Swimming to Antarctica_ Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer - Lynne Cox [104]
Intentionally I got to the National Geographic building early so that I could wander through Explorers Hall, see the photographs on display and find out where they housed the map section. There, a mapmaker invited me in to see their map collection. I loved maps. Naturally, I asked if I could take a look at some of the Bering Strait region, hoping that I could study a chart or just be able to see what the coastline of each island looked like. There were a few good maps of the region, but no nautical charts. I would have to wait until later for that.
Mr. Graves met me in his spacious office. He was a tall man with dark, curly hair who moved like a hummingbird, in quick bursts, then hovered over his desk. We met Mr. Smith in the lobby. He was smaller in stature, soft-spoken, with a fair complexion. When we stepped outside, he complained of the cold. He had forgotten his jacket, so I offered him mine. He thought that was kind of odd, but he was cold and I wasn’t.
During lunch we talked about kiwifruit propagation. Mr. Smith had a male and female vine, as did I. His were producing fruit. Mine weren’t, even though I was using a paintbrush to hand-pollinate them. He had some suggestions and I think that is how we connected—but not strongly enough.
Over crab cakes we discussed the swim. Mr. Smith and Mr. Graves thought the idea was very exciting, but then I told them I did not have Soviet permission yet, though it was already early May. They didn’t say so, but I knew that they didn’t think I would get it in time. They said they’d enjoyed meeting me, asked me to stay in touch, and added that if it came together I should make sure to take some good pictures. How was I ever going to take pictures when I was in the water swimming? Plus, I had no idea how I was going to be able to purchase a new Nikon on my budget or learn how to use it in three months’ time. I flew home feeling frustrated, but then thought that at least I’d had a chance to meet them, and although they didn’t completely support my project, they’d shown an interest. And if they did, there would be others, and maybe from that I could gain the support the project needed.
In the meantime I continued working a variety of jobs to earn money both to pay my bills and also to save money for this project, and I continued writing letters to corporations and smaller companies seeking corporate sponsorship. The problem was that no one believed that the Soviets would allow me to make the swim. No one thought that it could happen, so no one was able to support it. How do you get people to think a new way? People were still afraid of the Soviets. How do you make people less afraid? Is it through trying to understand them, trying to see them differently? That’s what I thought, and that’s why I was trying to do this swim. What else did I need to do to try to get people to understand?
But the Alaskans seemed to understand what I was doing. I got a call from David Karp, who worked at the Visitors and Travelers Bureau in Nome, and he immediately offered to help once I arrived in Nome. He said that I could use his office for incoming phone calls from the people on the team coordinating the project and from the media. Karp said he would try to help us. Aware that I had written to Alaska Airlines requesting their sponsorship, he told me that there was someone there he thought would really get behind the project. Also, in summertime, the only way to travel out to Little Diomede was by helicopter. He would make some calls to Evergreen Helicopter for me.
My own efforts were easier now because all of a sudden there was momentum. Each day I heard something from a team member, or discussed another idea with someone, or sent a draft and had someone read it and send it back with comments.
Gradually the path became clear too. Dr. Nyboer said that he had a patient in Nome named Dennis Campion who was a member of the Rotary Club; he had a teenage son and a home where I could stay while I trained in Nome in preparation for the swim. Dr. Nyboer thought it would be