INTERVIEW
“THEGOODNEWSISTHAT
INORDERTOSTAYINTHIS
SPORTATTHISLEVELAS
LONGASI HAVE,I’VEHAD
MYEGOCHECKEDAND
CRUSHED MANY TIMES.”
I knowandhasalsobecomethemosttalentedexpeditionkayakingphotographerand
cinematographerinthegametoday.I ambiasedbecausehewasa 14-year-oldatthe
firstshowingofNoBigNames, somaybehehas learned a thing or two from me. Today I
feellikeI canlearna thingortwofromhim.KS:Is therea momentin yourlifethatalmostledyoudowna differentpath?
BS:TwoweeksbeforeNewYear'sEve2006.Noneof mykayakingpartnerswereanswering
theirphonesoravailable.Outoftheblue,I gota callfromJesseCoombsfromCorvallis,
Oregon,whosaidhewasgameforwhateverI hadplanned.Weendedupmakinglandmark
firstdescentsinMexico,Colombia,andBrazil,andlaterbecameNationalGeographic
AdventurersoftheYear.That year more than any probably spawned most of the opportu-
nitiesI havehadtoday.WhenHendriCoetzeedied,JesseandI hada falling
out.Thatshithappens,andit is unfortunatewhen
it does.Butmyfocushasalwaysbeenonmoving
forwardto thenextriverandnotlettinganythingget
in theway.It'sa toughethosto liveby,andit hasn't
beenthebestthingforsomerelationships.Still,I
can’tforgetthatJessewassocrucialat themoment
inmycareerwhennooneelsewasreadytogo.KS:Hendri...Onyourtripto theDemocraticRepu-
blicofCongofora firstdescentoftheLukuga
River,tragedystruckwhena crocodileattacked
andkilledCoetzee,whowasyourtripleader.
Whatwastheemotionalwakeof thatexperience?Hasit influencedyousince?
BS:Devastation.Hendriwasata timeinhislifewhenhewasbecomingthefinestexplo-
rerI haveeverknownwhilealsoexploringhisspirituality.It'simpossibletosummarize
everythingI learnedfromhim.ButasyoucanseeinKadoma,Hendriwasgivingusthe
roadmaptoa lifelongpursuitofadventureandtherationaleforbeingwillingtorisklife
andlimbforthatadventure.I canonlypretendtohandlelogisticsthewayhedid,andI
canonlystrivetowardshisacademicapproachto expedition.Lifeis ephemeral.Thesooner
werealizethatthesoonerwecantakeadvantageof the opportunities we have and not
hide from them or pretend as if we live forever.KS:In theaftermath,therewastalkof killingorrelocatingthecrocwho
attackedHendri.Didyousupportthatmindset?Haveyoubeenbacksince?
BS:Nooneassociatedwiththeprojectorproductionteameversuggestedorplanned
tokillthecroc.Tothebestofmyknowledge,TripJenningspitchedtheideaofthecroc
relocationmission.Hendrihadspokenof hisdesireto returnandhelpprovidelocalssafer
accesstotheriver.ChrisandI returneda yearlater.ThecommunityofKabeyameyiwas
setto benefitfromthepromiseof a freshwaterwelldonationfromNatGeoandwelcomed
us,alongwithcrocexpertsMickBurnsandMattWright.I hadmixedemotionsaboutthe
missionsbutverymuchappreciatedtheopportunitytorevisitthevillageandtheattempt
todosomethingpositive.Thatwaseightyearsago.Thewellis nolongeroperational,and
there has since been renewed conflictin thearea.I stillreceiverequestsfromthevillagers
tohelp,butI haven’tbeenbacksinceand am not
surewhatI coulddoforthemnow.KS: 134 firstdescentsin 32countries.
Whatluresyouto seekoutwhathasnever
beendonebefore?
BS:Goingkayakingandgoingexpeditionkayaking
aretwodifferentthings-likegoingfora hikeand
mountaineeringonanunknownpeak.Butit'snot
fairtocomparethetwobecausetheycanboth
beamazing.Myfavoritesectionofriveris Fantasy
Falls.ButrunningFantasyis notanexpedition,and
doesnotsatiatethatdesire.Foranyonewhohas
neverdoneFantasy,theexperiencemayverywell
besomethingakinto anexpeditionin experiencing
it asunknown.Buttotrulyexperience expedition kayaking you must take on a river that
mayormaynotbepossible.KS:HavetechnologicaladvancessuchasGoogleEarthinfluencedexploratorypadd-
lingforyou?Doesmakingsomethingmoreaccessibletakeawayanyof thedraw?
BS:Tome,GoogleEarthjustaddsmorecolorandconveniencetothetopomapsthatI
wouldobsessivelyporeoverbeforeit camealong.Youcannowbein thewaitingroomat
thedentistandstillbeinvolvedin theformativestagesofexpeditionkayaking.Drones,on
the other hand, are a different story. I have been in multiple situations where the droneBoomersetssafetywhileBen
descendsona warmdayin
TwinGalaxies,Greenland- ©Sarah McNair-Landry