayman
Sail Training

Mar 14th - 18th
Little Cayman
Diving, snorkelling, sailing

Mar 22nd - 31st
Cayman Islands to Dominican Republic
Sail Training

Apr 7th - 17th
Humpback Whales on the Silver Banks
Diving with Whales

Apr 24th - May 4th
Wild Dolphins in the Bahamas
Diving, snorkelling, swimming with dolphins 

My time on Sea Dragon was short, too short. But that brief time away from the clutches of land helped me shape the course of the next stage of my life. I couldn’t recommend it more.

For more information about availability for this year’s Pangaea trips visit www.panexplore.com, and tell them I sent you!

• Read more about my time on Sea Dragon, the 5th journey of Expedition1000

Have yourself the adventure of a lifetime this Summer with Pangaea Explorations as they explore one of the most interesting anthropological projects in the Pacific.

Places available - click here to read more!

When the crew of Sea Dragon land in Honolulu at the end of March a beach clean-up and after party will be waiting for us, thanks to Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii. For all of our Hawaiian friends, please do come on down to the event on 31st March at Kewalo Basin, and then to the evening event from 6pm at Fresh cafe, 831 Queen Street. The press release is below for more details…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 March 12, 2011

kahi@sustainablecoastlineshawaii.org, 808.221.7678 

Event Contact: Kahi Pacarro, 

Sustainable Coastlines Hosts “O-shindig,” a Kewalo Beach Clean Up and

After Party

Honolulu—Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii is organizing a family-focused beach clean up event at Kewalo Basin Park with the intention of removing marine debris and educating participants on ways they can reduce environmental impact on the ocean. All ages are invited to join in.

Scheduled for March 31^st, the cleanup runs from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., with pot-luck style pa’ina including raffles, games and prizes. All materials, including gloves, trash bags and water, will be provided.

Later in the afternoon, participants and community members are invited to Fresh Café in Kaka’ako to celebrate the collective efforts to date and discuss future strategies for minimizing ocean pollution. Running from 6 p.m. on, the event will feature live music, a cash bar, silent auction, and support from sponsors like Styrophobia and Method Cleaning Products. Guest speakers include world record-breaking adventurer, author and motivational speaker Dave Cornthwaite, Pangaea Explorations Program Director Emily Penn, and NOAA Japan Tsunami Debris specialist Ruth Yenger.

As with other Sustainable Coastlines events, the rubbish collected at Kewalo Beach will be quantified and much of it recycled or repurposed for art, jewelry, product packaging and other uses. The statistics from the clean up will be reported to NOAA and other agencies to aid in the formulation of debris prevention strategies.

Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization with the mission of “Inspiring local communities to care for their coastlines through hands-on beach clean ups of the Hawaiian Islands.” With help from more than 1500 volunteers throughout O’ahu in 2011, the team has fostered the collection of 15,000 pounds of waste to date.

For more information visit www.sustainablecoastlineshawaii.org, search Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii on Facebook or follow @Coasthuggers on Twitter.

On December 19th 2009 I reached the Southern Ocean in my kayak, Nala, having descended the 2479km length of Australia’s Murray River. A few days later I found myself on Australia’s West Coast, recuperating, figuring out my next steps and sploshing around in the Indian Ocean on a daily basis. 

One day, I jumped in my kayak and paddled away from land until I was nothing more than a dot in the sea. It was a calm day, a gentle swell rubbed the underbelly of my boat and I was switched off from everything on land. There was nothing to do but consider where and who I was, but I couldn’t quite relax because although I was only a couple of hours paddle from the beach I felt magnetised in the other direction. Like encountering a snake or a steep cliff face from above, a small part of me was tempted to disregard the obvious danger and test out exactly how it would feel to keep on paddling towards the horizon. 

I didn’t of course, it would have been a death wish - not least because I’d only packed a bar of chocolate and one health food bar, but ever since then I’ve let my mind drift out to the middle of the ocean when contemplating my next journey, and I’m left in no doubt that before too long I’ll find myself in a small boat with nothing but water in between me and a continent that I did not leave from.

In the next two years I plan on rowing across an ocean, or at least a considerable part of one. I can’t imagine a greater challenge, physically or psychologically, than self propelling oneself across a great sea mass. 

As 2011 drew to a close I was invited by a friend to visit California for New Years, so I jumped at the chance. When you throw caution to the wind at the last minute things start to happen, and the opportunity to effectively charter a 72ft yacht between Mexico and Hawaii surfaced before December had passed. But there was a catch, I needed to fill ten berths on the yacht if the trip was to go ahead.

The voyage, from Mexico to Hawaii, fits perfectly into my Expedition1000 plan. It’s over 1000 miles (approx 3500, in fact) and doesn’t involve a motor. And what’s more, it would be a great opportunity to experience open water before a more arduous solo test in a rowboat.

DETAILS

So, who’s in? Here are the basic details and my email address is at the bottom of this post - drop a quick message if you’d seriously consider joining the team. It’s a once in a lifetime mission, don’t miss out!

• Depart Cabo, Mexico on March 13th 2012
• Arrive Honolulu, Hawaii on March 30th 2012
• Cost: $3990 / £2575 (not including flights)
• Price includes 17 days of accommodation, food and passage from Cabo to Hawaii
• Prior sailing experience helpful, but not necessary
• All on board will be involved in the day-to-day running of the boat, including cooking cleaning and sailing. 
• Dave will be filming a documentary of this 5th leg of his Expedition1000 project. It will be an opportunity for everyone on board to engage in far more than just a sailing trip.
• Regular workshops will take place on board beyond normal duties, including filming and editing, expedition logistics, environmental and ocean studies, and evening floor sessions where everyone on board has their chance to present on a subject of their choice.

For more detailed information see these links:

Description of the voyage: http://www.panexplore.com/2012-expeditions/pacific-crossing

Here are details about the boat: http://www.panexplore.com/crew-resources

Here’s a registration to sign-up: http://www.panexplore.com/expedition-pre-registration

Hopefully we’ll see you in Cabo this March!