We are really pleased to have been contacted by Paul Caffyn who is in New Zealand. He as sent us a great résumé of his adventures you might like to look through. Thank you Paul.
Sea Kayaking Brief Summary - Paul Caffyn
1977-78 – First solo kayak circumnavigation of South Island, New Zealand; 1,550 miles, 75 days.
In print as Obscured by Waves, by Paul Caffyn
1978-79 – First solo kayak circumnavigation of North Island, New Zealand; 1,700 miles, 86 days, plus a solo crossing of Cook Strait.
In print as Cresting the Restless Waves by Paul Caffyn
August 1979 – first kayak crossing of Foveaux Strait and circumnavigation of Stewart Island, 140 miles with Max Reynolds.
In print as Dark Side of the Wave by P. Caffyn
1980 – first kayak circumnavigation of Britain, 2,305 miles, with Nigel Denis, 85 days. England, Scotland and Wales.
1982 – first solo kayak circumnavigation of Australia, 9420 miles (15,072 kms), 360 days
The book The Dreamtime Voyage – back in print as a 25th anniversary edition.
1985 – first solo kayak circumnavigation of Japan, 4,021 miles, 112 days.
1987 & 1989 – two attempts to kayak across the Tasman Sea from Tasmania to New Zealand – thwarted by the authorities and bad weather.
1989 – 1991 – first solo kayak circumnavigation of Alaska; 4,729 miles, 179 days:
Prince Rupert, in British Columbia, to Inuvik in the North-West Territories.
1997 – 550 mile first kayak circumnavigation of New Caledonia
1998 – 690 mile paddle along south-west coast of Greenland
1999 – 700 mile paddle along the west coast of Greenland
2001 – 2002: 610 mile trip from Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, to and around the island of Phuket, in Thailand
2007 – Kayaking in the Angmagssalik region of East Greenland, 429 miles
2008: 691 mile paddle down the SE coast of Greenland,
2009: April, a fly in by helicopter to Fiordland, for a two-week kayak trip re-visiting historical sites in Dusky Sound.
2010: August – a 25th anniversary edition of The Dreamtime Voyage self-published, with both a soft-cover and limited-edition casebound edition printed.
2012: Paul was awarded a ONZM in the New Year honour’s list, for services to water safety and sea kayaking.
2017: February – March, Paul charted a yacht to take a team of 6 Kiwi and one Aussie paddlers from Ushuia at the tip of South America to the Antarctic Peninsula, from where they paddled down to the Argentine Island, to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the 1935-37 BGLE (British Graham Land Expedition).
The Kayaks
Paul’s kayak Isadora, used for the New Zealand circumnavigation, is on permanent display at the Auckland National Maritime Museum, while Lalaguli (the round Aussie kayak) is on permanent display at the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum in Victoria.
Welcome to expeditionkayak.com
The aim of this website is to enable you to discover and share the world of expedition sea kayaking. Even if you have never ‘enjoyed’ putting on cold, wet kayaking clothes day after day, never felt the need to paddle for 10 (or more) hours without getting out of your kayak or never fancied the idea of eating freeze dried food for a month, but enjoy reading about people that do, then this site is for you.
This site is a portal to a world of adventure through the sport of sea kayaking. It is also an opportunity for the sea kayaking community to share wisdom and experience. For the wannabe expedition kayaker it is a valuable resource to help you plan your first adventure. For the seasoned explorer it is a way to share your adventures with a wider audience and in so doing share your experience and knowledge gained and perhaps enable others to follow in your wake. As well as good karma, you will hopefully receive publicity that may attract the funding and support you’ll need for your next challenge.
We would like to add your expedition to this website.
You can send images and text via the form here. You need to register so that you can login and edit the published expedition. Once you are registered go to the profile page. Here
Your Expeditions
Members Expeditions:The Volga River Expedition
Members Expeditions:Circumnavigation of Nunivak island in Bering Sea
Posts
Spotlight on John Andersen and Arved Fuchs
We have recieved an email from Baldvin Kristjansson highlighting two expedition paddlers. Thank you Baldvin.'I thought you might want to reference Danish John Andersen’s numerous and some of which groundbreaking expeditions in Greenland.He’s published some of his...
The 10 most important safety factors for sea kayakers
Proper equipment: Using properly maintained and appropriate equipment, such as a properly fitted personal flotation device (PFD) and a properly sized and equipped kayak, is essential for safety. Knowledge of the area: It's important to have a good understanding of the...
Wartime crossing of the North Sea
I just came across your site while looking up details of a wartime crossing of the North Sea commemorated on Sizewell Beach, Suffolk, UK. and realised it is not listed on your expeditions page. Rather than write it up here are some links - one which includes photos of...
Kayaking Solo all 2.500 Kms of the coast of Mozambique
Kayaking Solo all 2.500 Kms of the coast of Mozambique I will start an expedition this September and I wonder if you would be interested to publish something. I will be recording almost daily to...
Book on it’s way! Mexico to Panama…
I'm currently doing a final edit on my book that about our 2-men, 3 years, 5000 km sea kayak expedition from Mexico to Panama on both the Atlantic and Pacific coast of Central America that ran between 1998 and 2001. Considering all the great expedition you featured on...
circumnavigate all 5 of the Great Lakes in 1 calendar year – Traci Lynn Martin
justaroundthepointe@gmail.com See Traci's Website Here Phone 816-536-1384 I am a 50 year old woman with Rheumatoid Arthritis. I was diagnosed with RA in 2010. Ever since my diagnosis, people would tell me that I should no longer kayak or backpack or engage...
Facebook Group
It's been a while coming but there's now an EXPEDITIONKAYAK.COM facebook group. Please join up and add to the community. HERE>>
2018 – ‘The Great Loop’ of N. America
To celebrate retirement I am kayaking 'The Great Loop' of N. America and Canada as a charities fundraiser. Start and finish is Halifax, Nova Scotia , between June 2018 and September 2019. Paddling solo, carrying everything in a 17 foot...
Kayak For Charity
Albert Gambina Kayak For Charity algambina@gmail.com +356 9943 4002 We operate under the Kayak for Charity (previously Kayak for Cancer) banner as our objective is to raise funds for philanthropic purposes. In our own modest way we have broken...
Welcome
Sean Morley paddling in British Columbia So what 'qualifies' as an 'expedition' versus a kayak trip or holiday? It's a good question open to interpretation but to qualify to be featured on this website, your trip would need to be something reasonably...