Nevada Focus: South Tahoe native sets out for high seas adventure

Thursday, Oct. 16, 1997 | 2:08 a.m.

The 178-foot Picton Castle, built in 1928 and refitted in 1995 at a cost of $1.5 million, will sail from Lunenburg, Novia Scotia. Its crew of 45 will see sights including the Panama Canal, the Galapagos Islands and the sandy beaches of Bora Bora.

If it sounds like the adventure of a lifetime for Kingman, who grew up sailing on Lake Tahoe, that's because it is.

"I don't know that I'll have another opportunity in my life to do this again," said Kingman, 33, no stranger to adventures in exotic places.

Earlier this year, Kingman went on a cross-country ski expedition in Siberia in conjunction with the South Lake Tahoe Sister City Program with Baikalsk in the former Soviet Union. In 1989, he went on an extended backpacking trip through the Himalayas.

And several times, he has captained boats in the Caribbean during vacations with friends.

But this trip clearly outdistances the others in scope and duration.

Kingman, bitten by the travel bug and going through a divorce, found an ad last May in a sailing magazine about crew members needed for an 18-month trip around the world.

"The ad spoke to me," he said.

After contacting the trip's organizers, Kingman submitted a lengthy application, underwent a physical and was invited to Nova Scotia to meet the captain and 10-member professional crew.

In late July that he was notified he had been accepted as the 34 cost-sharing crew members for the trip, and designated as one of the ship's SCUBA divers. Unlike the professional crew and captain, the cost-sharing crew is paying to participate in the voyage.

For the past three months, Kingman has prepared for the trip by closing his landscaping business and selling off most of his possessions - with the exception of his house.

All the clothes and supplies he will use during the next 18 months will be carried in a duffel bag.

Besides the adventure of navigating the high seas, the crew intends to haul cargo between some ports. The ship is also being used to promote alternative energy technology in conjunction with Colorado's Rocky Mountain Institute.

Unlike today's triangular sailed boats, square riggers are designed to sail downwind. The Picton Castle's route was designed to coincide with trade winds that have typically blown from east to west for centuries along the equator. Possibly complicating the journey may be El Nino conditions along the equatorial Pacific that have seen a reversal in the traditional wind patterns.

Unexpected delays and unforeseen circumstances are about the only thing that Kingman is sure that will occur on the trip.

"When I get back, I'll probably be destitute," says Kingman. "But I'll be rich in experience ... and maybe have a good tan."

Kingman has agreed to share the experiences by allowing The Tahoe Daily Tribune to print his letters to the community throughout his journey. Anyone wishing to communicate with Kingman during the next 18 months can contact him via e-mail: robert-kingmanhotmail.com.