71-year-old Captain Completes Solo Round-the-World Voyage

Friday, October 13, 2006

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — On Thursday, October 19, around 10 a.m., a small yellow and white sailboat will enter the harbor in San Diego completing an amazing 17½-month, 31,310 nautical mile journey few thought possible when its captain was diagnosed with heart failure years ago.

But the intrepid Ardell Lien, a 71-year-old Minnesotan, never gave up on his dream to solo circumnavigate the world, which has earned him a place in history as the first heart and kidney recipient to accomplish this grueling feat.

"Planning for his trip gave him hope - something to hold on to and look forward to while he was on the waiting list and then during recovery after surgery," said his wife Maureen. "He wanted to show the world that a healthy, active life is possible after organ transplant. He certainly has done that and inspired many people along the way."

Lien underwent transplant surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, in January, 2003. Maureen will be on the dock to greet him along with his family, Mayo Clinic Cardiologist Brooks Edwards M.D., Cardiac Surgeon Richard Daly, M.D. and local donor families and organ recipients who sent him on his trek May 5, 2005.

Lifesharing Volunteer Amy Chester is among the many people who have followed the Captain's journey. Her father, currently on the waiting list for a liver and a kidney, used to sail competitively. "Dad and I have been following Ardell's world wide voyage. It has been such an inspiration for us. We definitely will be there to greet him when he returns to San Diego."

During his trip Lien visited 19 ports, skirted hurricanes, survived gales, tropical storms, blistering heat, and ate more pancakes than he ever thought possible (pancake mix was easily stored in his tight quarters). He also rounded the Cape of Good Hope, traversed the Panama Canal and crossed the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Interestingly enough this past week on his return from Hawaii has been among the roughest of his entire trip.

His voyage in the 27-foot sailboat 'Catalyst' is detailed in a Captain's log posted on the Lifesharing Web site (opens in new window). Lifesharing, the federally-designated organ procurement organization serving San Diego and Imperial counties in California, coordinated his bon voyage and welcome home celebrations and introduced him via email to the organization's life-saving counterparts worldwide. Recent log entries:

Ardell Lien with his boat

Sunday, October 08, 2006
This has been a very difficult passage. The conditions have been the pits with water coming over the coach roof often. I sopped as much as possible up using an entire roll of paper towels. The boat was handling the conditions fine. It was the human cargo who needed rest so I climbed into the bunk and got three hours sleep before sunrise. This was 4/5 days ago.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Making pancakes a short while ago was a show indeed. A cake hit the floor, it tasted fine. Remember Grandma said you had to eat a pound of dirt before you die. Was it a pound or a bushel? I took a break, now an hour later and the wind is down to the high teens, same direction. That's all for now, weather and seas consume my thoughts.

Saturday, September 30, 2006
Saw my first ship in ages last night at dusk so I checked the pilot chart and I am exactly in the shipping lane from the Philippines to Los Angeles. I checked for traffic every hour or two and at midnight another and just before daylight another. They were all about 3 miles away and probably saw me way before I saw them. Been looking for more all day, but no joy.

While docked to stock up on provisions and repair equipment battered during the journey including his three main sails, Lien met many organ and tissue recipients. He also spoke with media to raise awareness about the precious Gift of Life possible only from donation.

"Awareness is so important to end needless deaths on the waiting list," the Captain noted in emails sent almost daily during his adventure. "Unfortunately some families don't say 'Yes' to donation because they don't know what their loved one wanted. It is so important to register beforehand for your family's sake and to ensure your wishes are followed."

Current U.S. organ donation statistics from the United Network for Organ Sharing (opens in new window):

• 92,474 candidates are registered on the national organ waiting list, and 1,982 are children
  
• Every 13 minutes a new name is added to the national list
  
• Today 74 transplant surgeries will be performed giving people a second chance at life, while 18 people will die waiting
  
• Californians comprise 21 percent of those on the national organ waiting list
  
• In San Diego County 1,332 people need a donated organ to survive; 129 died waiting here in 2005

To learn how to register to be a donor in your state, visit the Donate Life America Web site. The official way to sign-up in California is through the Department of Motor Vehicles or online or in Spanish (links open in new window).

It takes only minutes to register to be a donor and can mean a lifetime to someone else.

Welcome Celebration Information:

What:
Completing record-setting trip sailing by himself around the world: 31,310 miles in 17 months. Dockside celebration including his wife, family, Mayo Clinic doctors, and local organ recipients and donorfamilies.

Where:
San Diego Harbor Police Dock
1401 Shelter Island Dr., San Diego, CA 92106

When:
Around 10 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 19, 2006

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