USD Magazine Fall 2005

AROUND THE PARK

On her journey from Canada to Mexico on a personal watercraft, only the left half of Jane Usatin’s face got sunburned, since that side was exposed to direct sun for the greater part of each day. DR. USATIN’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE Riding solo from Canada to Mexico on a personal watercraf t [ s w a s h b u c k l e r ]

by Julene Snyder

I

t’s hard to believe that her hands were the only part that got sore. A 56-year-old grandmother traveled 1,800 miles from Canada to Mexico on the open ocean, riding a personal watercraft (PWC) and, in the end, it was the endless gripping of handlebars that gave her grief. “The hands were the weakest link,” says Jane Usatin, director of undergraduate programs for the School of Business Administration. “It took a while for them to get back to normal.” Other than that, how was the six-week-trip? “It was a learning experience,” says Usatin, with characteristic understatement. But a moment later, her whole face lights up. “It was mind-blowing! Just the marine life alone!” She ticks off the list on one (clearly recovered) hand: “I saw two orcas. I stopped my engine, because I didn’t want to spook them. I also saw some whales that I’d never seen before; I sketched them and asked the locals. It turned out they were blue whales.” She leans forward, eyes glowing. “When I was grow- ing up, blue whales were about to become extinct, so this was like seeing a unicorn.” The recitation continues: Humpback whales. Acres of seabirds. Otters. A pod of dol- phins. A shark. (“Maybe. It was sort of so-what.”) And of course, the humans were special too,

especially one in particular. “My ever-patient husband fol- lowed along in the RV and we’d meet up every night,” she recalls. “And of course, up in Oregon and Washington, peo- ple weren’t as familiar with PWCs. The locals would come out to see what was going on when I’d come in. In one town, a wave had pushed me off. I was tethered, but it was hard to get back on, especially once the boat got pushed over on one side. When a tractor came into the water and got me righted, a crowd had assembled on the

beach. People were cheering and clapping.” Of course, the trip wasn’t all applause and unicorns. There are bad eggs among the PWC community (Usatin calls it the “1 percent jerk factor”), and some maritime officials tended to view Usatin’s quest with a certain skepticism. “Maritime law says that they cannot deny me safe harbor,” she explains. “But in one case, they didn’t want to let me leave once I got there.”Usatin all but snorts with derision. “These crafts are what lifeguards use to rescue

swimmers; it’s ridiculous. They’re really small boats. You just sit on them, rather than in them.” Adventure is no stranger to Usatin. She’s traveled by motorcy- cle — both solo and with husband Josef — across the country many a time. But she wanted to do this particular trip for several reasons. “I had four objectives,” she says, ticking them off. “To help people gain respect for the ocean. To gain respect for the coastal fishing and logging towns. To raise money for Sister Dale’s scholarship. And to counter the media stereotype of PWC riders as scofflaws.”

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