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Expedition “Kamchatka Current”- Organizers and executors:”KamchatKAyaking Club”;
- Time: May 25, 2006 – June 24, 2006 (31 days);
- Place: the Pacific coast of Kamchatka;
- Vehicle: sea kayak;
- Route: Kluchi village – Ust-Kamchatsk village – Petropevlovsk-Kamchatski city;
- Extension of route: 755 km;
- Team: the chief of expedition - Mstislav Sokolovskiy (1983 year born), members of expedition: Alexander Chupriyanov (1982 year born) and Dmitriy Uharskiy (1988 year born);
- Status of expedition: The First Russian Expedition on Sea Kayaks;
- Peculiarities: the Expedition passed in hard conditions of a severe climate of the Pacific ocean, was completely independent, became the beginning of an era of sea kayaking in Russia.
- Sponsors: general sponsor - trading network «TECHNO NETWORK»; exclusive sponsor – scientific production company «BASK» and its official representative in Kamchatka – «KUBA»; official sponsor - limited company «KamchatFlotService»;
sponsors - tourist companies «Adventure Land» and «Cruise travel»;
infotainment – television channel «STS Kamchatka», «Radio – 3», http://www.abvclub.ru;
- Rewards: the National premium “The Verges of an Extreme”, the Premium of the Government of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy city “Rara Avis”, the status “The Expedition of 2006 Year”.
 The indigenes of Kamchatka, whose tribes lived along the sea-shore, used in the old times special small boats – kayaks for hunting sea animals and fishing. They made frames for these boats with tree-branches and skeletons of sea-animals, and covered the frames with fresh flayed seal skins. Modern kayaks are made according to other technology, and their destination has become different. Today the sea kayaking is one of the most popular extreme and adventuring sports in Europe and North America practiced for deeper understanding of the local lore, culture and environment. In Russia, which is washed by three oceans, the sea kayaking has started not long ago, and it is connected to Kamchatka as the history of the kayaks itself.  On June 24, 2006 in the picturesque Bay of Avacha, in the center of Petropavovsk-Kamchatsky, an expedition named “Kamchatka Current” has successfully finished its trip. In spite of distressing forecast of stager sailors and citizen of the coastal villages, the “three strong and brave people” (as we were called by local mass media) came back safe and sound. We had 755 km and 31 days of way, 400000 kayak strokes in the Pacific Ocean behind us. We were salted, tiered and extremely happy… The expedition “Kamchatka Current” has become a realization of an old dream to fulfill a long trip in a kayak along the picturesque eastern Kamchatka coast. Marvelous coastal landscapes, cozy coves and bays, bird, sea-lion and fur-seal rookeries – all this attracted us as a magnet. Stories about crazy ocean waves, huge swell and bars-killers only warmed our “hero” moral… up to the moment when it has become our everyday life.  A small village Kluchi is located at the foot of the highest volcano of Eurasia – Kluchevskaya Sopka. After assembling and loading the boats with goods, we started our water way from this village. Before exiting to the ocean we had to overcome 120 km along numerous armlets and channels of the river Kamchatka – the main and beautiful water-way of the peninsula. Loaded kayaks rather looked like as submarines, and were over the water line only by 8-10 cm, but despite of this they were perfectly steered. On the second day of the trip, besides the impressive views of the volcanoes Kluchevskaya Sopka, Shiveluch and the mount Ostraya we saw not less exciting picture: the river entered into the mounts, having cut them into two parts – the so called “Big Cheeks”. A fantastic impression – following the lowland river we floated into the mountains! In the canyon it made very warm, so warm that we decided to train the Eskimo overturn. It appeared that to position a loaded kayak with hermetic bags, attached at the top, is not more complicated than without them. Immediately we felt ourselves confidently and surely.  After three days of relaxing kayaking downstream we pointed our way towards the bars that warmed up our curiosity (they are strong pulsing rollers which form at the place where the river flows into the sea). Their passage occurred to be not so difficult, as we were told – we prowled in 1-2 m from the right river-bank, and entered in the ocean without problems, but there our confidence in ourselves and quietness were shaken. Huge swell and strong wind which turned and thrown our boats, as chips, has allowed us to make only 10 km (instead of planned 40!). The following days were a real hell. A diary says: “Rowing is very hard. We have practically no forces. In front of us fog, fog and wind… This has been lasting for days… It is impossible to see anything. It is nasty, wet and cold. I feel myself entirely sick and worn out. I feel as a hysterics, a real one, is arising inside me. This is impermissible, especially for me”. Eternal fog, beastly cold (1-2 degrees in day, in night – less), constant frontal wind, they have been exhausting us so much, that neither food, no sleep could recover the energy lost in the ocean. It seemed that only a miracle could give forces…  The diary: «Being awaken, we got up with great difficulty. Night frost locked the clasps of the tent. We weren’t able to leave the sleeping bags. We would like only three things: to sleep, eat and wash ourselves. A strong cyclone is coming, and there is 40 km along a straight line to Chazhminsky cordon. Not once it was so cold as today. Milk porridge, we ate this morning, was “burnt” in one hour after the departure. Tremendous energy discharge because of self heating and huge physical activity when overcoming the swell and wind have exhausted our bodies. Nuts and dried apricots couldn’t practically help. Everything we have ate, were burnt as dry wood in a hot stove. When we moored for a dinner (we prepared a soup in the morning, filled thermoses with it, and ate it with hard tacks, lard and cheese), we tried to make a fire. Fingers didn’t serve us, and wet wood didn’t take fire… Clouds rose to 800 m. Capes appeared. We decided to cross a gulf, heading to the farthest cape. Having rowed 40 km till 7 P.M. we understood due to the coastal reference points, that it is time to moor, but we are away from the coast by 9 km! I don’t remember how we did it, but in two hours we landed. We were practically in the unconscious state. We ate the siccine acid and sweets and dragged ourselves from boats. The wind chills us to the marrow… In 200 m from the shore-line there is a hut, sheds and hot steaming spring. No forces to get them, and we have to cross a river between us and them. A sip of pure alcohol, and we have got a little revived. We unload boats, carry goods, carry boats, and then load them again for crossing the jet. From the boats, we fall down into the hot water of the spring. A hut! This is happiness! This is a marvel! In a half of hour I am crying to Sania who is lying near his boat in the thermal pool in all his boat outfit, that here, in the house, we have to tale off our shoes, and here is a stove and beds with mattresses! It was a paradise, a real paradise: warm, chilly, and we were full. It is impossible to believe, but we arrived before the cyclone!» We met few similar saving wonders in our uneasy trip: it was a first sunny morning at the Kronotsky lighthouse (on the 15th day of the expedition!), which inspired new forces and good mood into us; warm wind from a marine terrace brought invigorative odor of shiksha (crowberry) and dwarf-pine. It was no one knows from where appeared a neat fisher village, where we were washed, fed, laundered and put into beds in the white sheets. It was a salutary contact with fantastic people – surveyors of the Kronotsky reserve, meteorologists, lighthouse keepers, hunters, fishermen and simple settlers of the godforsaken remote villages located at the sea-shore. They were, sure, marvelous moments of contemplation of the wonderful Kamchatka nature in all its beauty…  The dairy: «Bright Sun was rising; the ocean was smooth and beautiful. A bright, pure day presented us a fantastic view of the picturesque Olga Bay, imposing Kronotsky volcano with its perfect regular cone with its glaciers and numerous couloirs! No words! For the sake of this it is necessary to live!» The severe Pacific is not lavish for good weather – thick fogs duly protect the wealth of the Land of Kamchatka from the human sight. We should pay for the rare possibility to see this beauty. “Soon after the dinner the fog has fell down, and it begins again… We have to sail away, but the waves “peck”, it is impossible to row behind the breakers – the field of vision is equal to about 100 m. We try to surf on the giant waves. The boat is constantly turned sidelong. Around, there is only salty foam. To be on the wave we heel crazily, we