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August 8, 2007
CIRCUMNAVIGATION by HUMAN POWER back on EUROPEAN SOIL after 13 YEAR ABSENCE
Briton Jason Lewis is back on European turf after a 13-year absence trying to complete the first circumnavigation of the planet using only human power. He arrived on the continental European side of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey at 11 a.m. local time, after rowing in a traditional Turkish fishing boat across from the Asian continent.
The successful crossing of the legendary strip of water dividing Europe from Asia also marks the completion of a 6,893 km leg of 'Expedition 360' through Africa and the Middle East from Djibouti (located next to Eritrea and Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa) to Turkey. From here Lewis embarks on the last of sixteen legs it will have taken him to circle the world without using the power of motors or the wind.
For the 25 minute crossing Lewis was assisted by the Turkish Rowing Federation who provided a 20ft wooden 'kayik' (the kind local fishermen have been using on the Bosphorus for centuries). Lewis also used the boat to ferry his bicycle and other equipment across to the European side, thereby keeping the 'human powered' element of his journey intact.
"Originally I was planning on swimming across and although not very far - perhaps one km - the current is quite strong, especially on the Asian side, and the water funneling out of the Black Sea very cold. It is also a busy shipping lane with good size commercial steaming north and southwards towards the Black Sea and Mediterranean respectively, none of which would see a lone swimmer in their path or be able to stop even if they did. So rowing a boat was the perfect solution to crossing a potentially tricky bit of water." (Jason Lewis)
The African/Middle East leg Lewis has just completed has been the toughest overland section of the entire circumnavigation attempt with temperatures in the desert of northern Sudan reaching well over 50 degrees daily. The absence of any roads at times also made the going exceptionally tough, with Lewis having to push his 15-year old steel-frame bicycle, the same one he started the expedition with back in 1994 and laden with over 150 lbs of equipment, through deep sand for tens of kilometres at any one time.
He was also recently apprehended by Egyptian border security while crossing illegally between Sudan and Egypt. Following two days of intensive interrogation by Army Intelligence Lewis was faced with charges of espionage carrying a prison sentence of up to 40 years. Permission for the border crossing was granted at the 11th hour by Security Head Quarters in Cairo, freeing Lewis and allowing him to continue with the circumnavigation. See -
http://www.expedition360.com/press_room/clippings_africa/79_daily_mail.pdf
The final leg through Europe will see Lewis bicycle overland for 3,000 kms through Bulgaria, Romania, Austria, Germany to Oostend in Belgium. The pedal boat will be there waiting for the final 3-day voyage across the Channel and up the River Thames to finish.
EXPEDITION 360 - BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Upon the circumnavigation completion, Jason Lewis and an international team will have traveled 46,505 miles or 74,408 kms around the planet without wind or motor assistance: pedaling a one-of-a-kind pedal boat 'Moksha' (meaning liberation in Sanskrit) across the world's oceans, bicycling and rollerblading over land. Other modes of human power have included swimming, rowboats and kayaks for crossing rivers and straits of water between islands, and walking over certain difficult land sections where wheeled propulsion was impossible.
Ferdinand Magellan's expedition was the first to circumnavigate the world under sail in 1522. Subsequent circumnavigations by sailboat have since been completed by a veritable roster of sailing greats such as Sir Francis Chichester, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and Dame Ellen MacArthur. Airplanes, motorboats and hot air balloons have also made circumnavigation history, but as yet no has done so by human power.
Definitive rules for circumnavigations of the world completed by human power have recently been published by AdventureStats of Explorers Web, Inc., an independent panel of international historians, geographers and explorers. The rulings clarify the recent dispute between teams from three nations - Britain, Canada and Turkey - regarding the long sought after 'grail' to achieve the first circumnavigation of the planet by human power. They come down heavily in favor of the circumnavigation attempts currently underway by Lewis and Erden Eruc from Turkey. The panel of experts recognize Lewis as being first in line to complete a human powered circumnavigation.
Expedition 360 is comprised of 16 sections, each constituting major expeditions in themselves. Put back to back they make the circumnavigation attempt one of the longest endurance feats in history. See -
http://www.expedition360.com/logbook/home.htm
The circumnavigation attempt is set for completion on October 6th, 2007, at the Prime Meridian of longitude at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London where it started over 13-years ago. Family, supporters and His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester, the expedition's UK patron, will be there to see him home.
X360 - RECORDS TO DATE
> February 1995: original pedaling partner Stevie Smith and Lewis complete the first east-west crossing of the Atlantic by pedal power.
> September 1996: Lewis completes the first solo crossing of the USA on roller blades.
> August 18th 2000: Lewis becomes the first to pedal across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco in the US to Port Douglas, Australia - 178 days and 8,000 nautical miles.
