Michael Perry ’74 (second from right) and fellow kayakers complete their journey. Photo: Sandy Pearson

It’s taken thirty-two years and 3,200 miles of paddling. At approximately 1 p.m. on Wednesday, October 18, 2017, Michael Perry ’74 finished his circumnavigation of New England by kayak as he and three fellow adventurers paddled around the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.

Perry, along with his friend Tom Armstrong, undertook the challenge in 1985 partly to encourage more people to take up kayaking, which was a relatively new pastime at the time.

After paddling along the New England coast, Perry and Armstrong, accompanied by other friends where possible, headed out into the Bay of Fundy, around Nova Scotia into the Gulf of St. Lawrence and down into Montreal, from where they continued by canal, lake and river.

Perry said he felt “extremely lucky” to share this amazing journey with some of the “finest human beings on the planet.” He also said it was a “special treat having Bowdoin College room mate and good friend Sheldon Stone, class of 1974, and his wife Cindy, fly out from Los Angeles and greet us at the ‘finish line’ in New York City.”

Read more about Michael Perry kayaking adventure.