lie practically in the water, and it surfs us... Stop, please, how long is it possible to do it? A loaded kayak is too heavy, it hangs, goes into the wave, clings to something, to what, where? The ocean doesn’t give any relaxation, and again it rolls us, turns us in the perpetual washing machine. Water-screw… no… Go back – no, and the shoulder will rather go out. Lever, a little bit more… it goes, it goes, hurrah!!! It is possible to respire! Not for a long time – behind another wave comes, the similar one. And everything repeats again. Here the coast – at last!» Brown bears, foxes, white-tale and white-shoulder sea-eagles, whales, sea-lions, sea-otters and sea-birds were our regular company. Some of them were very ingenious and made astonishing tricks, others frightened us much. «A picturesque Kalygir Bay, calm water, clean sky and a tail-wind – a real paradise for the kayakers. And whales, lot of whales! Just near us. They make fountains, amusing us. Stop! A fin and it is arc fin! God dam! Killer whales! Seven of them go towards us with huge velocity! We fly close one to other, make a trimaran, fasten wind-breakers, tighten life-jackets and stand motionless. We wait… We fear! We don’t practically respire… The school swims in about twenty meters from our both sides. We breathe out again. The sea-lions, met after the whales, practically don’t impress us».  In our trip, it was not easy for us, rather it was difficult, often we didn’t understand one other, and why we are doing all this. But now, when the First Russian expedition on the 5-m boats has finished successfully, we all can say: we know – this was a happiness, a real happiness, and no one on the Earth won’t understand this before he won’t go in the same areas where we rowed, before he gets acquaintance of the real Pacific Ocean, with its giant breakers, tending to crash the boat against the shore rocks, with its storms and bad weather, permanent fogs and strong winds, before he wouldn’t know its cold arms and wouldn’t like the surfing on its killing waves. Mstislav Sokolovskiy
The President of KamchatKAyaking Club
E-mail: info@kkclub.ru
Photos from expedition
The articles about expedition
Expedition “Kamchatka Current” in Mass Media
Alexander Chupriyanov’s Diary 25.05.2006
Day 1
Here it is at last!!! Our expedition is starting!!! We meet, Slava, Dimon and me, at the bus station. A huge pile of goods, and a suspicion arises that we can’t enter with all these things into a rather small bus PAZ. TV people have come; they film reportage and interview us. PAZ passengers watch us with curiosity. We are sympathetic to them – anyway that’s something! We say goodbye to Max and Masha, the only people who came so early to the bus for seeing us off. We told goodbye to our relatives and friends in good time. We fill the bus, and … good luck! We go to the village Kluchi (10 h of bus from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky along a country road). Our expedition is going to start from there.
When Slava told me for the first time about the expedition, I captured this idea with enthusiasm. Nothing took me here. Idiotic work was sacrificed, and I still have no family. Moreover, while I am young and healthy, I would like to fulfill something, what I will tell later proudly, at my mature age, drinking beer in a rocking-chair near a chimney to my small sons. During the time when we have been solving organizing questions, I told about our plans to the relatives. Their reaction was quite opposite to the mine one, especially the reaction of my uncle – a ship captain. My crazy ardor slightly has been decreased after stories about Ocean, bars, rollers, logjams in rivers, huge waves and many other things which threaten our lives and health. A feeling of danger appeared and the understanding to be a dilettante, the perception of that, we have to pass through, has come. We prepared the equipment, but not ourselves. No experience of the Ocean. Especially diffidence hinders, which appeared after our trip across the Avacha Bay to the rocks “Three Brothers”. Not far from them I was keeled at a moderate wave, and I couldn’t get up as an Eskimo, and I had to shoot me off. Much bigger waves wait for us in future! The main stimulus of my participation in this expedition was not a sportive interest, but the wish to see the one of the most beautiful places of our Earth and their wild inhabitants.
Today we have come to the village Kluchi after having warmed our fifth point in the bus. We logged in a seismologist hotel with a strange name “Stromboli”. Tourists are quite often here, but not so early, this is not a season yet. It’s pity that we can’t see the volcanoes Kluchevskoy and Shiveluch because of the clouds. The first one – is the highest active volcano of Eurasia, the second one – the northern active volcano of Kamchatka. I hope to be stunned tomorrow because of their sight. We visited the seismologists at their station. They had a nice party in the style retro: they played billiard, smoked, drank coffee, and no one gram of alcohol. We looked photos and talked. They looked at our expedition as other people – a fool and dangerous plan. We don’t argue against: it is dangerous, it is obvious. We came back to the hotel. It is time to sleep. Tomorrow we have to assemble the boats.
26.05.2006
Day 2
We got up at 7:00. After having taken a breakfast we began to assemble boats; no special problems. Boats are ready! We made hip props and seats from foam plastic. A so huge pile of goods – where to put all this? One more problem appeared – Dimas has got sick and seriously – quinsy. Slava and me, we send him to gargle every half an hour. Dimon treat you! We start tomorrow! One woman-neighbor sold us goat’s milk. When she knew where we are going she became very upset, talked out of.
We would like to quit today in the evening, but after thinking a little we decided that there is no reason to pull about, and Dimon will go better. In the village everybody are interested where are we going in such “things” (our boats)? When we tell them that we will go through the ocean to Petropavlovsk, they call us “Crazy”.
We start tomorrow! We have arranged with our neighbor (Slava has tuned him a karaoke) that he will bring us to the river with all our goods.
26.05.2006
Day 3
Today we begin our water way! We got up at 7:00, took a breakfast, prepared lunch and tea, put them into thermoses. From now we will do this all the times. At 10:00 we came to the river Kamchatka. We have been packing our goods for one hour and a half. Personal things were put into two hermobags; all others were filled with food and common things. Only today Slava told us that we have food for 4 people.
We started. There is 150 km to Ust-Kamchatsk. The loaded boats are off the water only by 8-10 cm. Many things are attached on the top. Shiveluch has opened; we see it every time before us and to the left hand. Very beautiful volcano! In the river, there are indications to barges for they don’t go in the wrong channel, and naturally we oriented ourselves according to them. How do these barges go in a thick fog?
We rowed today 50 km. Sure, the current helped; its velocity makes 3-4 km/h. Boats go well despite the fact that they are so loaded, that I wouldn’t make an Eskimo! If it get warmer it would be necessary to try to keel before the ocean. But as it is – everything is cool! Only legs and bum have come numb. We stopped at 10 km from the place where the river flows into the mountains.
28.05.2006
Day 4
Today is a supper day! Step by step: we got up as usually, and packed our goods as long as usually. At last, the volcano Kluchevskoy has opened and everything near it (Kamen, Sredny, and Ushkovsky). What a beauty! I rowed and looked only to the volcanoes. Slava makes pictures. Today I name my kayak: «Ged». We are lucky with weather: no one cloud, it is hot; we begin to burn slightly. We are going and rushing!
Up to the lunch, we approach a mountain ridge Kumroch. A paradox: the river enters just in the mountains and cuts them into two equal parts. Have you ever seen this? A plane river flows into mountains! Crazy!
And there, in the canyon, there was not a bit of wind. The place of this entrance bears the name “Big Cheeks”. We stopped for lunch at this very place, near the sign “Berthing is forbidden”. A school of fry went up-stream. Later we were told that this was a fish-“prickle”; for the first time I hear about such one. They were ten thousands or more, and bears live with them. An idea came to catch them, and cook fish-soup in night. We caught them without problems with our pans. At the last moment we didn’t dare to make the fish-soup. Later people told us that the soup from this fish isn’t bad, but the fish is useless for eating. After lunch we went further and stopped near the house of hydrologists. Guys begged for cigarettes. It was a stupid idea to give up smoking, and they weren’t able to fulfill it later. It doesn’t matter for me – I have given up for a long time.
