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From
The
Lincoln County
News, Maine
Cancer
Survivor Canoes
America as Patriotic
Adventurer | | Story date: 08/16/2006 | | By Judi Finn | It was impossible not to grow up patriotic in South Philadelphia, said “Philly” Joe Kolodziejski, where every cemetery has a signer of the Declaration of Independence buried and the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall were only blocks away from his home.
But that only partly explains the reason for Kolodziejski’s American Victory Tour, dedicated to America’s heroes past and present, a canoe journey he began Feb. 2, 2002, in Port Arkansas, Texas, which will end after 24,000 miles of paddling and circumvention of the contiguous 48 states for “however long it takes.”
He sat comfortably Aug. 9 in the Anchor Inn in Round Pond, tanned and with a light crust of salt on his
arms, enjoying a lunch with his wife Cathy, who is traveling the coast more conventionally in a van. Joe stowed his 18.5 foot hybrid canoe at Padebco Custom Boats for the night, at the invitation of owners Bruce and P.J. Cunningham.
“I didn’t plan for the weather. I expected to be 20 miles further but it was too windy in Boothbay,” Joe said. Later, they traveled to Bucksport to spend the night at a campground and returned the next day for Joe to continue his trip, with about 6000 miles logged to date.
This story of the dramatic celebration of life that was inspired by Joe’s diagnosis 10 years ago at age 50 with Hodgkin’s disease, in stage 4b (“…the stage just before they put your name in the paper and people gather around to say what a swell guy you had been,” said Joe, on his American Victory Tour website), is part love story.
Joe met Cathy Cloud his first year of paddling in Texas. They became good friends. A touching entry in his online journal
describes the first kiss in Florida, where Cathy had joined him on one leg of his trip. They celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary Aug. 13. “I was single for 28 years,” said Cathy.
Joe explains his motivation for the challenging journey. “I decided to celebrate being alive by doing something no one else had ever done.” It would allow him to explore his beloved country and test his mettle.
His route would take him east from Texas, following the Gulf Coast to the Florida Keys and then up the East Coast, across Canada, touching on Alaska, and down the West Coast to the Panama Canal and back to Texas.
“My plan was to dedicate the trip to American workers, a much maligned group that not only built this great country but also defended it when called to do so,” Joe writes on his website. He vowed to buy only American-made gear for the trip. He estimated it would cost $18,000 so he downsized his plan to a six month camping trip in the 48 states in 2000,
using a $30 tent and $20 sleeping bag. He learned a lot and renewed his love of country and “for the American idea and ideal.” Joe also realized he could do the canoe trip for way less money.
Sept. 11, 2001, changed everything. “I tried to re-enlist.” A Vietnam veteran with a tour as a combat engineer, Joe made his career as a merchant marine for 20 years with Texaco. He was turned down at the recruiting office because of his age.
Joe took a different tack in his war against terror. He writes on his website, “The purpose of terrorism, obviously, is to cause fear. Every time we give in by changing our lifestyle, the terrorists win a victory. Every time we go to a ball game or a concert or get on an airplane we give them a little poke in the eye.” That is why he called his trip the “Poke ’em in the Eye Tour” and his canoe The American Victory. His tour might inspire others to get on with their own lives, he hoped.
“When I decided to do this trip I
literally sold everything I own,” Joe said. Advice for those who make a once in a lifetime goal is to set a date and tell everybody you know.
Joe is now on his third canoe. “He beats them up pretty badly,” said Cathy, and in Florida rammed one onto the rocks.
“I started with a 22 foot canoe and a 60 pound dog,” Gracie, Joe said. The dog wasn’t happy on the voyage and was adopted by a family in New Orleans.
“I used old Army gear, heavy. I had no idea how to pack a canoe.” When he canoed far enough to be out of sight of the people on shore wishing him well at the start of his tour, Joe pulled the canoe up and repacked it.
For the second season he bought a new canoe but it was shipping too much water. Then he heard of the Kruger canoe, designed for expeditions by the “world’s greatest canoeist” Verlen Kruger. Now deceased, Kruger paddled from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Joe said he was honored to meet him once. Joe’s speed in the Kruger was
clocked at 7 knots in Rhode Island. In it he rows looking forward.
When he starts his trip next year in April or May at St. John’s, New Brunswick, he will have a new Kruger, a little shallower and with combing that allows the water to roll off, and all new equipment. He carries no GPS, cell phone or radio because of his “Made in America” rule.
“I started this season late” in July, having pulled out last year in Plymouth, Mass. The trip through Acadia and to New Brunswick where he ends this season will take three more weeks, weather permitting.
The most dangerous moment of the trip to date was in a Florida bay and the canoe rolled. Joe was in the water for two or three hours and was rescued by the Air Force. “When they pulled me out I had a credit card, canoe, rowing seat and a pair of cut-offs.”
In New York Harbor, Joe said he made a poor decision and instead of going between the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, he wanted to get a better view
of the statue from the front. “Two Circle Line ferry boats came by me on either side,” and created 8 to 10 foot vertical waves.
But most of his mishaps were just embarrassing, like in New Jersey when fishermen were watching him beach his canoe and a wave took the boat and caught him behind the knees. At a marina somewhere else he fell head first into mud.
Memorable moments include a canal in Florida full of alligators; finding the end of the rainbow in the Gulf of Florida and in North Carolina when he stumbled upon a peaceful place where there was “dead silence”, no wildlife, water or boat noises. “It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced.”
As for the people he’s met in his travels, “People in America are the greatest,” Joe said. “I’ve had people give me the keys to their house.”
To learn
more about
the American
Victory
Tour,
go to
www.american
victorytour.com. |
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