WHEN Geoffrey Dobbs hooked up with explorer Tim Severin for the first leg of his trans-Pacific expedition, he thought he was in for seven stress-free days on the water.
He was wrong. The Hongkong businessman encountered his first problem when the raft, the Hsu Fu, was swept off course by spring tides and he missed his stop.
The fact his destination was Taiwan was a bit embarrassing, but little did he know his problems were just beginning.
After contemplating the ocean, Mr Dobbs thought he had managed to flag a ride when a mainland patrol boat approached. But when the captain spotted the Hsu Fu crew waving frantically, he turned the boat around and powered off.
''I think they thought we were Vietnamese refugees - a form filling exercise - they were just not interested in helping us,'' he said.
Eventually he hitched a ride on a Taiwanese fishing boat to Keelung, where he was picked up for illegal entry.