Then we decided to keel not far from the bank, as the weather was favorable. Successfully. The boat positions without problems, not worse than the river one, both as a “screw” and a “level”. It cheered us up, and we felt ourselves surer. We arrived today to Nizhniy-Kamchatsky Ostrog. Gennady, the keeper of the church of Assumption of Our Lady and of Saint Nicolas, constructed in 1737 by Cossacks when exploring Kamchatka, welcomed us. He stoked a bath for us; we steamed out and made some washing. We lost flesh and look younger! We have passed the night in his house. Big thanks to him for shelter and intercourse.
29.05.2006
Day 5
Having got up and taken a breakfast, we go to gaze at the church, the oldest in the Far East that exists now. A small village of 10-15 houses was here before, the people lived, but in the 90th there was a big fire, all the houses burnt. They could save only the church. Now all the ground is covered with ashes from the volcano Bezymianny (Nameless).
Bidding farewell to Gennady, we continue our way. We coached ourselves in the river, without landing, to make gymnastics and to do our needs. To run ahead, I would like to tell that, in the ocean, we didn’t make this. It occurred too difficult to perform it, especially on the waves.
We stop in a couple of kilometers from Ust-Kamchatsk, in the old district center. Here live less people; and we don’t want to worry about equipment, as we had to do, if we stay in the village. The first impression of the old district center – this is the film “TIN” with all its decors and characters. Houses are located without any sense, strange people walk; look oddly to the people, odd for them, i.e. to us. But good people are in this place also. A local man Sergey fed us with gull eggs and quinnat caviar. He craftily cut fish for making fillet; few stirs in 30-40 seconds. We sit with him, drank tea, he told us some funny tales. Tomorrow we exit in the Ocean!
30.05.2006
Day 6
We got up later, than usually, at 8:00. In night, at 5 o’clock our brave militia came with Tommy-guns and in armor. They were interested who we are and where we are going. Why they don’t sleep in night? We puttered too long, started only at 11:00 and rowed to the opposite bank. We would like to register ourselves at the coastal guards and buy something in a store. No coastal guards, and the store was in 3 km. We lost 3 hours… It is frightful to exit in the ocean – all the fishermen are on the bank, a storm was announced. We rowed back under the right bank. Farther, in the estuary, awesome bars are seen; we have heard much about. The flow is very fast. We draw closer to the bank, go along in 1-2 m, and creeping, without special problems, we exit into the ocean. We are in the ocean! We made it technically, as we didn’t expect. Here we got swell and wind. It is difficult to steer the boat, it is constantly turned towards the ocean. You make 8-10 rows, and the boat looks into the ocean, turn it in the due direction, rows, and again it is swung about. We all are tired. I was always retarded. After the lunch the weather went to bad, waves began to roll, and we decided to camp. This day we made only 9 km in the ocean. Not much…
31.05.2006
Day 7
In the morning, the weather brought joy to us. From time to time the sun appeared, and it was hot to row. The boats again were skidded aside. The wave hits in the stern, and this turns the boat, it forces us to back water. When you back water, you lose velocity; but you row up always from one side, and the arm gets tired with this. We go in that way up to 15:00. Later the fog comes down, the ocean calms, the wind drops. Rowing becomes a pleasure; nothing is throwing you from side to side, though I begin to be tired. We went in the fog not far from the shore, the field of vision made 300-500 m. We got the cape Chayachiy (Dull). It justifies completely its name: thousands, dozens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of gulls were sitting on the rock. This alive mount bawls, yells, peeps – hell of a noise. We cry and whistle for rousing all this mass – uselessly. We decide to shoot from a signal pistol directly in the rock. A huge cloud of birds flashes over us! What a beauty! Fortunately, they didn’t defecate on us…
Later we pass the bay of the same name, and we reach the Cape Osypnoy (Sliding), which was surrounded by few surfs. Just after the cape, the river Vtoraya flows into the ocean. Further – only rocks along the shore, black as coal; they look sinister in the fog, but in the same time, this is beautiful. The ocean is green, I have never seen it such one. I was surprised by bubbles which appeared after strokes, it looked like as you are sailing in the acid-bog slop! Crazy! We get the river Tretya. It seems that somebody, who named these rivers, was not very ingenious. They go in such order: Pervaya (First), Vtoraya (Second), Tretya (Third), Chetvertaya (Forth), Piataya (Fifth), and then – in the inverse order: Piataya (Fifth), Chetvertaya (Forth), and so on…
Today we rowed 31 km along the straight line and landed at 20:00. The arms break away; it seems we rowed all 50 km. I am staying on the ground and I am swinging as in the boat: as if I didn’t leave it. The hour has passed, but it swings me. We are going to eat, and – in the “cradle”.
01.06.2006
Day 8
The summer begins, but here we don’t feel it. The weather hasn’t enjoyed us from the morning, later – also. It is cloudy, no sky is seen, and it makes cold. All time I have been feeling cold. The ocean is calm, no swell; let it be in this way. All the day I have been rowing as I pulled a barge, it was too hard. I am very tired, all the muscles of legs, arms and back have ache.
All the day we went along a rocky shore. We passed a beautiful place – a kekur Palets (Finger) – a rock of 30-m high. There are lots of waterfalls of different height and volume which rush practically in the ocean. We stopped in the interesting place – just after the Cape of Schubert, and hided from the wind between two neighboring capes. No problems with wood, there are some old huts and a brook with pure water. We made 30 km along a straight line.
Today I rowed, being angry against everything, I psyched because of something, and I was for a long time in such mood, and couldn’t understand the cause of my psychosis. Than a switcher clicked in the brain… I look at two small dots, swinging in the boats in the middle of this huge element – the ocean. I begin to be glad for them, to admire them, to be proud that these two people have decided to make such an expedition, they overcome the difficulties that were made to them by the nature; they have problems also in their brain… And suddenly I understand: stop, goddam, I am with them!
02.06.2006
Day 9
From the morning I am in the good mood, I slept enough, but the weather is so-so, it doesn’t cause joy. We took breakfast, I put on cloths, all soggy, and we start. We plan to get the river Storozh (Guard), but we have to paddle 40 km. All the day we followed a sandy beach, nothing interesting. Up to the midday the weather became clearer, and warmer. Dimas even took off his water-breaker. The mountains have opened.
Before lunch and an hour after it we went up-tempo. Then my shoulder began to ache – an old trauma, and quickly I was getting tired. We have still about 15 km to row. In some time – finish, the shoulder is aching, I practically stopped, and I hamper others. Dimon takes me in tow, we rowed together 2-3 km, and he is tired also. It is still 10 km to the river, and we have to get it, no fresh water before. Again I go myself, and the shoulder ache disappears as suddenly, as it began, but the legs became numb, up to the ache. We have arrived. We are near the Storozh, but I hardly understand all around; no forces to do anything.
In this expedition, the most difficult thing to me is to overcome myself and my tiredness. I fully sweat myself, up to the evening I am rowing as a robot-pilot; the state is similar to flu: bones are aching, temperature, fever in the eyes; it seems that tomorrow I will fall ill. Legs, bottom and back are numb up to the ache, sometimes very strong one. In the evening it makes very cold, especially to hands. Terrible! Whatever the equipment is good, but 8-10 hours in the ocean – you will be wet in any case. Garments BASK save us, without it we couldn’t survive. I don’t know how we stand firm, may be due to the COMPLIVITE or to GARLIC. However, after mooring, the ordinary tiredness comes, also hard, but not the same as when you row.
