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Thanks & Other Information About Arthur's Trip  . . .

A special thanks to Jim Landis and Centex/Landis,
(Arthur's Employer)
for allowing everyone to come to work to talk about Arthur, and get Paid! What a boss!
Also paid Arthur's salary while he was playing in the Gulf and several other expenses.
Thanks Jim for providing Andy McAllister for all the PR & other work he has been doing for the trip.

Special Thanks to Senor Enrique Lima Zuno of Isla Mujeres
Who  supplied me with a room for six days to board myself and my kayak prior to departure on the Expedition at the Cabanas Maria del Mar Hotel.
What Senor Enrique has given me that I will treasure forever was his mental support. He is also a man of the sea, so when he wished me well there was much depth to his statement.

Thanks to the Following:

Eddyline Kayak
Thanks for the "Wind Dancer" Kayak
Eddyline will make a commemorative paddle for Arthur.

Bayou Haystackers Paddling Club

Jenifer Clark's Gulf Stream Data
Expedition Team Member. Could not have happened without you!

Dane Clark Expert Weather Info.
Expedition Team Meteorologist (Jenifer's Hubby) Thanks!

Trail Expeditions
Thanks for Your Confidence & Discounts on Gear

City of Gretna
Mayor Ronnie Harris

Ralph Brennan's Redfish Grill
Rick Gratia

Dr. Lawrence Koenig
Expedition Team Physician and Special
Friend

Aaron Hebert
My Brother & Webmaster

Andrew McAllister
Centex Landis Expedition Team Public Relations and Special Friend

Hans Brandl
Great Friend & someone who was always there.
Hans even provided a bed in Han's Hotel on Wheels for my ride home from Venice, Louisiana

Laurie Acosta, RD, LDN
Expedition Team Member Dietician, Nutrition Coordinator, West Jefferson Medical Center

Shaklee
Dr. Lawrence Becker

Scandi Shake
Sean Arrillaga

Thanks to WWL-TV4 for all their coverage.

Thanks to WDSU TV6 for Their Expedition Coverage
and Outstanding JRA Special Report.

Thanks to GulfSouth Internet for hosting this site.

Thanks to all of the companies that donated equipment and supplies for the trip and that supported Arthur.

And thanks to multitudes that have been working, talking, laughing, crying
and especially praying for Arthur's effort f
or Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis awareness.

Help Us Support Arthur Hebert's
Sea Kayak Expedition!

"Yucatan to New Orleans Expedition by Sea Kayak" is not only an expedition but a dream. A dream that is coming true at this very moment. While you and I sit in the comfort of our office or home, day and night Arthur is constantly paddling. Arthur's motive: to increase the public's awareness of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA), "I'm hoping to make more parents aware of this disease and its symptoms. I want them to know if their child experiences pain, they can't just pass it off as growing pains but must get it checked out." JRA is a disease which can cause severe joint deformations in children. JRA is close to Arthur's heart because his 19 year old daughter, Nichole, was diagnosed with it when she was 9.

My name is Stephanie LeCompte. I am one of Arthur's coworkers. I was so touched by Arthur's dedication and courage that I wanted to get involved. Now you have the same opportunity. Arthur's fellow employees here at Centex Landis have joined together to support his mission through a raffle. The grand prize is dinner for two at the Redfish Grill and a one night stay at the Chateau Sonesta Hotel in New Orleans. All proceeds will be used to offset the cost of equipment Arthur has had to fund out of pocket. Tickets are $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00!! The drawing will be held Friday, May 29, 1998 @ 3:00pm. The winner will be notified via telephone. If you are interested please contact Stephanie LeCompte at Centex Landis 504-833-6070. Thank You.

Our hearts and prayers are with him and his family.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the raffle.
The raffle raised over $2000 for Arthur.
He put in over $10,000 of his own money to fund this expedition.

Old Reports

Check out WWL-TV4 (New Orleans) during their morning show (6-8AM) for updates.
Eric Paulsen gives the latest coordinates and information at least twice per broadcast.

On the Westbank of New Orleans, the City of Gretna's Electronic Bill Board, (near Mel Ott Park), will display daily updates..
Thanks Mayor Harris!

Each day the Sports Section of Times Picayune has his location from the previous day.

