Gulf Stream trip for education

John Heyward Dowdney

Despite storms Hanna, Ike and Josephine, Mount Pleasant resident Steve Dowdney plans to paddle and sail his Klepper sea kayak from St. Augustine, Fla., to Charleston. He plans to start the 250-mile journey Monday.

Steve Dowdney, known by many as the guy who sells pickled okra and stone-ground grits at local farmers markets and author of a new book on food canning, has a lesser-known "green" side that he says has its origins 30 years ago in Alaska.

Back then, Dowdney was a boat dealer in the Northwest and was making a delivery to Prudhoe Bay, where he saw something that awakened his conscience for protecting the environment.

"There were dead wolves everywhere," recalls Dowdney. "The people killed them indiscriminately. It was just a shoot fest. ... I became incensed."

The former hunter gave away his guns and began quiet endeavors of saving the Earth's precious resources, such as helping in efforts to protect black rhinoceroses in Zimbabwe and elephants in Kenya.

His next effort involves quite an adventure.

On Monday, the author of "Putting Up: A Year-Round Guide to Canning in the Southern Tradition" says he plans to put his Klepper sea kayak, equipped with sails and outriggers, into the Atlantic Ocean for a 250-mile journey from St. Augustine, Fla., to Charleston. The 64-year-old will paddle and sail out 25-30 miles to the Gulf Stream, where he'll capture the current to Charleston. He expects the trip to take four to five days.

"Hopefully, I'll have the wind, but not too much," he says.

As of Tuesday morning, Dowdney says, the storms named Hanna, Ike and Josephine did not appear to threaten his plans.

"For now, all is a go," says Dowdney. "Hanna will be beyond and into North Carolina (by Monday). Ike looks like it will be a (Caribbean) storm, and the new baby (Josephine) is probably too far away to be of concern."

Apart from the adventure, the trip also involves working with the Lowcountry Environmental Education Programs, aka LEEP, in demonstrating to local schoolchildren the power of nature's clean energy: wind, human, currents and solar (the latter used for charging an automatic pilot device to keep him moving at night). Dowdney and LEEP are calling the endeavor, "ON COURSE: Power by sail, sun, sailor, and sea."

Dowdney's adventure and LEEP's programing are a perfect match. The nonprofit's executive director, Ian Sanchez, says, "LEEP works with inspiring individuals like Steve Dowdney to bring adventure into the classroom to ignite passion for learning within our youth."

Students can follow Dowdney's journey on www.scleep.org, charting his progress through a satellite position report, released every hour. Reports via satellite phone three times a day — morning, noon and sundown — will be posted as well. Dowdney also will attach two video cameras to the kayak to record daily tasks and conditions, such as weather and pollution. The footage will be available after the trip.

LEEP, meanwhile, is trying to raise $10,000 for its programming by getting people to donate money in honor of his journey.

While Dowdney is using experience gained from a lifetime of sailing, which includes a sailing trip from Seattle to Charleston, this trip also will be a physical challenge. He trained for it by biking, in-line skating and lifting weights. On June 15, he made a trial run of the retro-fitted kayak to the Gulf Stream and back. The trip took all day, and he experienced a variety of weather and sea conditions.

For the Gulf Stream trip, he is prepared for the worst. He has gear that can protect him from the stinging pelts of wind-driven rain and a diving mask and snorkel, which are needed to see and breathe in a driving rain. He adds that Klepper kayaks, some of which have been used in Atlantic crossings, are built for handling long journeys on the sea.

"If you button-up a kayak just right, you're basically just a cork in the water anyway," says Dowdney.

Reach David Quick at 937-5516 or dquick@postandcourier.com.