Fridel Meyer

I saw the name Fridel Meyer mentioned in Sea Kayaker magazine’s latest eNews. Seems this young German woman was ahead of her time in her adventurous sea kayaking exploits. There’s not much to be found on her, but I dug as deep as I could!

In 1932 she paddled her folding kayak—a Klepper—from Bavaria to London. And the next year she shadowed Captain John Nolan—apparently much to his annoyance—as he attempted to paddle right around the U.K. in a “race,” of sorts, sponsored by The Wide World magazine. Nolan was the joint holder of the world record distance for inland waters, at 5,551 kms (3,450 miles).

Apparently neither made it, even though some books reference that she did win “the long-distance contest.” Meyer pulled at Montrose, 965 kms (600 miles) into the trip, ironically due to serious injuries caused in a car accident. With heart problems, Nolan made another 58 kms (36 miles), pulling out at Aberdeen.

Meyer returned the following year for another attempt, this time in a clockwise direction. It seems no one knows how far she got, but she successfully rounded Lands End and headed north.