The coast of Chukotka is heavily fortified. Their route took them past towns bristling with border guards. They took precautions, turning off their phones to ensure their signals wouldn’t be picked up. But, as their journey continued unimpeded, they got the impression that the authorities simply weren’t paying attention. Sergei thinks it probably never occurred to the top brass that anyone would attempt such a crossing.
Then came the gale. Sergei noticed that the vessel was taking on water. The bilge pump whirred constantly. At one point they were being tossed between two walls of water. Sergei closed his eyes, and thought, “I shouldn’t be here, this is not a place where any human should be.” They survived thanks to Maksim, a deft crewman, who ensured they skirted around the worst of the storm.
Several hours later, they had outrun the tempest and crossed into American waters. Finally, they could breathe again. During our interview, Sergei glossed over hairy moments with wry humour. Yet when he described seeing St Lawrence for the first time, he paused, momentarily overcome, and quickly wiped away a tear. I asked him what he thought of America. “We knew it was a free country with functioning laws,” he said.
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