Expeditions set sights on farthest reaches

Adventure kayakers are looking to the extreme north and south ends of the world in the latest series of quests to find new horizons.

Veteran kayaker Hayley Shephard is underway on her attempt to be the first to solo sea kayak around the remote Sub-Antarctic Island of South Georgia.

South Georgia is an isolated and storm-torn island in the middle of the Southern Ocean about 1,400 km/800 miles from the nearest shore in South America. Because of the danger Hayley is required to have a support vessel, that role being played by the Northanger, a yacht owned and operated by Keri Pashuk and Greg Landreth.

That requirement led to a hiccup early in the trip when an injury on the support boat meant abandoning the attempt and an uplanned stay on the Falkland Islands while Greg had surgery and Hayley decided whether to try South Georgia again or paddle the Falklands as Plan B.

In 1999 Hayley was the first woman to solo sea kayak 1,200 km/700 miles around Vancouver Island, followed by another epic adventure in 2005 when she was the first woman to sea kayak alone around Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands).

Hayley’s latest trip is in aid of the albatross, the world’s largest flying bird, at risk due to longline fishing nets. South Georgia is home to a number of albatross species. You can follow the rest of Hayley’s journey at hayleyshephard.blogspot.com/

To the north, four men are attempting to be the first to kayak the Northwest Passage in one season – a 4,000 km/2,500 mile paddle over 85 days. The aim of this expedition is to contribute to the state of knowledge regarding the amount, timing, and salinity of fresh water that fluxes from the Arctic Ocean through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago towards the North Atlantic. Team members are Charlie Hunter, Nigel Foster, David Thom and Glenn Lush. The journey will be from Inuvik to Pond Inlet. To follow the journey, visit www.inukshukexpedition.com.

Closer to home, Jacob Stachovak is well underway on his 5,000 mile/8,000 km loop around the Eastern United States. Jacob started in December in Wisconsin, and will end at the same location after he travels via river to the Gulf of Mexico then up the eastern seaboard. You can follow his journey at www.portagetoportage.com.

For more expedition listings and updates, follow the Wavelength Blog and Forum at www.coastandkayak.com. Both are under the “Community” tab.