We rowed today 37 km!
03.06.2006
Day 10
Today we plan to reach the cordon Chazhma, there starts the Kronotsky Biosphere Reserve; this is its north boundary. But we have to make about 40 km – not bad after the yesterday way. There we will spend a day – the so long-waited stop! We need so much in it! There are a warm hut and hot spring baths! Impossible to dream about something greater! The weather doesn’t enjoy us from the morning, all the night it rained, in the morning we had mizzle, the clouds are low. How this cursed weather pesters! I never understood the song: “The Nature has no bad weather…” I would like so much to see the author on the shore of the Pacific with us!
We rowed 150-200 m along Storozh and exited in the ocean. And it immediately came in mind: today the way will not be easy at all. In the ocean – the swell; short waves hit our stern, and my GED circles to the left. All the day we paddle as zombies, who are dully chasing their victim. Thoughts are only about Chazhma. No any good view: a sandy tedious shore, mounts, which are not far from the shore, have slightly opened; in one word – bum!
We stopped for a lunch and made fire for the first time – it makes cold: 1-2oC. The fire heats only with its appearance. If we hadn’t our thermo-cloth BASK, unambiguously, we would be frozen to death. We have thrown meal into ourselves, and jumped again into the boats. We made only 15 km before lunch, 25 are before us! I cry on myself: this devil’s swell, this wind, too much, Goddam! Guys are all the time much ahead of me, sometimes I don’t see them, but they wait for me, and snack something. I reach them, and we continue.
Arms are OK today, but legs are none, all time they are numb. Every 10-15 minutes I get up a little, as much as the “skirt” allows; I jerk them, try to move pelvis, and the ache leaves me for a short time. Naturally, that is why I am so detached from others, but I can’t continuously overcome this ache. Towards evening the legs begin to get cold.
We moved off the shore for 9 km and went to a cape. Later it appeared that it was not our aim, as the cordon was located before it. It was stupid and insecure to be so far from the shoreline. If something happens (and with our tiredness everything may happen), it is impossible to bring the guy to the shore, he will be frozen in the water. Goddam, we didn’t think that we were so far from the shore; at that moment we were closer to the cape that to the shore. After deciding to moor, we have been going 2 hours to the land. Later we understood our mistake and decided to never make this again. We paddle to the shore, and it doesn’t become closer. You press on paddles because of a psychosis, and you have no more forces for this, you droop in the kayak, and again paddle slowly, then a new psychosis, you force yourself, but… this changes nothing – the shore doesn’t approach, and this press on your brains. At last – the cordon! And there a surprise: between the hut and the ocean – a river. Fuck! We had to unload everything, bring all goods across a spit, again load the boats with them, cross the river… and then we fall directly in a hot pool. We fall into it, and it is so warm! Rush! We take only the necessary from the boats – and directly in the hut! Nobody there, it is clean, there are a stove, wood, beds with mattresses. We have even to take off our shoes! We took off all dirty and wet clothes in the inner porch; our kayaks were left near the pool. 23:30. We ate and directly went to sleep, even we didn’t take the bath; I would be asleep in it – no forces at all. Till tomorrow. We have a so waited free day.
04.06.2006
Day 11
Here we are! A rest at last! I slept to 12:00. After the breakfast I went to the pools with thermal water. To go out of mind! A high! I washed myself and made some washing. After the lunch we went to wash our boats and equipment from sand and salt.
Yesterday, in the night Slava lost somewhere in the pool our GPS (by the way he loses it for the second time, the first one was at the Storozh). He walked for a long time, looked for it and didn’t find. He announced to me and Dimon a bonus – who would find the GPS, that one will receive trousers BASK after the expedition. Dimas walked, looked, and didn’t find either. I went to my kayak, and saw somebody’s paddle to lie about, it was necessary to bring it to the hut, and I saw the GPS lying near it. I found it and was very glad! BASK trousers are mine! Cool!
In the night we called to our families: I called to Mother. Mummy, dear, everything is OK, we are alive and in good health. Nothing is better than to here there a dear voice! Big thanks to the sponsors for the satellite phone!
The weather went down; all the day – gusty wind with rain. The stop came in a due time. Tomorrow we plan to start in the second part of the day, but will look how the weather will be.
05.06.2006
Day 12
The weather was not improving. Wind gusts were up to 15-20 m/s. Rain, storm in the ocean, waves are bigger than yesterday. We lose one day from our schedule. I think we will have to tighten our belts, as we have lost also the corresponding food. All the day we sleep, sit, eat and bath. Nothing more to do, as the equipment was washed yesterday, clothes also, food was dried and hermetic bags – glued. We wait for weather near the sea…
Up to the night Slava psyched totally. Dimon and I, we don’t understand his psychosis: may be he has too much of us or this is the insufficiency of nicotine. I told him that it was a bad idea to force yourself to stop smoking. But I think this is connected to bad weather – again we got out the schedule. Apropos the schedule: for a long time I wanted to write about it. When we calculated our trip we based ourselves on the similar expedition of 2003. We calculated the trip for 27 days together with the river and free days. It is clear, we have to fulfill appointed target dates, but Goddam, it is impossible to order the weather, and go into the storm – this is completely crazy. Why to psych?
Sure, we have less ambitions in this expedition than Slava, he has imputed into it more than we did. But sometimes I don’t understand him, especially when he compares the dates of the previous expedition. Why to compare? There were people with big experience, the “bisons” of the world sea-kayaking – the women of the team “Nigel Dennis”. They made their way in 20 days with good weather, in July, it was warmer and they had excellent boats of the firm Nigel Dennis. Our “Tritons” – frame-pneumatic are suitable for lakes, they can’t do the same things! To be just I would like to tell that “Triton-Ladoga” is a good kayak for its price, but not for the Pacific! This is not an excuse – this is a fact. I think, our efforts overcome the ignorance of many things which we meet in the sea. The most important for me, this is not only to come home, but come healthy, to be alive, and time doesn’t play so important role for me.
06.06.2006
Day 13
Slava and me drew attention to the today date; it makes three 6. Moreover, this is the 13-th day of our trip. It is good that superstition is a fig for me.
Up to the morning the weather has calmed. We pack our goods and sail away with tears at eyes. Thank you, Chazhma, for warmth and coziness! After the storm waves are huge in the ocean. I paddle and look to the guys at one moment from the height of the third floor, at another – from the bottom. It looks like a side-show; it lifts, and then lowers, smoothly, regularly. At first, it was terrifying because of these 5-6 m waves, and later we got used with them. We go along cliffy shore, and regularly round the breakers (stones which stick out from the water, but sometimes they are under the surface). There are lots of beautiful waterfalls. I have counted about 10, and then floundered. One is better than other! I am charmed by waterfalls, I adore this phenomenon!
For lunch we hide in a cove, of 200-300 m wide, closed from winds, full of rocks and covered with rolls. When mooring we surfed well, but I “caught” a rock. We made a camp near the river Kholodnaya (Cold) on the Kamchatka carpet – shiksha (crowberry). It is so soft, it makes such a pleasure after the sand and straw. Who has ever sat on the shiksha, he knows! We made today 22 km along the straight line.
At Chazhma, we entered in the Kronotsky Reserve. Today we saw 5 bears, they walk on the beach, look for food, and the food looks at them from the boats! Black humor. And they – they are well, they are at their home. In the evening, during our dinner, two “in-toed”s exited in our direction. They have been looking at us and tried to understand what to do later, it seems we violated their plans. But the Bruins appeared to be intelligent and let us alone, and we, grateful to them, continued our lunch.