Wednesday, May 27th Issue of The Times Picayune - - - Feature Article on The Hebert Family. 
(Watch you don't use it to eat your crawfish on.)
Thanks Bob Marshall

At about 6:30pm, Saturday, May 30th, Arthur was spotted by and spoke with Vera Quillan, while she was doing research off the MV Western Monarch. Arthur gave Vera one of his business cards. She used the card to call Debbie Hebert (Arthur's Wife) and told her that he is doing fine and he was laughing and in good spirits. They gave him some water (less pumping more paddling) and chocolate. They also reported that he is now moving into favorable currents.
We love you Arthur!

As of 11:15AM CST, 6/1/98, Arthur was reportedly moored to a rig out in the Gulf. As of 4:15PM CST, today, he was still at the same point and had taken on food and water. Arthur is waiting for the winds to die down and then will take off towards Grand Isle. He said that he anticipates landing on either Thursday or Friday. I am betting on Friday at 7:24AM CST, but that is only because it is the time I picked on the Centex Landis pool. Watch out for "Hurricane Arthur" Grand Isle!
...Andy McAllister...

6:30pm CST:, 6/1/98, Arthur's wife Debbie called a person on the rig and they reported that Arthur plans on leaving between 4 & 8am 6/2/82. They are feeding & giving him water. (Don't feed him too much, like a stray dog he might not want to leave . . .) Also, someone on the rig took some photo's with a digital camera. He will try to email them to us for posting on the Web site.

6/2/98 ~10:51am CST -- We have made visual contact with Arthur through a helicopter commissioned by WWL-TV4. WWL has a news anchor and camera man on board. Per the pilot of the helicopter, with whom we have cellular contact, the weather is great and the seas are calm. He commented that Arthur looked good and seemed to be making headway. At the time of our conversation Arthur was paddling away and, as I suspected, not attempting to make radio contact via his hand held VHF. Watch for news footage on WWL, probably on the 5:00PM show. If we know for sure when the story will be on, I will let everyone know.

6/2/98 ~ 11:13am CST -- Second report from the Helicopter pilot: They were able to get Arthur to talk to them via VHF! Apparently Eric Paulsen got a "good" interview. He reportedly had sores on his hands and rump. He relayed that he anticipated landing at the State Park on Grand Isle (East end) on Thursday Evening. Get your pickup trucks loaded with firewood so we can light him home and head to Grand Isle!

6/3/98 5:07pm CST -- It seems that Arthur has been making progress towards Grand Isle. We have a 33" Explorer sailboat with a volunteer crew (thanks to both) that set sail at 5:00pm CST to Arthur's position to escort him safely back. They are expected to reach Arthur sometime late this evening. Arthur is in the most dangerous part of his trip, being near the mouth of the Mississippi River with heavy boat & ship traffic. Please, keep him in your prayers.

Arthur reported yesterday (6/2/98), via VHF radio with WWL's Eric Paulsen, that he narrowly escaped being hit by a ship. He seems to be in good health. Although he reported having salt-water sores on various parts of his body. Mr. Paulsen stated, that from talking to Arthur and seeing him paddle, he looked as if he started paddling 3 days ago, not 18 days ago . . .

As of 12:30AM on June 4, 1998...Our sailing crew was in contact with the local Coast Guard Station here in Grand Isle via VHF. They were, at the time, looking for an update on Arthur's location...which we provided. Hopefully we will hear something soon from them.

As of 6:20AM on June 4, 1998...We do know that Arthur is tied up to Texaco Rig #109 which is approximately 8 miles south of Southwest Pass. I don't have the coordinates on the rig, sorry. They have given him some food and Gatorade. Reports are that he has been fighting the currents all night and seemed tired. Hopefully he will be able to get some rest and make good headway later today or this evening.

6/4/98 -- Today should be an exciting day with meetings planned with, among others, the Mayor of Grand Isle and the Mayor of Gretna (Arthur's hometown). Today (6/3/98) we had word from Governor Foster's Press Secretary that he is following Arthur's trip closely and wishes him much success. Keep your eyes open for news updates, but remember if you didn't hear it from Andy McAllister or the web site, it could be wrong!

He Made It!!!

