Another most ambitious journey

My brother Rob sent an e-mail off to Steve Gurney the other day, showing him the great use of SPOT during this year’s Everglades Challenge. Gurney wrote back the same day, “Spooky! Just picked up my new SPOT yesterday! Using it for a trip across Cook St and then an expedition across the Sahara. Looks cool!”

More on the Sahara trip later, but the Cook Strait trip is the next one to look out for. This month, Gurney and Steve Moffatt (of “A Most Ambitious Journey” fame) are re-enacting George and William Park’s crossing of Cook Strait in 1888, and making another inspirational documentary of it.

The Parks’ paddled and sailed from Mana Island to Nelson—via Picton and French Pass—over a two-week period. Moffatt will again paddle/sail Frankie, the Rob Roy copy they made of the Parks’ kayak for the Coast to Coast crossing, and once more use only old gear that his great, great uncles used from 1880; and for scientific/social contrast and commentary, Gurney will again use the latest he can invent and buy.

Gurney’s developing the kite kayaking he used on the Coast to Coast with a special sea kayak design from Grahame Sisson. “Back to the innovation shed,” Gurney writes!

Right boat for the job

Grahame Sisson, who designed and built my Arctic Raider kayak, recently sent me a couple of photos of Paul Caffyn and Conrad Edwards during their 2007, 691 mile (1,112 km) Greenland paddle from Isortoq down the SE coast of Grønland, to Prins Christian Sund, then westwards to Narsaq.

Grahame’s Nordkapp, a remodified version of Frank Goodman’s original Nordkapp (eg. pod seat, cockpit foredeck higher and a rudder), was used by Paul on his 1982 circumnavigation of Australia, and another around japan in 1985. It’s become Paul’s boat of choice, refined after every adventure.

What’s great about the two Nordkapps Paul and Conrad used in Greenland, is that these boats snap-in-half with twelve bolts keeping them together. Only then could Paul and Conrad fly the boats to their put in.

Grahame wrote me, “Just as well I increased the keel rovings three times normal—they were ramming the ice flows at sprint speed to come ashore for a wee wee!!!!”

Paul’s written a bit about the trip in the August-September 2007 KASK journal (pp16-17), with a couple of great cover photos.