For four months he fought head winds and towering swells, sometimes discovering that after hours of struggle, he had not moved an inch, and always knowing that capsizing in the 45 degrees Farenheit water would mean "starting to die within minutes." By landing triumphantly in Buzzards Bay, Wheeler brought the great auk back from extinction, at least in the human imagination. PBS featured his trip on its Nova science show; a recounting of the voyage by professional storyteller Jay O'Callahan continues to delight and move thousands of listeners each year; schoolchildren from Nova Scotia to Fiji retrace Wheeler's journey in their classrooms.

Now Wheeler is working on a curriculum package for middle schoolers to help instill respect for marine life. When feeling discouraged, he remembers the first day on his voyage, when he had 40 miles to paddle through rough seas before nightfall. "I felt the ocean was testing my sincerity." Having passed that trial, Wheeler can't let the ocean down now.