"In September 1997, El Nino forced us to abandon the remainder of the cycle ride to Peru and proposed pedal boat crossing of the South Pacific. The team regrouped in Monterey, California and decided to launch Moksha with a new crew for the voyage to Hawaii.

"Many of the previous team were no longer available when Jason and I met in San Francisco in March 1998, to decide what to do next. I spent the winter in Flagstaff, Arizona debating whether to re-immerse myself in the expedition at all. For me, the expedition was always in-tended as an attempt to live up close to the earth with friends I love. But years of surviving on a pittance while hustling on the phone for sponsors and donations had taken toll.

"Waving good-bye to the escort boat felt very familiar, as did the realization that we were entirely on our own: 2,200 miles to pedal at walking speed across the Pacific in a glorified canoe.

"By the second day we had cleared the Farralone Islands and, one by one, the harsh realities hit: seasickness; the constant battery of a rolling boat; chronic fatigue; then the sensory deprivation - no variety of colour, sound or smell. Apart from the occasional bird or fish the deep ocean is a lifeless desert.

"An occasional gale with 20-30 foot waves would focus the attention for a few days, but mostly we just trundled on like hamsters on an exercise wheel. It all felt horribly familiar. . . ."

In May 1999, Steve Smith decided to abandon the round-the-world pedal-boat attempt and settle in New Zealand. His fellow voyager, Jason Lewis, pressed on alone.