Kangaroo Island, Australia
Rich Wilson is a truly inspiring individual. In an age marked by far too much braggadocio from armchair warriors and paper tigers, Rich demonstrates real courage. He completed the last (2009) Vendee Globe France-to-France solo, non-stop and around-the-world sailing challenge aboard his Great American III as the oldest competitor and only American. He’s now preparing for the next one this year. Far more people have climbed Mt. Everest or been shot into space than have completed this, perhaps, the most grueling athletic (intellectual and emotional, too) event on the planet.
I first became aware of this rare breed of intrepid solo
circumnavigators when Dennis Williams and I had the honor of working with Sir
Robin Knox Johnston on Navy duty in Norway many years ago. Sir Robin was the
first person ever to sail single-handed, around the world, having done so in 1968-1969.
He is also quite the character. Folks like Rich and Robin march to the beat of
their own drummers and leave the rest of us to question what we are doing to be
extraordinary.
More important, Rich is paying it forward. He is giving real meaning
to his already remarkable accomplishments with his www.sitesalive.com K-12 educational
initiative. Sites Alive provides platforms and curricula for students to follow
and interact with field research projects and adventure challenges such as the
Vondee Globe and learn about science, math, leadership, teamwork and life.
I know Rich from our work with Sea Education Association
(SEA), choosing to read his fine book on the 2009 Vondee Globe (Race France to France: Leave Antarctica to
Starboard) while here facing the Southern Ocean, the fifth and most violent
of the world’s oceans. Rich wrote of this mysterious and majestically deadly
body of water that it is a “dreaded expanse of gales and cold, albatross,
sleet, hail and icebergs, of massive seas unchecked by obstructing land, and
all the while a mostly un-rescuable distance from any reasonable expectation of
help.” As I sit here in the comfort of my own armchair, occasionally shifting to keep Antarctica
to starboard, all I can say is, “Thank you, Rich.” The world is a better place for
your vision and courage.
Rich’s inscription in my copy of his book reads, “Dream your
dreams and then go live them.” Well, what are we waiting for?
