without all the danger that comes with it.

He and his wife, Carolann, live as modern-day explorers. They've done everything from motorcycling across the British Isles, Europe, the Canaries and Africa, to going on a landrover expedition across the Sahara, Europe and some Iron Curtain countries.

In 1985, their sailing yacht Aqua Star , became the first to cross the Hudson Bay. And more recently, they sailed from Toronto to Leningrad.

All this from people who first sailed only ten years ago.

"After two years motorcycling and five and a half years on the landrover, we wanted to do something different,'' said Mr. Sike, who stopped in Bermuda on his way home. "The obvious choice was for us to get on the water.'' The sailor said that after seven years of research he set about building the 41-foot, steel-hulled, cutter-rigged vessel.

"I spent four years in sawdust and we had to move from Calgary to Ontario.

But we couldn't say we were the owners of this beautiful ship and didn't know how to sail her so we would go out at night and practise.'' Mr. Sike, who was born in Hungary, said travel was something he "could not even afford to dream about'' behind the Iron Curtain.

"I left on my own at the age of 16,'' he said. "I guess the taste of freedom stayed with me. I don't think I could ever go back to conventional life.'' Mr. Sike said the 3,600-mile trip to Leningrad, via Scandinavia, took 108 days, with 1,000 of the miles navigated through ice.

"It was a dream my wife and I had for 20 years,'' he said, "since 1970 when we travelled on the Russian liner, Alexander Pushkin to Leningrad.'' He said they made the 1989 trip with the help of 54 sponsors, all of whom donated food and clothes rather than money. He said in order to make the trip, he and his wife would live frugally.

"The purpose of the trip was to promote the spirit of adventure and take the love and friendship of Canadians along the way,'' he said. "It was the first time I had experienced the warmth and hospitality of Russian people. We were treated royally. There weren't many dry eyes on the deck when we landed. And about 140 million people saw us on central television.'' Mr. Sike said the most terrifying part came when the Aqua Star became stuck in pack-ice in full gale, losing her main sail, radar and antenna off the Greenland coast.

The 52-year-old sailor was left with the options of travelling to Denmark, heading back to Canada, or listening to the instructions of Greenland's equivalent of a coastguard.

The coastguard, who was following a four-day-old ice map, ended up placing them in a worse situation.

"The future looked very bleak. I think my wife is much stronger than I am.

While we were waiting for the rescue she was drawing the gallery for our next boat. Our next five minutes weren't guaranteed.'' After seven days they were rescued by a Danish trawler and taken to Frederikshaab where they spent a month repairing the damage.

"In spite of all the trouble and problems we had, we met so many wonderful people throughout the world,'' he said. "This type of adventure is usually a project which takes years and years of co-ordination. When you succeed it's usually a big letdown. After all those thousands of miles, the only thing I could think of was all the thousands of miles I had to go back.'' Mr. Sike said he has been married four times because his adventurous streak was too much for his wives. He and his present wife, who flew home, married 23 years ago.

"I have many dreams for sailing and I hope to take the Canadian flag where it's never been before,'' he said.

He plans to leave Bermuda soon for either New York or Nova Scotia.

"I'll probably head north and decide once I find which way the wind is blowing,'' he said. "When I get home, my number one project is to have a very long shower and a sleep in a bed that's not moving anymore.'' LIVING ON THE EDGE -- Mr. Leslie Sike.