6/4/98 ~10:15 am Arthur paddled to the Southwest Pass jetties near the mouth of the Mississippi River. He then got aboard a Coast Guard vessel which brought him to the Coast Guard Station in Venice. Arthur is in very good shape and even put his own kayak on his truck for the drive home. His kayaking buddy, who is a physician, looked him over and stated that Arthur is in 10 times better shape than he expected him to be in. The next day 6/5/98, he went to West Jefferson Medical Center for a Lifestyle Inventory & Fitness Evaluation.  This evaluation with the one he had before the trip will be used as a comparison of his before & after fitness levels.

All day yesterday (6/3/98) and last night he was battling counter currents, high seas and unfavorable winds. He reached the Texaco Rig last night with hopes of tying off till today. However, there was nothing to tie off on. He managed to find a thin rope hanging off the rig. He tied to it but stated that he did not know how strong the rope was. As a result, as each large wave approached he paddled about 8 strokes to keep the rope from breaking. He did this all last night. All night he tried to get the attention on the rig workers. Between 6 & 7am he got the attention of someone on the rig. He asked them if they would pull him on the rig, however the seas were too rough & the rig workers that were trying to pull him & his kayak up, did not have the necessary equipment & experience to hoist him up. He decided he had a better chance to paddle the 8 miles to Southwest Pass. Which he did successfully.

Arthur finally made it to Grand Isle!

Arthur finally made it to Grand Isle on June 23rd on the way Sheriff Craig Webre of LaFourche Parish Sheriff's Office was kind enough to have Deputy Jean Carriere and Deputy Harry Guillot on motorcycle waiting for Arthur and his family under the Highway 90 bridge on La. Highway 1. They provided an escort all the way to Grand Isle. Thanks Sheriff Webre! A group of well wishers was on the side of the road in Lockport. The Sheriff Deputies stopped at the LaFourche Gazette for a quick interview.

The slide show went well. Arthur particularly enjoyed speaking to a small group of teenagers prior to the slide show. He was happy to meet the many supporters in Grand Isle. The Mayor of Grand Isle presented Arthur with the key to the city, honorary citizenship and Jose Chermie presented a flag of Grand Isle. Arthur informed the people of Grand Isle that although his home is Gretna. He felt like he was coming home to Grand Isle. He lived in Grand Isle for a short time as a child and has many fond memories of the island.

Many thanks to all the supporters!

Return Trip to Isla Mujeres
(July 1998)

Friends,

I along with my wife Debbie, daughters Nichole and Brooke and Nichole’s friend Rachel Pagan, just returned on July 20th from five truly enjoyable and relaxing days on Isla Mujeres (just five miles north of Cancun). The people and atmosphere of Isla captured my heart before I departed on May 16th on the Gulf Expedition. Now after the time my family spent on Isla, their hearts are also held captured by this beautiful island. Walking on the beautiful, soft white sand beach and swimming in the crystal clear water at Playa Norte ( North Point Beach) captures part of your soul, then you must experience the southern most point of Isla. On the south point your soul feels the history of Isla as you gaze at the ruins of the Mayan Temple high above the sea, looking down at the sea washing around and through the coral below is totally relaxing. I for one could sit there for hours and become one with the Island.

Gretna’s mayor, Ronnie Harris, his wife Donna and friends George Rojas and girlfriend Jennifer arrived a day later but also had a fantastic stay. Mayor Harris stated how impressed he was not only with the enjoyable activities Isla had to offer but the hospitality and kindness of the people. Although we experienced much of the fun, food and activities, there was still much more to enjoy that time did not allow.

My sponsor, Senor Enrique Lima  Zuno once again was a gracious host at the Cabanas Maria del Mar Hotel. Senor Enrique’s son, Pepe Chudeo, also proved to be a gentleman and gracious host. He obviously has much of his fathers warm personality. Their generosity and kindness will always be remembered.

Originally, this trip was to be in connection with a celebration to honor the expedition but prior to leaving for Mexico I was informed that the formal celebration with the local officials was postponed till August 16th. At that time, there will be an official celebration of the 100th anniversary of  "Chetumal" the state of Quintana Roo's capital. The governor of the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, the mayor of the state capitol and mayor of Isla Mujeres will take part in honoring the Gulf Expedition. I feel a special privilege to have the Gulf Expedition acknowledged during their state special celebration. Mayor Harris and I will make the trip again to Isla Mujeres. This will be worth the wait!

Arthur Hebert, Jr.

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