First the Danube, Now Japan

Two years later and 12,000 miles farther east than the Dartmouth Danube Expedition, the Ledyard Canoe Club will again be taking its banner to faraway places. This summer, four members of the Club, three of them graduates, and four British students will paddle up the eastern coast of Honshu, Japan's main island, in five ocean-going kayaks. Kayaks are being used because they are more seaworthy than canoes.

The purpose of the expedition is to promote better understanding between the people of Japan and the people of the United States and Great Britain. Although Japan is taking its place in the world as a great power, there remains in the West a tremendous lack of understanding of its people and culture. And the view that the Japanese have of America is often slanted by sensational movies, the frug, and American affluence. It is hoped that personal contact between interested Japanese and determined Americans and Britishers will promote greater mutual understanding.

This year's trip, like the Danube Expedition, is the brainchild of Dan Dimancescu '64. When he was at Dartmouth, Dan was active in the Dartmouth Players, the graphic arts, and majored in International Relations. In 1965 he was the leader of the Dartmouth Eastern European Project which sponsored the visit by five Eastern European students from countries the Danube Expedition had visited the year before.

The idea of the Japanese Expedition occurred to Dan one afternoon on the Connecticut River while doing some booking in the bottom of a canoe. Not one to let an inspiration lie fallow, he enlisted the aid of another Danube veteran, Chris Knight '65, a Phi Bete and professional photographer who is now studying at the Harvard School of Architecture. Chris has arranged for the National GeographicSociety to publish a photographic report of the trip, as was done on the Danube Expedition.

In order to share the experiences of the trip even more effectively, it was decided that a movie should be made. Dewitt Jones '65, a graduate student at the School of Theatre Arts at UCLA, was anxious to come along to provide the motion picture know-how. While at Dartmouth, "Wif" was active in The Players and Film Society and was a member of Casque and Gauntlet. The National Geographic has agreed also to sponsor Ms film.

Tom Seymour '64 was enlisted for the trip last fall after returning to Dartmouth from three years in the Marine Corps, two of them spent in Japan. His job is planning the itinerary and establishing contacts in Japan.

The Ledyard Canoe Club Japanese Expedition will begin June 15 when the American members fly from New York via San Francisco to Tokyo where they will join up with the four Britishers, all students at Cambridge University. They will be met there by members of the Dartmouth Club of Tokyo, members of the American Embassy staff, and the Japan Canoe Association. From Tokyo the party will proceed by train to Shimonoseki on the southern tip of Honshu for the start of their long paddle northward back to Tokyo.

The entire 1,000-mile trip will take 90 days. The itinerary provides for extended stopovers in the larger cultural and industrial centers and for camping out most of the time on some of the many islands and in the smaller coastal communities along the way. Meetings with student groups and with cultural and civic leaders have been planned for Shimonoseki, Hiroshima, Imabari (on the island of Shikoku), Osaka, Kyoto, Numazu (near Mt. Fuji), and Tokyo. A six-day mountain climb inland from Akabane has also been planned.

The intention is to meet and associate en route with as many Japanese people from all walks of life as possible. The Expedition schedule is being kept flexible so that the members can innovate between major stops.

For an undertaking of this nature and scope a tremendous amount of planning is required. With Dan and Chris in the Boston area, "Wif" at school in California, Tom at Dartmouth, and the four British students at Cambridge, the problem of coordination is a real one. Each man, therefore, has his own area of responsibility as outlined above, and Dan serves as leader and coordinator.

The need to raise funds is just as important as coordination. The Expedition will cost approximately $40,000, one-fourth of which will be raised in England. The National Geographic Society is helping considerably, and the kayak manufacturer in Sweden has made a price reduction. In addition to financial support, endorsement of the venture has been forthcoming from the Japan Society, an organization which promotes better cultural understanding between the United States and Japan, and the American-Japan Society of Japan. In addition, Senator Robert Kennedy of New York has shown interest and has offered to help. However, there is still a sizable financial gap to close and a large portion of the trip members' energies will be devoted to raising funds among Dartmouth friends and others during the next few months.

Although many things remain to be done, the members of the 1966 Ledyard Canoe Club Japanese Expedition are confident that all will be accomplished in time. They are eagerly looking ahead to what is sure to be a fruitful and rewarding trip.

102 South Main St, Hanover, N. H.

Tom Seymour '64 (left) and Dan Dimanescu '64, who have leading roles inthe Ledyard Canoe Club trip to Japannext summer, similar to the Danube tripmade by a Dartmouth party in 1964.

Combining parental and coaching responsibilities was no problem at Carnival forJohn Clough, former Middlebury captain,who is Dartmouth's new assistant skicoach. He is the son of Dr. William P.Clough '34 of New London, N. H.