07.06.2006
Day 14
As usually, we started in the beginning to eleven. Up to 12:00 the ocean became calm, no swell. We plan to reach the lighthouse on the Cape Kronotsky. Before lunch – nothing interesting; a dense fog. From the morning we go not far from the shore, overcoming one breaker after other. All time we catch surf waves, make loops, rounding the reefs and breakers, and sometimes revolve to 180o in the water presses. Let turn quickly the kayak of 4.8 m long in a due moment when the wave approaches! Sometimes we go over rocky shoals very close to the coast: the depth of 40-50 cm is not a problem for our boats.
But later it happened such a thing… We go near the Cape Kamenisty (Rocky) – lots of breakers: and see practically a square kekur 20-30 m high with a hole near its foot. Near this kekur Slava “catches” a bruising wave 5-6 m high. This silly wave appeared from nowhere and practically all of a sudden. Later we understood that this was because of a reef. I have seen it from a long distance, but I thought that it is aside, we went for 5-8 min – nothing, and then crack! Take, Slavian, a bonus! You appeared not in a due time, and not in a due place. Moreover, he sees this wave in the last moment, when it is overturning. At first he is thrown away, then revolving in the foam, and he is brought onto the reef that caused this wave. This wave didn’t touch me and Dimon. I look at Slava, how he is smeared, and the only thought – don’t break him into peaces, to hell with this boat and goods! In some seconds I see Slava out of the kayak, he was thrown out of it. I come closer and ask if everything is OK. OK! Dimon tries to move Slava’s boat to the coast I draw a reserve paddle. And all of us we have a problem to moor – all the coast is in big rocks, but we made it. It turned out all right. The kayak is intact. Slava – also (he flew over this ill-fated reef). Our portion of adrenalin we caught altogether!
We continue our way, cross the Kamenisty (Rocky) Bay and exit to the Cape Kronotsky. A strong front wind hits us; we press ourselves to the coast. In 2 km there is a lighthouse. People meet us cordially, we acquaint with them. The lighthouse is upper on a steep slope, in 50 m. They lodge us in a long barrack, where everybody lives. There are 4 people: Ivan Ivanovich – the head, his wife and aunt Sveta. Local guy Dima makes us a dinner, gives us newly-baked cookies and makes tea. Cookies are supper! We place ourselves at Dima’s and wash equipment from sand and salt and put them for drying in a diesel chamber. Later we go to examine the lighthouse – a marine church. It is shabby, but I am very interested, as I am for the first time in the lighthouse.
Near to it, there are two graves of 1952 of the soldiers who had passed their service here, and they were forgotten when they should be demobilized. Something bad happened. Now they have tombstones. (They were the victims of the local, but also of the common soldier tragedy. At that time soldiers served 4 years, but those who were taken in 1946, just after the war, had nobody to replace them, and their service was officially prolonged for the second period of 4 years. It was especially difficult in the remote places; many soldiers went to crazy.)
I talked with Ivan Ivanovich about the lighthouse. Before it was of the 2nd class, there was even a cable for sending signals to submarines. Now everything is neglected. No roads go to the lighthouse, the connection comes only by sea or helicopters 2-3 times by year. Ivan Ivanovich has been living here, practically without leaving it, for 14 years. Dima – 1 year. They gave us tinned meat, balaou tins and oil. Great thanks to them for shelter! Special thanks to Dimon: I never ate more tasty cookies!
08.06.2006
Day 15
We got up at 7:00. It is sunny at the lighthouse place, practically no clouds are seen. After packing all goods, I take the camera from Slava and climb quickly up for filming. The view is fabulous. I make pictures of the lighthouse with Kronotsky Cape as its background. Large ocean and small points below – the kayakers prepare to boats. We tell goodbye to everybody and sail away. Just after the departure we see seal-rookery in the rocks. One is dead, a gut comes out its belly, and I pass it quickly. Dimon comes closer and touches it with a paddle, and the seal occurs to be alive, and a newborn, and the first thing it saw in its life was a kayaker!
After the lunch in the breakers with stewed potato and cookies we enter in the fog. It is so dense, that we can’t see anything. We have to follow the coast in 50 m, over a shoal. The field of vision makes 200 m, sometimes even less, a real milk. In a couple of hours we hit into rocks protruding into the ocean. It is impossible to pass between them, we begin to cut the surf wave and try to go off the shore. The wave is awful! You shrink into a ball, become a unique big clot of nerves. We round the rocks, and why not to go closer to the shore! We decide to go in parallel with the wave, and then understand that we fell into a “bum”! The wave grows, and every one of us makes different things: Slava turns his bow, cuts the wave going into the ocean. Dimon, inversely, the stern to the wave, surfs to the coast. I was the last, and thought that I’ll be able to rush out, I paddle backwards. I see Slava far, he is seriously hit, and he hardly cuts the wave. Dimon surfs for a short time, and keels with shooting, but has time to whistle to Slava, as the next wave is a real MONSTER! Fortunately I was aside, I have time to turn with few paddles and submit my stern to the wave. The wave catches me immediately, and a crazy surfing starts. The bow of the boat is vertical, the velocity is awful, and I feel, that I don’t control the boat. I try to hold myself on the wave, ask the wave to level me quickly, stop… stop! That’s all, I even didn’t understand how it turned me by such a way that I was hanging only with my skirt, a little bit, and I am out of the kayak. It appeared, I flew towards Dimon is few seconds, he is just here, close to me, wallowing with me and singing the song from the film “Titanic”, just in the theme! After the whistle Slava turned to us, also surfed, keeled, but he got up well. The wave washed two of us to the shore, we took a bit of cold, sure, but OK. We poured out our boats, and discussed emotionally our surf. All of us caught a good portion of adrenalin. We go further, and very soon – new waves, a little bit smaller, but they were sufficient for keel me and Slava, we get up fortunately as Eskimo. Here we are near the river Dvoynaya (Double). No any vision field, waves have grown by a couple of meters, no sense to go farther, we’ll make only overkeels. We stop for night at 17:00, and made 17 km from the lighthouse along the strait line. For the case, if tomorrow the fog will be similar, Slava inputs points into the GPS, and we will go according to them. We made a short way today, but I am tired as usually.
09.06.2006
Day 16
We would like to reach today the Kozlov Cape. There are houses, and what is the most important – a bath. For the last time we washed at Chazhma, without counting the bathing in the ocean. In the morning came an “in-toed”, but after smelling us, it crossed the river and disappeared in a ravine. The fog is as yesterday – dense milk, and all this begins to bother us much. We go with respect to the points input by Slava yesterday; the eye has nothing to stop at. It is heavily to go and not interesting, this press us psychologically and madden. I was very angry today before the lunch and psyched. This damned weather presses, nothing is seen, and the tiredness becomes apparent. Muscles and bones ache as I have had flu, and the heart plays a little up, I am in a “disassembled” state. I am all time behind. Slava is angry with me, I am psyching and tell him, that in any case I’ll go with my own rate; and they, if they are so strong and healthy, they may go wherever they like. Before the lunch I went beetle-browed and angry with myself, with weather, with guys, with my boat – with everything around. Then after the lunch – it eased.
We have got the Kozlov Cape, where we had to be yesterday. The specialists from the Kronotsky Reserve work here, they observe one of the biggest sea-lion-rookery. The place is beautiful, it is located between two rocky capes; the Kozlov River runs quickly from a ravine under the cape of the same name. The weather is rarely good here. Automatic cameras are placed near the cape, and they watch the sea-lions. The researchers met us well; they waited for us, as they have heard about our expedition by radio in the city. They fed us with excellent borsch.
