By CHRISTEN B. BROWN

CONTRIBUTING Writer

2,700 people have climbed Mt. Everest. 500 astronauts have traveled into space. Fewer than 50 people have sailed around the world. Alone. For 121 days. In a 60-foot sailboat.

**

Nearly 20 years ago, the trimaran Great American capsized off the Cape of Good Hope. No one knew that 20 years after his rescue, the sole skipper of the Great American would not only succeed on an equally extensive and fatiguing expedition, but would set two milestones along the way.

In March 2009, Harvard alum Rich Wilson ’78, MBA ’82 became the first American and the oldest person to ever complete the Vendee Globe sailing race, a four-month expedition in which sailors travel around the world, starting and finishing in France.

Wilson sailed 29,000 miles on the turbulent path around the Cape of Good Hope, which is legendary for its frightening storms.

Yet, the magnitude of the dangers of Wilson’s journey would escape one’s imagination until he describes the loss of his comrades.

“Two boats and two skippers were lost,” he reminisces. “One was saved by the Australian Navy off of Cape Horn.”

Of the 30 boats that started, Wilson finished ninth. But the distinguishable finish wasn’t the reason he entered into the race.

“As a school teacher, I knew how bored to tears kids would be in the classroom,” he quips.

So he founded sitesALIVE! in 1993, a foundation that documents Wilson’s expeditions to broadcast in classrooms throughout the country and around the world.

“The idea is to connect to students with adventures and expeditions,” Wilson explains. “Students in grades 5-9 don’t know how the journey will turn out, but since it’s connected to real people, they pay attention.”

SitesALIVE! has collected 75 semesters’ worth of adventures and expeditions.

Although Wilson’s documented journey in 1993 was only a pilot project, it turned out to be a sensational success. The interactive experience superseded Wilson’s targeted online audience, leading Wilson and partners to found another distribution channel.