New York City artist, adventurer and sailor Reid Stowe will return on June 17 from an epic 1,152-day non-stop, non-resupplied sea voyage aboard his 70-foot, gaff-rigged schooner, Anne, marking the longest time any human has been away from land.

Currently anchored off Sandy Hook, New York, Stowe will be accompanied by a flotilla of boats up the Hudson River to West 42nd Street, where he will disembark at 13:00 and step ashore for the first time in over three years. He will reunite with his companion, Soanya Ahmad, who sailed with Stowe for the first 306 days of the voyage, but then returned to shore due to morning sickness after she became pregnant. Stowe will also meet for the first time his 22-month-old son, Darshen, who was conceived at sea.

Stowe left port on April 21, 2007 to embark on his “Mars Ocean Odyssey,” the name given to his voyage because it rivals a future mission to Mars in its length and isolation. Stowe says his primary motivation was “to take exploration on the sea further than anyone has before.”

Stowe maintains connection to life onshore via the Internet, where his website is linked to thousands of followers who track his daily progress. On day 1,145, 11 June, he wrote, “Wind from NE and sailing full sail to get closer to NYC. Doing my best to keep schedule, but not arrive too early. Put away art supplies.”

For more information on Stowe’s marathon voyage, please visit his homepage here.

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