Off in uncharted waters and on sections of maps yet-to-be-explored, renaissance seafarers would write "here be dragons".
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And despite the depictions of dragons as terrors, breathing fire and hoarding treasure, those explorers set out into the unknown because that's what humans do - quest for something new.
Isaac Sewak isn't hunting dragons or treasure.
He is, however, setting out to take on and explore the unknown when the 15-year-old heads to Pattaya, Thailand next week for the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships.
It'll be hot and humid compared to the lake ... it's freezing and you put hand in and instantly you can't feel it.
- Isaac Sewak
He's had to follow a gruelling regime to be ready, in the lake all over summer to work on his paddling with coach Pearl Butcher before heading in to the gym over winter - with Integra offering him a free membership to help sponsor him.
Sewak has also spent every weekend over the past six months in Sydney with the Australian side, meaning he - and his parents - have spent a lot of time in the car to prepare.
Does he feel ready?
"I'm nervous and very excited, but I'm feeling prepared," he said.
He's looking forward to trading the icy surface of Lake Canobolas for the warm waters of Thailand.
"It'll be hot and humid compared to the lake ... it's freezing and you put hand in and instantly you can't feel it," he said.
Racing begins on August 20 and goes until August 25, but Sewak doesn't actually know which or even how many races he'll line up in, with coaches leaving it until the last minute to decide and prepare.
He'll take it all in his stride though - he just loves the sport and wants to keep paddling.
Dragonboating will be the main aim if he can keep going for as long as he can, but Sewak knows the call of rowing will provide more opportunity and more scholarships - for now.
There's a push to bring the sport to the Olympics, with a demonstration taking part in Tokyo 2020 and both Bucher and Sewak hoping medals will be on the line in 2024.
"I definitely want to keep paddling after the world championships, I have thought about maybe doing some rowing because there are more scholarships so that might be a good thing to go into," he said.
"However we're desperately trying to get it in [the Olympics] and I definitely want to try and do something with that if I can."
For now, he just wants to race.
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Max Stainkamph
Max joined the CWD in September 2017, leaving the big smoke of Melbourne to come to Orange, where he stayed until 2020.
Max joined the CWD in September 2017, leaving the big smoke of Melbourne to come to Orange, where he stayed until 2020.