I was very surprised by a quantity of techniques here: a boat “Zodiac” with “Yamaha” engine, a special protective system along the perimeter against wild animals (especially bears), a Japanese generator and computers. They told us for what money they purchased all these goods. The Americans worry much by the decrease of the northern sea-lion population. Our specialists make investigation in the frames of the same program as the Americans, and they receive money for this. If the program was not prolonged, this cordon would be closed down. Fortunately the program was prolonged. Moreover, it allows paying the service of a launch, which brings here the researchers and inspectors, and this is not cheap.
After the dinner we took a bath, put our tent out of the fence. We drank cacao with pleasure, sitting in the house.
Tomorrow we plan a big transfer – about 40 km. How to do them! Today we made 25 km.
10.06.2006
Day 17
We got up at 6:00. Night frost struck us, the tent is covered with hoar-frost, and it is cold. We thank everybody for the hospitability. We depart at 9:30. In the morning it was sunny, but later the fog descended and again everything is covered with it. For the first time I am going in water mittens, without them hands freeze to the marrow. We go in the fog against the wind. Yesterday it seems I had a heart ache because of loading, but today I am well, and I am not late, as it occurs usually. Before the lunch we make only 9 km because of the front wind.
We moor for the lunch, and it occurs that it is difficult today to the guys, especially to Slava. I am very surprised, as in the course of the expedition I was åðó anchor, and now they feel bad, and I go well. I knew, that sooner or later they should be crushed, as this occurs to some people earlier and to other later. Slava proposes to end and to make a half-day stop. At first I am against it. What about it! It was also difficult to me, but I was going, and bore it. We ponder over it and discuss a little, and at last we have a consensus, that we should make a half-day stop, as everybody need in a rest. But we agree upon our next behavior: we won’t hurry to fixed dates. It is because of this we are so tired.
We dress our tent behind a large rock for hiding from the wind. Slava is going immediately to sleep, and we go with Dimon to pick mussels. He promised to make a French pilaw after getting up. In a couple of hours Slavian got up, and we all go up the shore (it is high) for making pictures. The weather becomes better, the fog disappeared and a fabulous view opened before us! At last we see something! We enjoy it! Fantastic! Dimas would like to surf. Slava allows him to do this, and he runs down the slope. He is so happy, that forgets to put on the life jacket, paddle out of the shore for a significant distance and catches a huge wave; he stays for some short time on it, and then keels with shooting. I had been laughing for a couple of minutes! What a cormorant! Then exchanging glances with Slava, we suddenly understand: goddam, we have to save him – he is far from the shore! I run downhill, jump into the kayak, forget to pump it, and also don’t put a life jacket. I row up to Dima, and he is already seriously chattering. He was in water 10-15 minutes, enough! Everything turned out all right - salvage operations were successful. I told them, that I have too much with their surfs. And after that we had a stupendous dinner: a pilaw with mussels! A French delicacy! Delicious!
11.06.2006
Day 18
Today is the best day! Such a day was long time ago, on the river. It is very warm from the morning, the wind is warm, and no one cloud in the sky, the ocean is calm. Everybody has good mood, and feel well. We have passed the night behind a rock-kekur “Morskoy kamen” (Sea Rock). The tent was not far from the water, and all the night the waves have been broking not far from us, sometimes they were so strong, that we jumped during our sleep. But everything was OK, and we didn’t float into the ocean. In the morning we set out quickly. In 2-3 km we saw a whale! We rowed in the same direction as it went; the guys tried to attract its attention - they tapped the boat boards with hands. It paid no heed to them, and gave up on us with its tale. We didn’t see it again. Up to the lunch we made 16 km. Good velocity! We stopped at the Cape Olga from what we had a fantastic view on the volcano Kronotsky and many other mountains (Gamtchen, Krasheninnikova, and Kihpinych). After having passed the cape, I rejoiced due to such a landscape. Because of this I have decided to take part in the expedition. This is here! Just here and now! One such view and, moreover, form the ocean side, overrides all the days when we went in the fog. It is possible to sit a whole day, admiring such a beauty. And later you would like to come there again. After the lunch at the cape we climbed the shore for making some pictures. At 18:00 we arrived to Kronoki. On the left side of the River Olga few houses are located. Before, in the Soviet time here were a small village, a frontier post and a seismological station; the fishermen worked. Now they have only few living houses. In one of them, an inspector of the Kronotsky Reserve has been living, and in the second, there is located a HMS. We settled for the night at the inspector Max.
12.06.2006
Day 19
We got up late – at 8:00. The weather is marvelous, it is warm. After the departure, we fell into a practically favorable wind; sometimes it was very strong. I got a general problem – how to go? I make 3-4 strokes, and the kayaks turns to the beach. I tried to go “in a rope” – rowing only from one side. Guys were turned less than me. We discussed for a long time, and decided to go back and make rudders (we left the original ones in the city, suggesting that we won’t have need in them, and this was a mistake). We were annoyed to lose one more day, but I think that was justified. Dimon played a role of the main specialist-constructor (he is a motor-mechanic of the 2nd degree). I don’t understand anything in this, though I am the main author of this idea, and the initiator of going backwards. The rudders turned out to be good! Not worse that the original ones. Dimon is a brick! We will test them tomorrow. All these turns of the boat are too much for me!
13.06.2006
Day 20
I don’t know why, but I slept badly all the night. We said goodbye to Max the second time and put out at 10:00. We thank Max for giving us shelter and for interesting discussions; many thanks to his neighbors for the workshop, where we made yesterday the rudders. “Respectos” from ÊÊClub! The weather is excellent, no wind, as it was yesterday, but it is not so hot as the day before. The ocean is calm, we go in a good rhythm, but legs become numb. Having made 7-8 km from Kronoki we saw a whale, then some two more. I approached to one by 20-30 m, and I didn’t expect him to show me his back and make a huge blow. I even squealed from happiness! Crazy! All this happened not far from the shore, in some 200-300 m. We landed for lunch at 14:00 in 18 km from Kronoki. While we lunched, we were observing the whales, frisking not far from us, and the white-shouldered sea-eagles. Then we took our direction towards the Kronotsky estuary. We made this way without difficulties, but the legs and pelvis have become again very numb. We lodged in a cozy hut, located on the spit, between the ocean and the river. Today we made about 30 km. Now we are in the Kronotsky estuary, in the creek of the River Kronotskaya, and in the foot of the Volcano Kronotsky – in the Kronotsky Reserve.
14.06.2006
Day 21
It is cloudy from the morning, but it is well and not hot. Before the breakfast we have a conflict with Dimas because of his idleness. Slava is also very dissatisfied. Always, it is necessary to point him to something, and this irritates sometimes. Later, in the night, Slava talked with him – this is the second such talk during our expedition. How long this will impress him? I hope, that for a long time. After the departure we saw that we go against a strong wind. In 12 km from the estuary we saw a bear on the shore, and we went for a long time along it. They made pictures of me, and the bear and the sea-eagle were at the background. We made practically 17 km before lunch. It is a good result! But later the velocity dropped sometimes to 2-3 km/h, we went slightly. If you don’t paddle, you may see how you are brought back. And we have to make about 30 km up to the nearest fresh water. Before there is no water, as we go along the tundra. We were very tired, but we made this. It made 33.5 km along a straight line. We stopped near the River Tikhaya (Calm), in a small hut for two people. I drown a lot to sleep on the floor, as usually!
