sharks — Blog — GET EXPLORING TRUST

Well, everything has started going pretty quickly since we left Grand Turk. We made our way across the T&Cs via South Caicos and Provo before making the cheeky crossing across the 30 mile passage to the Bahamas. The aches and pains are already back and after four long days and three nights camping in the sand since our last shower the salt rashes have started to develop and our bodies are slowly wearing down.

After a quick pit stop in Landrail Point, Crooked Island, where we have received unbelievable hospitality, we will be back making use of our Hennessy Hammocks in the mangroves until we reach Georgetown in a few days time. Fleeting wifi this evening has allowed us just a quick update so we will write properly when we reach Georgetown where George has promised me a rest day. Yay!

That said... this was exciting...

The night before leaving South Caicos we were shown a video of a 12 foot tiger shark swimming in the water just a couple of miles up from where we landed. You can imagine this meant we were quite apprehensive when we left at 2am the next morning and kayaked in the dark through a small channel of water affectionately named Shark Alley. This was just around the corner from Shark Bay. You get the theme. It was a dark night, no moonlight, so we could only see a couple of feet around us and the dark water glistened ominously back at us.

It was a long, tense five hours before the sun finally came up and meant we could see what was happening around us. The day was long and mostly uneventful but we stayed on edge and couldn't help but constantly scan the water looking for sharks...

Despite having been tense in anticipation for the last twelve hours it still sent one hell of an adrenaline buzz when we saw a fin circling for the first time. Moments later two big shadows appeared behind us. I immediately reached for the GoPro... George gently reminded me my paddle might be better defence.

But you'll have to wait for our movie for the rest of this story...!

What on earth drives two young blokes to cast away from sunny little England, great friends and cool beer gardens to spend three months working hard day in day out in the extreme heat with no shade during the day, enduring salt rashes, physical and mental exhaustion, large swells, reefs, sea sickness, sharks and large open water crossings?

Good question.

In fact, we have started to wonder the same thing!

Fortunately, we have a fantastic motivation that is pushing us forward with our planning, fundraising and ultimately the paddling. The Golden Arc Expedition is the launch pad for our fundraising to start the Get Exploring Trust (Charity reg number: 1166901).

GET aims to inspire young people from all backgrounds to get into the outdoors, to test themselves in different environments, and to push their limits. We want to help people develop their character through exposure to challenging, exciting and inspiring experiences. The Trust offers small to medium size grants to individuals who need financial support in order to achieve this aim.

Moreover, we want to support individuals who have engaged in outdoor pursuits in using them to enhance their CVs, have the confidence to discuss them in interviews and maximise their experiences to develop as characterful and employable individuals.

We passionately believe in this aim and hope that you will buy into the idea too. In an age when it may be most needed, adventurous training seems to be dropping further and further down the list of priorities. The potential for GET is vast, however it starts at a very basic level. It may be as simple as a grant to buy a pair of walking boots, train tickets to Scotland for a navigation course, or even a place on a British Exploring expedition to Greenland, the Himalayas or the Amazon.

More information about GET can be found here.

How can you help? I hear you cry!

Well thank you very much, I am glad you asked. We will be open to donations on our Virgin Giving page shortly. We are currently just waiting to receive our HMRC number from Mr Taxman so we can claim gift aid on generous donations. In the mean time, please put a couple of quid, or more, aside so that when we are up and running we can go full throttle and raise a bit of cash. If 3 months and over 2000 miles of pain and suffering in a kayak isn't worth a few bob then please let us know what is and we will see if we can fit it in next year!