Seattle adventurer muscles across Pacific in a rowboat

Dozens of Seattleites would be thrilled to get a new iPod on Christmas morning, or find a stocking stuffed with gift cards. Many children would be pleased with a Nintendo Wii.

Erden Eruc? He'd like to break across the equatorial countercurrent that has hindered his solo rowing journey across the Pacific Ocean.

The Seattle man also would like to sleep on a bed that doesn't rock or have the potential to capsize. Having a shower with fresh running water would be nice. A cold drink would be good, too.

"And I want to hug my wife," he said, speaking on a mobile phone from his 23.4-foot boat.

But he can't until he lands in Australia next year, finishing the ocean journey he started July 10. The Pacific crossing is the first part in Eruc's planned circumnavigation by human power and part of his Six Summits Project.

Don't get Eruc wrong -- this is a journey he loves. On Christmas Day, he'll crack a small bottle of merlot he's been saving, as a treat between the freeze-dried meals he's been rationing. Another bottle of champagne is waiting for when he crosses the equator.

When Eruc arrives in Australia, he plans to climb Mount Kosciusko, the highest peak there, and expects to reach the highest summits on six continents by human power. The climbs are in tribute to a friend who died while rock-climbing with Eruc near Vantage. He said he could spend a lifetime on the Six Summits Project

"Some think of it as crazy," said Eruc, who spent a sabbatical rowing across the Atlantic Ocean. "Some think of it as 'Wow, it's a dream; go for it.' "

Eruc's dream started in 1997 while working in a software development lab. He traced his finger on a world map from Washington, D.C., to his native Turkey and wondered if he could make the journey by human power. Then he figured: Why stop there?

Eruc moved to Seattle in 1999 -- the same year Victoria Murden became the first solo woman rower to cross the Atlantic Ocean, which furthered his interest.

His Six Summits Project started in February 2003, when he biked from Seattle to Alaska, where he reached the summit of Mount McKinley and, after a planned wedding to Nancy Board, he bicycled back home still towing his climbing gear -- a journey of 5,546 miles.

"My father early on was asking 'What about your career?' " said Eruc, who has a master's degree from Ohio State University and an M.B.A. from George Mason University. "Of course, now he's my biggest supporter."

With a cost of more than $300,000, the circumnavigation and the Six Summits Project were started when Eruc committed his 401(k) to the cause. Then he and Board swapped their Lake Union condo for a North Seattle townhouse they can afford on her salary. Several sponsors including REI contributed to their nonprofit organization, Around-n-Over, which is still seeking additional help.

Eruc started his circumnavigation in summer from Bodega Bay near San Francisco, after biking there from Seattle.

"When he dropped the boat in, he didn't have a PR bonanza or thousands of people watching him," said Ed Sobey, a friend from the Pacific Northwest Chapter of The Explorers Club. "It was 'I'm going to put my boat in the water and start rowing.' And he did."

Eruc gets drinking water from the sea, primarily using a battery-powered desalination unit recharged by solar panels. The batteries also power navigation instruments and a satellite phone, and he uses a PDA connected to the phone to send dispatches and photos.

"It's kind of mind-boggling that you can pick up the phone and talk to him," Sobey said.

He sleeps in a watertight cabin, and though no boat is trailing him, Eruc can activate an emergency beacon to relay his boat's coordinates to the Coast Guard. He packed about 1,100 freeze-dried meals -- enough to last through March.

A bucket and bottle help with bathroom functions; special soap to lather in saltwater aids with showers and laundry.

"There is trepidation and worry every now and then depending on the conditions, yet fear doesn't come into play," he said during the sixth month of his trek. "What I think about are everything and anything, really."

As he told the Seattle P-I about his journey, Eruc saw a dolphin swim by his rowboat. In October, Eruc caught a 3-foot shark with a single-hook lure. Last week, his boat capsized.

"I was pretty much OK until this capsizing," said Board, visiting family in Turkey. "Most days I do really well. ... I trust his instincts."

Eruc rattles off past accomplishments the way most people go over their Christmas list. And his five-year plan makes Forrest Gump look like a lightweight: climb Mount Everest, bicycle through India and Africa, cross the Indian and Atlantic oceans, among other treks.

But why risk your life? Why spend the holidays alone on the ocean?

Eruc gets excited about teaching children through his journey. He's proud that his almost-daily dispatches are being rewritten for elementary-age students and has a Web page where he can answer children's questions from the Pacific.

Maybe, Eruc said, children will learn of his dream -- the one some people think is crazy -- watch him accomplish it, then strive for ones of their own.

Not every dream fits inside a wrapped holiday box.

TO LEARN MORE

Track Erden Eruc's progress as he circumnavigates the globe by human power. He's also searching for additional supporters and has a page for students to send him questions: www.around-n-over.org/