Adventurers' Club News Nov 2009 - The Adventurers

Minutes – October 8, 2009licized their Kickoff Bash to find and returnthe plane from the 1928 Byrd expeditionin Antarctica.President Allan Smith is leaving forDeath Valley to participate in a debate onthe authenticity of a trunk found there believedto be from the Lost 49er expedition.Charles Carmona will lead a tour oftwo tourmaline mines on Sunday November1 st .Vince Weatherby passed on the sadnews that John Booth was found on thefloor of his home and taken to emergencyat the local hospital.You Want to Go Where?Get Someone to Pay for the Trip ofYour DreamsThe first adventurer to obtain fundingfor his explorations was ChristopherColumbus, according to Jeff Blumenfeld.But since then, there has not been muchsponsorship until Will Steger obtained helpfrom DuPont, Shaklee and others.Jeff has written a book called “You Wantto Go Where?” The book says it is hardlyeasy to find someone to pay for your nexttrip. But it is possible with the help of thisnew book. One can learn how America’sgreatest explorers and adventurers attractedfunding and how you can too.He showed examples of a man who hit agolf ball across Mongolia. Another wantedto fly fish the Pacific Northwest using agoose amphibian plane. Skywalker Jay Cochranewalked on a tightrope across thethree gorges of China.Norman Vaughan was a dog musher onthe Admiral Byrd expedition to Antarcticain 1928. While there, Admiral Byrd nameda mountain after Norman. At the age of88, Norman returned to Antarctica to climbhis namesake mountain.Another man was a descendent of LiefEricson, who wanted to re-create his ancestor’strip across the Atlantic to the newworld. He designed a boat with the samematerials and specifications. But he addeda VHF radio, life raft and an engine formaneuvering in the harbors. That boat isnow on display in Iceland.Reed Stone wants to spend 1,000 consecutivedays at sea. He brought along hisgirl friend on his 72-foot ketch. On day 375,his girl friend learned she was pregnant andleft the boat. On day 450, Reed became afather. On day 657 he broke the old recordof days at sea. He is now at day 980 andlooking forward to landing and seeing hisson.All of these adventurers obtained somesponsorships. One who never needed it wasSteve Fossett.On an expedition to the Arctic in 1986,Paul Schurke placed a sewer pipe withmementos in the ice. The finder would beentitled to a $5,000 prize from DuPont. In1989, a man walking the beach in Irelandfound the sewer pipe and contacted thereferences. He collected his prize.Mike Haugen is now trying to summit thehighest point in each of the 50 states.A 77-year old African-American womanwants to ski to the South Pole. She has alreadybeen to the North Pole skiing a partNovember, 200912ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS