Sailing from Japan to Russia with COCC Lunch & Learn program

Franz Helfenstein, a math professor at Central Oregon Community College, put down his calculator a few years back and fell into a “Ring of Fire.”

He described his 1999 expedition along the Pacific Rim’s volcanic “Ring of Fire” for a large Sisters COCC Lunch & Learn gathering last Wednesday at Sisters Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration.

In mid-June, 1999, Helfenstein, Jon Turk, and Evgenie Filimonov (Jenya), left Nemuro, Japan, for Petropavlovsk, Russia on three 16-foot WindRiders (trimarans). Their exciting adventure lasted 69 days, covering 1,200 miles of open-ocean sailing along the Kuril Islands chain.

Their mode of travel allowed for evening stops at these small islands, meeting local residents, and investigating animal and plant life.

Jenya, who was along as a Russian interpreter, left the expedition early because of illness. He made it back to the mainland with one of the fishing boats that visited the islands.

Despite that hitch, the trip was exciting and rewarding.

“The grizzlies, whales, dolphins, seals, and the wonderful hospitality of the Russian people we met on the small islands made this one of the top small craft adventures of all time,” said Helfenstein. “The scenery was phenomenal with whales breaching, active volcanoes, spectacular cliffs and colorful sunsets.”

Overnight stops on the islands allowed viewing of foxes, mink and various birds.

Questioned about their diet, Helfenstein said, “We ate lots of salmon, which were plentiful, and easy to catch. We brought lots of rice with us and had an ample assortment of Cliff bars. I also had an extra supply of Snickers candy bars.”

Helfenstein described several of the island stops as having small, family populations of lighthouse keepers.

“These people sign up for five-year stints on the islands. Needless to say, they are very eager to meet any strangers and were very hospitable to us. They loved to play cards.”

Some of the islands also housed small Russian military detachments. Russia and Japan have disputed ownership of the Kuril Islands since the end of World War II in 1945.

“We had hoped to reach Alaska on our summer trip,” said Helfenstein. “It was obvious when we reached Petropavlovsk in late summer that was not going to happen this year. Jon (Turk) completed the trip to Alaska the next year and has a book coming out in April titled, ‘In the Wake of the Jomon’ (Ragged Mountain Press/McGraw Hill).”

Open boat travel in these waters is dangerous, which was not lost on the audience.

“It’s obvious that this was a very dangerous undertaking,” said Jerry Bogen after the talk. “I have boating experience and from his description of the trip, they were on a very slippery slope for surviving their journey. They were very lucky.”