Canada 2009 was a make or break trip. After five expeditions in as many years, we’d turned an improbable concept into a series of extraordinary machines, but behind the scenes, there was race between our Antarctic dreams and impending parenthood (at least for Pat and I … Dave looked on with amusement.)

We needed a strong result in Canada, with big distances and solid reliability if we were to take our machines to Antarctica. But on this trip, we didn’t get it - the conditions were not favourable, and our set-up still imperfect. Stretched out before us was a long road of painstaking development and many more journeys from Sydney to the Arctic.

After the birth of my daughter Inez, and Pat’s daughter Daisy, we no longer had the time nor money to dedicate to the Kitesled project, so we’ve decided to call it quits. The project is still bubbling away in our heads, but let’s just say we’ve placed it to the back burner for now.

One of my personal goals in this project was to have more fun than humanly possible, and in this respect Kitesled has been hugely successful. It was a chance to work on something truly new, and in a world where it can seem at times that all the great adventures have already been done, finding an untravelled road has been enormously rewarding. Along the way I’ve made some special friends and seen some of the rarest parts of the world.

We only got as far as we did with the continued support of the Peter Lynn kite community and many businesses and individuals in Australia and around the world. Particular thanks go to:
Peter and Elwyn Lynn for their generosity over many years;
Craig Hansen and Jenny Cook in Ashburton;
Pete Lynn in San Francisco;
Lachlan Bede from Kiteworks in Newcastle;
Mike Richards from Kite Magic in Coogee and Steve McCormack at Kitepower in Sans Souci.

Special thanks to Australian Geographic and Paddy Pallin for their support over several expeditions, and thank you to the many other businesses that have supplied us with goods and services at little or no charge. You’ve all made our journeys possible.

So what next??
Dave’s spending long hours on an invention that Pat and I are hoping will soon make him a very wealthy and generous man.
Pat’s just landed a plum job at an environmental education centre in Sydney and has perfected the 24 hour Sydney to the snow and back Kiteskiing trip.
I’ve just bought a yacht that I’m turning into a floating crèche with plans for a trip around Oz or beyond.

Various sleds have now taken their rightful places in the backyard among the long grass, under the house, and tucked away in Dave’s shed waiting to be cannibalised for some future invention.

Fair winds!

Ben Deacon

October 2009