15.06.2006
Day 22
We went to sleep at midnight, and we needed in a good night rest. It slept well on the floor. We got up at 8:00. Though the hut is small, but it is cozy. Slava made such kind of army in the morning: a half of hour to the end of preparations, 15 minutes! This was in the spirit of our armed forces. We would like to make 40 km to the old abandoned village Zhupanovo. The weather is favorable: it is cloudy, warm – not hot, and the ocean is calm. Before the lunch we passed many small bays of 1-2 km wide with high steep shores. Beautiful! These were bays Tundrovaya, Piataya Rechka (Fifth River), Nerpichia (Seal), Tikhaya (Calm) and Ostanets. We stop for the lunch in one of them and frighten a bear; nobody knows where from it came to this steep shore. We take the lunch, admire the landscape, and observe a huge ash cloud of the Volcano Karymsky. It smoked all the day. There appears the volcano Maly Semiachik. We have to make about 24 km along the sandy beach. We can see far the Cape Pamiatnik (Monument) – it is there we ought to go. We reach the estuary Semiachik and enter in the river creek. Very picturesque! There – nobody! And we go to HMS, located on the cape. Just after having been moored, a commander of a frontier post meets us and checks our documents.
We lodge in one of the houses near the shore. Such a foul place! We go for a dinner to the GMS-worker Andrey, and fell into fish cakes. Something out of this world!
16.06.2006
Day 23
We got up at 7:00. Let us go as quickly as possible out of this foul place. I prepared a kasha-shit: I would like to make something of very tasty, and it occurred to be the opposite. How the guys ate it? Myself, I hardly ate a couple of spoons. Slava went to the GMS-man Andrey to beg food, but forgot a half of the received, and the tastiest part: caviar, cucumbers and bread. Andrey gave us 8 cans of chicken, 1 kg of buckwheat and 1 package of macaroni. And again we take our way and make 19 km before the lunch. Later Slava rubs a sore in the underarms, and we repair him on the shore` Rowing is quite sorely to me today. Last 10 km I hardly dragged myself along. The health is not bad, but the arms hung… We stopped a little before the Zhupanovsky estuary. Today we made 34 km.
17.06.2006
Day 24
We have been awaking for a long time, without wish, and have been moving ourselves for a long time. We are dirty, frowzy. In the night it rained with ash; and the so beloved sand was supplemented with volcanic ash. A grey layer covered our tent and all the things around it. We decide to go for a breakfast into a creek of the Zhupanov River to the fishermen, and if they have a shower, to invite ourselves for washing and making a half-day stay. At 10:00 we leave the camp and enter the creek at 13:00. How I was surprised when I saw a small working settlement, accurate, clean with small houses-trailers, with a canteen, fishery shop, and – the most important – with a shower! We supposed to meet the same foul place as yesterday, and it occurred to be the opposite. It was a fishery settlement of the firm which catches fish for exportation. We asked who the head here is, it appeared that the director is a woman. We go directly to her. Slava as usually, authorizes himself to carry the negotiations. Indeed, he does this very well. In such moments we call him Delegate. As a result, Tatiana Valdimirovna gives OK for our washing, laundering, moreover they feed us in the common canteen and lodge in a house. Again we beg food, they give us all necessary and even much more. We have been washing and making laundry during the day. While Slava was washing, Dimon and I, we slept a couple of hours. All the day we prepared ourselves to the rush at home. After making everything, we went with Dimon to the cape (Slava is already sleeping). Very beautiful landscape – the river creek! The estuary, the ocean and in the distance we see the Cape Shipunsky. Crazy! Thanks to everybody for the hospitality and for the delicious food! And I’ll sleep today in the purest bed-cloths!
18.06.2006
Day 25
After the breakfast in the canteen we fit out our equipment. We thanked everybody, told them goodbye, and put our goods and the kayaks into a “Polaris” with six wheels, and it brought us to the spit. After 2-3 km it unloaded us before the rock nip. We packed the boats, and farewell! We follow high rocky shores. They are very beautiful! From below, the rocks looks huge, they ravish with some interior strength; the waves break with roar against them. After the lunch, we land near an interesting kekur with a huge hole in the center. We climb in this rock-crack. It is suitable to pass it in the river kayak and to hit a little against the rocks. Slava make pictures. There is a swell in the ocean, and it becomes higher near the capes. The wind is contrary. We exit to the Bay Kalygir, which runs deep in the land as a big bubble. We have to solve a problem: either to cut from a cape to the cape, or to make a big loop. We chose the second, more safe. The ocean is not responsible. We enter the bay, and after having paddled not a big distance, we decide to make a camp in a very picturesque place. Between two cliffs there lies a lake Maly Kalygir (Small Kalygir); a river exits from it and runs into the bay. This is a very beautiful lake with a small river, a birch-tree wood and a very good camping. I dreamed even to put here in future a small hut – so I liked this place! The bay is surrounded with cliffs, entering the ocean. Crazy! I am so happy that we have stopped here! The guys have fallen asleep already, and I don’t want to sleep, as such a beauty is not seen from the tent.
19.06.2006
Day 26
The morning is excellent, the day wonderful, the weather is joyful. Dimon again has driven Slava to wild. We decide to go directly from one cape to the other – 11 km. Having made 1 km, we fall into a wind tunnel and a big swell. The boat rotates in different directions. Besides this, I was constantly turned to the right, and I have to make 8-10 paddles from the right side to align the boat. The guys are furious, but I can’t to do anything. We attach the rudder, but this doesn’t help, moreover it became worse. I am awe-struck to go in this manner when I think where the shore is. This fear augments because I am sitting, practically without tie-rod. If something happens so far from the shore… I turn off this thought… and if I’ll keel? It will be problematic to get up without being confined. Any bosh worms in the mind, and because of them we paddle strongly. We pass this distance without adventures. Before the lunch, not far from the Cape Medvezhka (Small Bear Cape), I see a school of killer whales. I cry to the guys, they go against us! We link our three boats to make sure, and the killing whales contour us in 20-30 m from the left and the right of us. Enchanting sight! Cool! If we could go with such velocity in our kayaks! After the lunch we cut again 8 km to the Cape Morzhovy (Walrus Cape), but it is not so frightful, and the ocean has calmed a little. We pass between the Cape Morzhovy and the Island Morzhovy. The water width of the strait is about 2 m, and the depth is not bigger than 0.5 at the low-tide. We round the cape with beautiful breakers, and tack between them. Sea-lions were lying on one of them. At first we came quietly to them for making pictures, and then frightened them away in the water for observing them. They emerge so closely to the boat that willy-nilly you give a start. They took Slava – a main instigator of the incursion in their territory – in a circle, and he made a narrow escape. We enter in the Bay Zheleznaya (Iron Bay) – the place of the planned stop and make a camp. After the diner we go for a walk and find mounts of rusty techniques: cars, missile installations, hundreds of rusty barrels. An echo of the cold war… The bay could be named Zheleznaya either because of this or this is a simple coincidence. Horrible! As to nature, this is a very nice place: behind a rather narrow spit there is a lake, it is partially under snow – a circus with a glacier. And this forgotten technics mars everything. Tomorrow we plan to pass the Cape Shipunksy.
