Posted Previously Under expeditions
Posted by derrick on
April 17, 2008

- photo by Greg Stamer
In October of 2008 Freya Hoffmeister is set to begin one of the most challenging expedition attempts possible in the world of Sea Kayaking. Her goal is to become the first woman to circumnavigate the southern continent of Australia. The first person to circumnavigate Australia was Paul Cayffn some 25 years ago.
The trip is expected to take about one year to accomplish. Along the incredible 9,400 mile route Freya will no doubt face wild seas, hungry crocks and curious sharks. In addition she will have to average some 35 miles per day in the tropical heat, while facing long open crossings and days where miles of cliffs will make landings impossible. This is not a trip you can “phone in”. That of course is the adventure, and the challenge.
Posted by derrick on
April 2, 2008
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Everyone delights to spend their summer’s holiday
Down beside the side of the silvery sea
I’m no exception to the rule
In fact, if I’d my way
I’d reside by the side of the silvery sea.
- glover-kind
In less than a month’s time, Rowland Woollven and Cath Tanner will begin their attempt to circumnavigate Great Britain. The journey is about 2500 miles and will take about 5 months. Considering the strong paddling community in the UK it’s pretty amazing that less than 20 paddlers have done this trip. On the other hand, the conditions around the Great Britain can be pretty challenging regardless of your skill. Rowland and Cath are more than up to the challenge.
Posted by derrick on
April 1, 2008

Well, my friends, the time has come
To raise the roof and have some fun
Throw away the work to be done
Let the music play on
- lionel richie
Happy Tuesday! I woke up this morning to see that Justine Curgenven & Barry Shaw completed their circumnavigation of the South Island of New Zealand. Fantastic! The next challenge they face (after the hangovers. . .) will be navigating Heathrow which seems to be having a storm of its own at the moment. Seems like a good enough reason for them to spend a bit more time in New Zealand.
Posted by derrick on
March 31, 2008

So that’s what it’s like to look out the window on a rainy Monday. See, it’s ok. We can’t all be out on the water every day. Sometimes we have to stay home and earn some bucks. It’s ok. That’s life.
And speaking of life; Jeff Allen had to return home early from his Scandinavian adventure to real disaster as his houseboat home burned. Jeff is of course doing the responsible thing and taking care of business. Of course we wish Jeff all the best.
You may have read that Justine & Barry just paddled 91km in 11 hours! Ok, so that comes out to about 56 and a half miles, which breaks down to just over 5 miles an hour for 11 hours. Of course that was with Justine towing Barry the whole way as he napped and dragged his toes in the water. . . (well, maybe not. . ) Amazing guys!
Posted by derrick on
March 28, 2008

Jon Bowermaster has added some updates to his Antarctica website and invites everyone to have a look. Jon points out that their recent expedition was just two degrees north of the Wilkins Ice Shelf which has been in the news recently as another canary in the global warming coal mine.
Posted by derrick on
March 24, 2008

The big news of the day by any measure comes from New Zealand where Barbro Lindman completed her circumnavigation of the south island. Take a moment if you can to run on over to her website and congratulate her on a truly amazing feat. As I’ve said many times, there is no way to really comprehend what a journey like this means to the person who does it. One thing it does do though, is act as a reminder that you can do anything you set your mind to. As often as we hear that phrase it takes on a completely different meaning when we experience it. Congratulations!
Posted by derrick on
March 19, 2008

Greg contemplates dry socks after an icy swim. . .
My friend Greg Stamer has been working diligently on a new website & blog in preparation for his upcoming trip to “The Rock”. Now you may notice that “website” is really tied into expeditions these days and of course there are a few reasons for this. The most important of which is simply that we’ve all found that blogging is the perfect way to share our trips. It’s pretty easy these days to upload pictures and post the story almost “live”. Which is pretty cool. The blog of course is just the latest line in a long history of storytelling. Over centuries the campfire has given way to LED.