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    Around-n-Over

    Question - "What does having a dream mean to you?"
    Answer - "A dream is a goal glimmering in the distance; it is an inner calling which, when accomplished,
    serves as the rite of passage into wisdom." Erden Eruç - Sep 17, 2004
     

    Image: Presenting the Guinness World Record Certificate to Şahap Aktaş, Chairman of the Board of Directors at our sponsor Aktaş Group. Presenting the Guinness World Record Certificate to Şahap Aktaş, Chairman of the Board of Directors at our sponsor Aktaş Group.
    Image: www.ExplorersWeb.com www.ExplorersWeb.com
    Image: www.tripbase.com www.tripbase.com

    Kudos to our supporters; Upcoming presentations; Awards
    August 23, 2009    
    At the bottom of this dispatch, you will see the three upcoming public presentations that I will hold. If you live in Seattle or Portland area, we will welcome your attendance and hope that you will spread the word among your circle of friends and colleagues.

    In those presentations, I will mention our charitable and educational projects, and talk about my recent effort across the Pacific Ocean and how I reached the shores of Papua New Guinea from California. The presentation on the 30th is especially important for me, the aim of which is to raise funds to send the young climbers of the Vertical World Climbing Team to competitions.

    As you remember, between 10 July 2007 and 17 May 2008, I spent 312 days on the Pacific Ocean to reach the waters of Papua New Guinea from California. I returned to the same spot this January and after 20 tough days on the Bismarck Sea, I made landfall at the Maneba Wharf in Finsch Harbor on the north shores of PNG.

    This September, I will return to the Maneba Wharf to cover a total of about 500 miles to reach Port Moresby on the south side of PNG. Half of this distance will be covered on foot, and half of it involves coastal kayaking where there will be no roads or trails.

    Whether it was during the 312 days which became the new Guinness World Record for the longest time spent at sea by a singlehanded rower, or during the 20 day final push to shore, I had the strong support of our sponsors and supporters led by AKTAŞ Group. A number of sponsors helped us span the Pacific Ocean and Frabelle Fishing Corporation from the Philippines became a vital logistical link in ensuring the continuity of the journey in PNG waters.

    I have mentioned this before: the nonprofit İLKYAR focuses their resources on students in rural Turkey who are receiving their primary education in centrally located boarding schools. During that record time at sea, thanks to our sponsors, we were able to redirect $23,292 in donations to charitable ends to benefit İLKYAR. After the Turkish Coalition of America based in Washington DC provided a matching contribution, the total benefit to İLKYAR was a handsome $46,584. By now, the contributions to İLKYAR have reached $54 thousand. It gives me great pride to note here that, our main sponsor Aktaş Group has recently decided to directly support İLKYAR as part of their corporate social responsibility program.

    The manner in which we had executed the Pacific row, gained us the 4th spot in the ExplorersWeb Best of 2008 awards. It is encouraging to be counted as such among the leading expeditions worldwide. Similarly this year, tripbase.com recently issued their Travel Blog Awards 2009, and we were included among the notable blogs in the Low Carbon category.

    Soon I will be returning to Papua New Guinea to push the journey further across that wonderful landscape. If it were not for the sponsorship of Swire Shipping and the help our friends at Steamships Shipping, the logistics of this journey would have proven impossible.

    What motivates us past the occasional challenges that we face along the way, are the approving nod of our sponsors, the open arms by which the journey is received in distant lands, and the affirming contributions of our supporters. Please help us in our mission to educate and inspire by encouraging your circle of friends to sign up for dispatches on the top right of this page, to donate using our [Support Us] page, and to spread the word to teachers and potential sponsors.

    It is all worthwhile with your participation, it is all for good. I am happy and feel blessed. Thank you.

    Erden.


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    Row Across the Pacific Ocean, A Guinness World Record
    Wednesday, August 26th, 7PM click to see POSTER
    The North Face, 1023 1st Ave, Seattle (206) 622-4111
    FREE

    ------------------------

    Row Across the Pacific Ocean, A Guinness World Record
    Thursday, August 27th, 8PM click to see POSTER
    The North Face, 1202 NW Davis Street, Portland (503) 727-0200
    FREE

    ------------------------

    Kosciuszko the Hard Way, Row Across the Pacific
    Sunday, August 30th, 7:30PM click to see POSTER
    Vertical World Climbing Gym, 2123 W. Elmore Street, Seattle (206) 283.4497
    $10 minimum suggested donation

    Benefit presentation for The Vertical World Climbing Team Fund, supporting an accomplished group of young climbers who regularly place at a national level and who represent the USA in the Youth World Championships.

    Previous Dispatches
    image

    About setting lofty goals    July 22, 2009
    Over the last couple days, a lot has been said about the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. On July 20 in 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins took their historic flight

    image

    An overview...    July 14, 2009
    I have been inundated with responsibilities on the home front and fell behind on my dispatches. My goal will be to get back on a regular schedule to inform our supporters from our website. I also up

    image

    The PBSJ Foundation is our first funding sponsor for education    May 23, 2009
    On Wednesday, May 20th we gathered with The PBSJ Corporation executives at the historic Arctic Club Hotel in downtown Seattle. The setting was ideal for the presentation that we held. The stated missi

    Later dispatches - Previous dispatches


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