20.06.2006
Day 27
This day is the most nervous. From the morning everything was OK: the weather was excellent, and the sea calm. But yesterday Slava got a SMS from the satellite about a coming cyclone. We depart at 9:30 with a hope to reach Shipunsky by the lunch. Soon we see some sea-lions; they have no fear of us and swim below our boats. Water is pure, and we observe the swimming of these sea animals. Then we remark a halo around the sun – a precursor of a bad weather. In 4 km, after a routine small cape we fell into a very powerful wind tunnel, which brings us into the ocean, and wind blasts hit us so strongly that it becomes very possible to keel. You row, but the wind blocks up the paddle so much, that you can’t make a normal stroke. We decide with Slava to go closer to the shore. In that moment Dimon is a little behind us. Slava shows him to paddle to the shore, and it seems that he sees this. But it is impossible to go directly to the shore, and we make back arc. When paddling I see Slava, and no more as the hood limits the field of vision. Having pressed myself to the shore, I see Slava in 20-30 m, but no Dimon. I asked Slava, where he is, and it appears that this imbecile either wanted to cut, or to make something else in his own way, or went farther; and when he saw that we turned to the shore, he was very far from it. At that moment, without seeing him, any rubbish came into mind, as we realized that if something happens with him, we wouldn’t be able to catch him with such wind. What did he think, and why he doesn’t listen to us? We told him many times about such his moving off from us… Suddenly I see a point very far from us. He is paddling towards the shore just against the wind in the very middle of the wind tunnel. I imagine how he is there, moreover without blazer (he had taken it off just before all this). On the whole, everything has finished well, but as usually Dimon made us nervous because of him. Having approached to us (we just have landed), he receives a facer from Slava. It’s a pity, Slava has missed a little! He hears from me everything I think about him and his behavior. We decide to make a camp. It is 11:30! I agree with Slava to set up the camp – it is unreal to turn the cape with such wind, and, moreover, a storm approaches. We put the tent and edge it with pebble. It looks like a small city hall, prepared to a siege. We fasten boats to a log. I would like to walk after the lunch, but instead of this I go to sleep. At 18:00 the rain starts. But the weather doesn’t become much worse. Sitting in the tent we decided to drink some alcohol. Then we have heartily talked, became more cheerful and went to sleep at about 1 o’clock in the night, having finished the last “spiritus” from the medicine chest.
21.06.2006
Day 28
The yesterday alcohol adversely affected me in the morning. We got up at 8:00. Slava talked through the satellite with the Radio and called to ME (Ministry of Emergency); they have lost us. They told to us gaily and cheerfully to call them if necessary, they will rescue us. Thanks, but we have no big wish of this! The weather is such that I don’t like: a fog before us, the overcast sky, without any gleam, it is somber, all is bad! The swell in the ocean turns and revolves the kayaks in all directions. In two hours we arrive to the Cape Shipunsky and round it. At last he allowed us to pass! Behind the cape we see a frontier post and houses. But at the next cape we meet such waves! Hell! Huge waves break with roar against kekurs. If such one takes you, it will split you in parcels. There will be nothing living from a kayaker, and nothing suitable to float from a boat. It will make pieces from you – horror! You have fear, when even think about! We go farther from the cape, and make a loop in the similar rollers. We want to gorge! A soup made by me in the morning, I dream about it… I feel my forces to come to their end. Behind the cape there is a small cove, we enter there for a lunch. After this we continue. We have to arrive at the Bay Bechevinka, and this makes 20 km. Waves are huge, they take you by such a way that you surf a little, and then they spin you, Either you look to guys from the top, or form the bottom. I concentrate myself only on the paddling for not keeling. Guys are before me by 600-800 m. I don’t like this and psych. Hell, they make some competition! They wait for me; I come closer and tell them my discontent. My opinion – this is an expedition, and not a competition, and when it is so bad in the sea, it would be better to go closely one to other. And in general, why such a pursuit! I psych; Slava in response psych against me. He says that he can’t go with may rate. We don’t understand one other. But I told my opinion, and this is up to them to take it into account, or no. It is not far to the bay, and we decide not to enter there, but to stop near the entrance. During the mooring, there is “tin”. We try to catch a moment between bad and very bad. While we waited for a moment, I caught an awful wave-kick in my back. With this kick all the air was knocked out of lungs. Fortunately, it didn’t keel me, I was even surprised. Before the dinner we are again in bad terms with Slava. He is again dissatisfied with us, and tells about this. I keep silence, and at all don’t want to speak. Apparently the duration of the expedition adversely affects us. We madden one other. Sometimes we can’t restrain ourselves, and it splashes out. I don’t even want to think who is right or not. And besides this everything is OK! We a alive and healthy! Quicker to home! I have enough of everything. After have eating, we go to sleep. Such was the day…
22.06.2006
Day 29
The same bad, nasty weather from the morning: drizzle, and it is cold. I pull on me all clothes, wet from yesterday. A fog over the ocean, the swell is practically the same as yesterday. We decide to go along the shore. In 2-3 km we catch terrible waves. We don’t want to round them, I tried to pass, but one caught me and let me spin and turn! It turned my stern to the shore and keeled me. I was not sufficiently confined, but I arrived to get up. We decide to cut further 10-11 km to the Island of Krasheninnikov. It is far, and we row with a frantic speed. Waves are big, and diffidence grows. But we make this, and take a lunch – everything is OK. Lots of sea-otters staring at us. From the island we cut again to the Cape Nalychevo. This is practically home! Behind this cape it is possible to see with a good weather our domestic volcanoes: Kozelsky, Avachinsky and Koriaksky. We look at them, at home, in the city every day. We look and look, nothing specific, we are accustomed. And how we need now in their snowed summits sticking out from the fog! We set up the camp just after the cape. All the day we rowed with good speed. We suggested not be able to round the cape, but we rounded it. It makes 62-65 km to our home. Today we paddled about 30 km. To-morrow the cellular phone can find the net. By the way, not far from here there is a frontier post. It would be better, that they don’t see us – our passes are overdue for a long time…
23.06.2006
Day 30 (my day)
It is just a little to the house. It remains to endure a little. After getting up, and taking the breakfast, we pulled on all wet clothes! Nice! Everything is as usually. The first two hours it was unbearable to paddle, but later I caught the speed and fallowed in this way up to the evening. The whole day we go along the beach, and in the distance see the familiar rock, near which I sat for the first time in a kayak. All thoughts are about the home. After the lunch we catch the cellular net; the connection either comes, or disappears. For a long time I can’t phone to anybody: I call my brother, mummy and friend, and I psych that I can’t reach them. Slava has already talked with everybody… At last my friend has heard the call and took the receiver, and I am yelling in the telephone from gladness! Lots of emotions, muddle in the speech! Then I arrived to call to mummy and to the brother. What a happiness to hear dear voices. We arrived to call to max from the KKClub, he has to drive to us and bring us some food for the last rush. We get up at this moment. Slava and Dimon again have rubbed sore the underarms. Later we saw that we have camped between two rivers, and there is a bog before us. The car can’t pass towards us. As a result everything lasts up to 3 a.m. To-morrow we have to make a rush to the home.
24.06.2006
Day 31
In the morning we attached flags. This is a month that we are on way. Today they wait for us at home! In two hours after the departure we arrive to the entrance in the Bay of Avacha. We turn successfully the cape, and we are at home! I yell from happiness, Dimon smiles, Slava is in some kind of oblivion. Just after the cape there appear the rocks “Three brothers”. These are our dear, beloved places. The first time, having sat in a kayak, I approached to them from the city, and I was terrified to be so far from the shore. And now I approach them from the ocean side, and the shore is not very far, just near. In 500-800 m there are lots of people in boats – the fishermen. Today Kamchatka celebrates the Day of Youth. People, surprised, raise themselves from the boats, and look to us. Happy and proud, I go with a tricolor. Having lunched near “Three brothers”, we go farther. The suburbs of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky appear, and we understand that we go too fast. We hinder our boats, let people wait for us! We pass the coves Malolagernaya (Small Camp), Bol’shelagernaya (Big Camp) and Zavoiko. The view towards the center of the city opens. I fell in a delightful stupor. We come to the Ozernovsky Spit in a moment. Here, on the beach people walk, the whistle to us, shout. The others simply look at us. Who are there? It seems to me, that I see a group of people, I hope they are our lot. Yes! They are! They shout and yell when they see us. It seems to me that I see only them. That is all, we moor. We hug and kiss one other, they shake our hands. I was about to have a little cry from feelings swept over me. Champagne, some interview (I even didn’t understand what I had told), congratulations for the KKClub and presentations of some funny diplomas. We have arrived, we are back; we all are safe and sound. We have simply done it…
Alexander Chupriyanov
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