In June and July 1989, three independent teams attempted the first modern sea-kayak crossing of the Bering Strait. The groups were: seven Alaskans, who called their effort "Paddling Into Tomorrow" (i.e. crossing the international dateline); a four-man British expedition, "Kayaks Across the Bering Strait"; and a team of Californians in a three-person biadarka, led by Jim Noyes (who launched his ambitious expedition as a paraplegic). Accompanying the Californians was a film crew in a umiak, a walrus-skin boat traditional to the region; they were filming the 1991 documentary "Curtain of Ice", directed by John Armstrong.