| On May 7th 1998 Christopher Reeves and Marcus Gaertner attempted to canoe from the Atlantic Ocean, through a series of rivers and lakes, to the Gulf of Bothnia. It was a challenge that would take them through one of Europe’s last remaining untamed wildernesses. To their knowledge nobody had successfully canoed from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Bothnia before, and it was this challenge that inspired and intrigued them. However, their real motivation stemmed not to, “be the first”, of which neither held much importance on, but more to realise a shared ambition to seek and explore the ever decreasing wilderness of our planet. Both were experienced explorers with a string of incredible achievements to their names. Admired and respected they embodied a spirit of adventure that was inspiring, humbling and extremely rare. Both Christopher and Marcus were killed eight days before completing the trip when their raft was found capsized on the Kalix River in Sweden, near the border with Finland. Their video footage and photography, all of which was recovered undamaged, is being reviewed by Channel Four in the UK for possible transmission next year.
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