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Historic First Paddle From Source Of Blue Nile To Sea
VANCOUVER, BC –
January 29, 2005: A Vancouver man and his New Zealand teammate have become the first people in history to paddle from the source of the Blue
Nile to the Mediterranean Sea. Canadian Les Jickling and New Zealander Mark
Tanner set out on September 4, 2004 to become the first ever to paddle the entire Nile River via the dangerous Blue Nile. On January 29, 2005, the
two weary adventurers reached the Mediterranean Sea after an epic journey that took
them through Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.
The Nile River has two main tributaries; the White Nile that rises in Lake Victoria, Uganda and the mightier Blue Nile that rises in Lake Tana, Ethiopia
and supplies more than 80% of the water of the Nile. The confluence of the two
rivers occurs at Khartoum, Sudan where the two flow as the Nile proper to the
sea. Although most of the White Nile was paddled by a kayak team over 50 years
ago, until now, no team had ever paddled the entire length of the highly coveted Blue Nile.
“In paddling circles the Blue Nile is generally thought of as the Holy Grail of
rivers”, Les Jickling commented, “Numerous people have died trying to run just
the Northern Gorge. To be spared that section was a major accomplishment, to
run the entire river from source to sea was the realization of a dream”.
Jickling and Tanner, who met several years ago while working at a software company, spent 4 years and countless hours researching and preparing for the
journey. Both men recall that difficult time prior to the trip when it was like having 2 full time jobs; working for the man by day and plotting out every
detail of the trip by night.
“We didn’t get a lot of rest during that time, “Jickling reflected, “even when
we did find time to sleep we were often kept awake by nightmares of the seemingly endless logistics”.
The trip lasted 148 days, covered approximately 5,000 kilometers and passed through some of the remotest corners of Africa. Of the original 11 member team
that consisted of paddlers from 5 continents, only Jickling and Tanner managed
to reach the sea. Setbacks such as unusually high water, malaria, illness,
crocodile attacks, bureaucratic snarls and damaged boats caused the team considerable difficulties and pushed back the anticipated finish
date by more than a month.
The two are now planning to write books about their adventures and continue their efforts to support projects involved in providing clean drinking water to
communities based in the region of the Nile Basin. More information about their efforts can be found at the official expedition website at
www.niletrip.com
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