1,600-mile ocean trip from Miami to New York will highlight watersports to promote environmental awareness

BALLSTON LAKE -- Some of Robert Weinman's fondest memories of growing up were on the water, during summers at his parents' place on Lake George.

"My parents were whitewater paddlers and did races in North Creek," said Weinman, a 1987 graduate of Shenendehowa High School who grew up in Ballston Lake. "Summers, I'd be windsurfing out on the lake. I crewed sailboats, 24-footers."

The 38-year-old lives with his wife and young son along the Hood River in Oregon, another haven for watersports, but he still gets home when he can. "When you get the Lake George water in your blood, you have to go back for a refill," he said.

Now, his love of the water is leading him on a 1,600-mile journey along the Atlantic seaboard, from Miami to New York City, as a way to extend his passion to others and raise environmental awareness.

On Feb. 11, Weinman and a fellow adventurer, Stein Kretsinger, will launch sea kayaks from the wide sandy beach of Miami's South Point Park. If everything goes according to plan, five months later the pair should paddle past the Statue of Liberty.

Along the way, they will stop to introduce people to the pleasures of windsurfing, kayaking and kiteboarding and to the risks that pollution poses to the beaches. "Kids that participate in the outdoors also protect the outdoors," said Weinman. "We want to give them that exposure."

The trip also will raise funds for Waterkeeper Alliance, an environmental group headed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who also is an avid whitewater kayaker. Kennedy is chief attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper, an environmental group that works to preserve the river.

"I worked in Baltimore with with Krets (Kretsinger). We have done some mountaineering and rock climbing together," said Weinman. "He was going to do it as a personal challenge. I suggested, let's do those miles for a purpose."

His arrival date also has personal meaning. It will be the sixth anniversary of the presumed death of his brother, James, who disappeared while doing a solo climb of a 14000-foot mountain in Chile.

The two brothers had shared adventures, starting when they hiked and camped the Adirondack High Peaks region as teenagers. In 1997, they skied down Mount McKinley, also called Denali, in Alaska, North America's highest peak. The feat earned them a mention in Outside magazine.

Shortly after he reaches New York, Weinman will fly to Chile with his parents to visit the mountain where James vanished. "He was 33 years old. It is a sad memory. I am trying to make it as positive as possible."

Understandably, his parents were "initially a little resistant" about the Atlantic kayak trip, said Weinman. During a visit this Christmas in Oregon, they asked "a lot of questions" about safety precautions.

"We were not forced to be on the water in case of bad weather," he said. When the sea is too rough, the pair will have kayak carts with special balloon-style tires that can be pulled along the beach.

"You have to respect the water. It has its own spirit," said Weinman's wife, Evelyn, who was born in Guam and saw her childhood home damaged by typhoons that blew in from the ocean.

Evelyn is piloting the "shadow car," which will track the kayakers with their food and other supplies. She is also the chief cook, and will be preparing Guam-style barbecue for the team. "Guam barbecue is spicy, smoky and delicious," she said.

The team's progress, expected to average about 15 miles a day, will be tracked on their Web site: http://www.beachwalkproject.com

"Sea kayaking is a secondary sport for me," Weinman said. "It is a little daunting. I woke up a couple a weeks ago and thought to myself, 'Boy that is a ways.' "

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