ChrisBray.net

Recognise this old codger? Don McIntyre! I’m teaming up with this well known Aussie adventurer (and good mate of mine) for an epic sailing expedition early 2009... It’s all under wraps for now, but we’re releasing details to the media soooon. So keep an eye out! It’s going to be mighty uncomfortable, but totally unforgettable! Don’s been getting the boat ready while I’ve been in the arctic, but now I’m home, this is the next big thing!

Following on from our 2005 Victoria Island Arctic expedition (see below) Clark Carter and I went back to Victoria Island in May 2008, dug up the Australian Geographic flag we left buried at our 2005 endpoint, and finished what we started! After 70 days alone and unsupported, we reached the most westerly point of the island, having travelled 700km through snow, ice, mud, boulders, tundra, rapids, swamp and more, hauling our totally re-designed carts behind us (hindsight is a wonderful thing!). We again had unforgettable encounters with arctic wolves and an enormous polar bear – and shared our experience online with daily updates and photos to our website, watched by over 13,000 people. We are so glad we made it to that far side!

Expedition website www.1000HourDay.com is full of action!

Expedition partner Clark Carter and I spent 58 days alone in the arctic on this world-first, unsupported expedition to cross the largely unexplored Victoria Island – the 9th largest island in the world. We faced blizzards and mud-pits, were chased by wolves, and stared down by a polar bear as we traversed this fascinating ‘Lost World’. Curious wildlife having never seen humans before walked right up to us as we hauled, dragged and paddled our 250kg wheeled aluminium kayaks - which we designed and built - ever onwards on this adventure of a lifetime... Visit Website >>

My first real expedition! For no apparent reason, I decided that for my university holiday, I’d organise this hike from Port Davey up to Strahan on Tasmania’s untracked south-western wilderness, with companion Jasper Timm. My intro to the world of sponsored adventuring, the trip took 28 days, involved 2 helicopter pre-arranged airdrops of supplies and pushed me to the very edge of my limits. I loved it. Naming it ‘one of the world’s toughest foot journeys’, the Australian Geographic Society presented Jasper and I with their ‘Young Adventurer of the Year’ award for 2004. Stranded whales, big sharks, discovering seal colonies... Visit Website >>

With the longer term goal of getting my Yachtmaster Ocean qualification, David Pryce - owner and skipper of Antarctic expedition yacht ‘Blizzard’ – invited me to help sail her across from Hobart (Tasmania) to Puerto Montt (Chile), via the sub-Antarctic islands! Thanks David! The voyage across the Southern Ocean, took 39-days and was just amazing! 55kn winds, hail and even snow while hand-steering her 24/7 almost half way around the world. Surfing the yacht down crumbling waves at 22kn, 1000 miles of cellestial navigation, whales rubbing against the dingy, seals on the beaches - it was just awesome! My good mate Clark Carter also came along.

In summer it can be a bit crowded, but I love doing Tasmania’s ‘Overland Track’ in the middle of winter: it’s off season so you don’t need to book or pay, it’s beautiful when it’s covered in ice and snow, and Tassie’s about as international as you can get for a quick hiking holiday without paying international airfares! This was my 3rd time on the trail in winter, but this year was special: I went with my then girlfriend Natalia who was keen to try her hand at this whole wet / cold / painful / hungry / exhausting pastime! She nailed it! Plenty of snow on the ground, cold feet, rain, muddy bogs, heavy packs – and she didn’t have a single word against it the whole trip!

I jumped at the opportunity to sail aboard Sir Francis Chichester’s famous yacht ‘Gipsy Moth IV’ as crew leader from Sydney up to Mooloolaba (Queensland) in July 2006. I was onboard as a journalist for UK magazine ‘Yachting Monthly’, and caught in the middle of the worst storm to ravage the NSW coast all year, it made for an exciting tale: “Bullets of windborne water pelted loudly against my oilskin hood. Just ahead of me, illuminated by the spreader lights in the dark, skipper Simon Hay glanced back. ‘Ok, are you ready mate?’ he shouted above the gale. ‘This is NOT going to be fun.’… Against every instinct, I clipped my lifeline to the jackstay and crawled out along the sidedeck. ‘Incoming!’…” Read PDF of my article >>

Winter gave The Overland Track a miss in 2006. After the awesome time I had in 2004 – whiteouts and all – I packed my snowshoes and warmest gear and headed back down to Tasmania in July 2006 with my mate Jasper Timm, amped for a great little snow trip. We never once used our Yowie Snowshoes, and the only place we found snow was up on the higher peaks! With the temperature hovering around zero, it rained rather than snowed. Bummer! We weakened on the last night of pouring rain and decided to stay in one of the huts *shame*. Haha. Still, as always, a great trip.

My introduction to cold-weather hiking! Having done Tasmania’s Overland Track in the summer of 2002 (my first multi-day hike), I was keen to give it a try in mid-winter to see what snow hiking was all about. I nipped down there with my mate Karl Toppler (pictured) and after 5-days of sub-zero temperatures, waist-deep snow, frozen shoelaces, numb toes and melting ice for water, I was thoroughly hooked. It wasn’t long after that I began planing my first Arctic expedition.

I was lucky enough to grow up sailing around the world on my parents home-made 44-foot aluminium yacht Starship with my parents Andrew and Vicky, and my sister Sarah Bray, from when I was 5 ‘till 10 yrs old. Visiting 32 different countries, I was led to believe that constantly travelling and experiencing new cultures and places was normal. It didn’t take long for the novelty of returning home to wear off and so I find this a convenient excuse to blame my parents when they wonder why I’m always heading off on another expedition. =) It was the ultimate upbringing and taught me to be independent and practical, as well as helping form a global perspective on life.