Archive for January, 2010

Many have asked what is next, well I have much to finish here in Canada. You can expect a complete ‘100 Days on the Yukon’ after the snow melts (oh yeah it already has because of global warming). I am now writing the expedition stories of the Deh Cho (Mackenzie River), Yukon and Mississippi Rivers into one book. I plan to formally launch my public speaking career once the ‘100 Days…’ and the book is complete – focusing on the university/college and corporate speaking circuit. Plus, the ‘Old Man River’ story will be told through a production a little farther down the road. There will also be a website home-base for me that will connect past adventures with future ones including a blog.

As for the next river, here is a sneak peak.

Across India and Bangladesh on a 900 mile odyssey… Setting out on a carefully crafted vessel from the foothills of the Himalayas, across a vast fertile plain into the forbidden mangrove forests of the Sundarbans… a raw yet beautiful adventure to rediscover the sacred story of the River Ganges…

The River Ganges has an unusual ability to retain dissolved oxygen – decomposing organic matter 15 to 25 times faster than similar rivers, unbeknown to modern science. Not only does this prevent large-scale epidemics, it also helps break down the over 30 thousand half cremated bodies dumped into the river every year. Add the nearly 1 billion litres of untreated raw sewage that enters the river every day with the constant threat of disease, monsoons, extreme poverty, freshwater sharks and the last strong hold of man-eating tigers and the River Ganges has no shortage of dangers to be encountered.

Beyond the obvious dangers, the River Ganges is a waterway rich in culture, understanding and reward. Worshiped as the goddess Ganga in Hinduism, the River Ganges blends modern reality with age-old myth…

The premise of this journey will remain the same; build a vessel native to the surroundings and free from the confines of fossil fuels, travel with the aid of local knowledge and rediscover the hidden secrets of the river…

Coming in 2012…. Unless someone wants to donate me a $100,000 I could go much sooner.

See ya down river,
BR

I just had the great opportunity to handout the Old Man River Report to the folks at National Geographic in Washington D.C. (Thanks Darlene). The report is a PDF file and is attached to the main page of the blog on the right hand side. Please take the chance to read it over and see how we accomplished our goals and what opportunities lay ahead.

See ya down river,

BR