X360 - ZERO EMISSIONS ENVIRONMENTAL MESSAGE & CLIMATE CHANGE
As a zero-emissions initiative, X360 seeks to further young people's understanding of the impact of their individual lifestyles on global climate change, in particular with regard to carbon footprints. A curriculum-based program 'Ecological Footprints' was launched in 1999 for teachers and school children to utilize in the classroom.
http://www.expedition360.com/schools/ecological_footprints.htm
X360 - SCHOOLS' PROGRAMS
As a 501 (c) (3) registered Non for Profit organization, the X360 team are committed to using the adventure both as an educational tool for furthering children’s learning experiences in the classroom and as a platform from which to implement a variety of cultural exchange activities that empower young people in better understanding their role both as local community and world citizens. Over 850 schools have been visited and tens of thousands of students have participated in the programs. See -
http://www.expedition360.com/schools/home.htm
X360 - CHARITABLE CAUSE
The expedition has raised over $66,000 USD for small-scale charitable causes along the way such as orphanages and hospices for adults and children living with HIV and AIDS.
http://www.expedition360.com/schools/humanitarian_effort.htm
X360 - FACTOIDS
> Total Timeframe: 13 years, 2 months, 23 days, 11 hours or, 4833 days and 11 hours
> Start date: 1pm July 12th 1994. End date: 12 noon 6th October 2007
> Total distance traveled: 46,505 miles or 74,408 kms
> Price tag: to date the expedition has cost in excess of $400,000 USD - most of which has been raised by grass roots fundraising along the way and working odd jobs. However since June 2006 the expedition has enjoyed title sponsorship from Aberdeen Asset Management, a Singapore based investment group.
http://www.aberdeen-asset.com/aam.nsf/Singapore/Home
X360 - MISHAPS
> Sept 1995: Jason run over by a car while in-line skating through Colorado USA and suffers compound fractures to both legs. Initial prognosis was amputation of left leg (below the knee). After extensive insertion of hardware (including metal rods in each tibia) he is able to continue after 9 months of recuperation.
http://www.expedition360.com/press_room/clippings_n_america/16_USA_pueblo_chief.pdf
> Nov 1998: pedal boat Moksha capsizes in a storm off the coast of California during the second attempt to pedal to Hawaii. No one is injured although the boat's interior is completely destroyed.
> June 2000: Jason contracts septicemia (blood poisoning) 1,300 miles from land pedaling between the islands of Hawaii and Tarawa (Republic of Kiribati). A US-based doctor of Dermatology achieves a remote diagnosis via Iridium satellite phone and prescribes broad spectrum antibiotics before the poison reaches brain tissue, undoubtedly saving his life.
> Oct 2004: Jason undergoes surgery for 2 x torn hernias and worn knee cartilage. Doctors predict he will need a knee replacement within 10 years from the constant wear and tear of human powered travel.
> May 2005: a 17 foot salt water crocodile attacks Jason's kayak in shallow water 100 miles north of Cooktown, Cape York, Australia. His paddle is destroyed fending off the croc, otherwise Jason escapes unscathed.
http://www.expedition360.com/press_room/clippings_indonesia/cairns_croc_attack.pdf
> November 2005: Jason contracts malaria twice in six months: first on the island of Sumatra (Plasmodia Vivax) while paddling through Indonesia and again in Laos with the potentially lethal cerebral version (Plasmodia Falciparum).
http://www.expedition360.com/journal/archives/2006/08/jason_down_with.html
> September 2006: Jason survives acute Altitude Sickness at 5,200 metres while biking over Lalung Pass in Tibet's Himalaya region.
http://www.expedition360.com/journal/archives/2006/10/altitude_sickne_1.html
> June 2007: after crossing the border between Sudan and Egypt illegally Jason is detained and interrogated by Egyptian Army Intelligence for two days. He is charged with espionage and faces 40 years in military prison.
http://www.expedition360.com/press_room/clippings_africa/79_daily_mail.pdf
> the expedition has been the victim of four robberies: one successful (Mexico) and three attempted also involving violence (Indonesia, India and France).
http://www.expedition360.com/journal/archives/2005/10/bikes_bandits_n.html
INTERVIEWS - IMAGES - TV NEWS FOOTAGE
To contact Jason Lewis in the field: +90 545 338 7496. 2 x hours behind London. Or Jim Carey, UK communications officer: t: 07944 310 591, e: carey@squall.co.uk
For photos of Jason Lewis rowing across the Bosphorus, contact Jason on +90 545 338 7496 or email: contact@expedition360.com
For other media usage visit the Press Room on the x360 website for past press clippings, streaming video clips and photos -
http://www.expedition360.com/press_room/home.htm
Hi-res archive images are available online -
http://homepage.mac.com/expedition360/
Please contact us for a password. team@expedition360.com
DAILY UPDATES
Regular updates and archived journals from this leg can be read from
here.
http://www.expedition360.com/journal/
Or you can find the link off the expedition360.com homepage
http://www.expedition360.com
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Posted by jason at August 8, 2007 1:20 PM