Homeward Bound

Well it certainly doesn't feel like 5 months ago today we were just 10 days from reaching the such keenly anticipated endpoint, Fort Lauderdale. Life has certainly moved on, Will has started at RMA Sandhurst and George is finishing off the final stages of his year abroad. Fortunately, we have been kept busy over the last few months, working hard and catching up with friends and family. Although there are times we both wish we were back bobbing around in the vast expanse of the ocean, I think it is fair to say we are enjoying being back on dry land. Watching over our GoPro and drone footage has kept us thoroughly entertained, if not a little scared! 

27th December 2016 - Success! 

With the expedition wrapped up the only thing left behind in Fort Lauderdale was our beloved kayak, Mathilda. It is now with huge excitement that we can reveal she is on her way home! Kindly sponsored by Southampton based Peters and May, a world leading global boat transport and marine logistics company, Mathilda is travelling home aboard HHL New York. Passing through the USVI, Antigua and finally home to Southampton, with an expected arrival between the 8th and 11th of June! If you were a keen follower of our tracker throughout the expedition and you're desperate to track something else then you're in luck, you can follow HHL New York here:

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:366252/mmsi:305795000/vessel:HHL%20NEW%20YORK

A very large ship for a rather small kayak! 

As ever, loading the kayak has not come without it's troubles. We were calling on everyone and anyone on Sunday, desperately trying to find someone to transport the kayak from the Anglers Avenue Marine Centre, where it was helpfully being stored by Dave Hoffman, to Port Everglades. After amounting a rather large phone bill in calls to America our saviour came from Jeanette Osgood, a fellow paddler and member of a Miami kayaking group. Without hesitation she incredibly jumped to our aid and strapped the kayak to her trusty 4x4 to drive it down to the port. 

Safely secured on the roof of Jeanette's car! 

It's definitely fair to say that we would have been in a rather sticky situation if Jeanette had not so kindly helped us. Similarly we are incredibly grateful that Peters and May are bringing the kayak home for us which gives you all the opportunity to meet her. A big thank you to all! 

With the last piece of the puzzle on it's way home we hope you are just as excited as us for the fast approaching summer. The film is nearing its completion and we hope to see you all at the adventure festivals, talks or dinners we will be attending and hosting throughout summer.

We will keep you updated on everything's progress! 

Get Exploring Trust
What will your next adventure be? 

Puzzling over the boat! 

The last leg

Well, you haven't heard from us in a while and we hope you can probably understand why! It is now time, however, to go back to the final crossing and let you know what happened in the final couple of days. 

We were positioned on Cat Cay, 8 miles South of Bimini in order to give us a fighting chance against the infamous Gulf Stream. A mass of water greater than all the worlds rivers combined flowing North at between 1-6kts (although some people advised us it may reach 8kts).

After a 60 mile crossing from our uninhabited island off the North coast of Andros Island to reach Cat Cay on Christmas eve our plan was to rest up Christmas Day and set off at around midnight for our final crossing. Fully packed and ready to go we were just 2 hours from departure when the bombardment of messages came through. Will's dad back home had been on the phone to the US Coastguard explaining our planned crossing. This was routine procedure, despite the fact that the coastguard was non existent in many of the islands, we would always try and alert them to the two crazy guys paddling their way in a kayak .

The Americans took this slightly more seriously than all the other coastguards. We were strongly advised not to set off that night, alerting us to the daunting fact that by the time they reach the approximate location of a distress call their search area is the size of a US state. This was the general rule for a yacht/ pleasure cruiser. Searching for a small kayak bobbing in the waves at night would be next to impossible to locate. On top of this a small craft advisory warning was in place.

'Issued when winds have reached, or are expected to reach within 12 hours, a speed marginally less than gale force'.

There were plenty of scare stories about the Gulf Stream.. we didn't want to end up having to call these guys out! (photo at: www.uscg.mil)

Although incredibly frustrating, with the weather updates coming in and the information from the Coastguard, the decision not to cross became a no brainer. So we turned our hopes to boxing day night. The pristine beaches and glistening water were no longer a relaxing sight. After 3 months of longing for the next rest day (admin day) we were now utterly sick of being stuck on land. The weather wasn't letting up and the small craft advisory was still in place until the morning of the 27th. 

We spent every 10 minutes of boxing day checking our list of weather stations. Lengthy discussions with the US Coastguard ensued and finally we were given a slight approval to cross.  They advised us to wait until daylight but this was impossible given the length of the crossing. The small craft advisory warning would stay in place but we knew we had paddled in worse weather than what we would face. We sat down for our final dinner, the wind was blowing and the nerves were building. The concerning factor was the countless captains and yachtsmen we met that night. We had heard so many stories of the Gulf Stream along the way, strong winds mixing with the incredibly strong current causing 'monster' waves.

At dinner we met a couple of families who were intrigued by our story. Learning of our plans they were adamant we should not go that night.  Two captains of a boat in Cat Cay had also heard of our plans and came to have a chat with us. Having flown across from Miami that day they stated that they wouldn't even cross in these conditions. It's fair to say we weren't overly pleased hearing these words. Personally and I think for Will as well the overriding emotion was immense frustration. The weather forecast was absolutely fine but we just had no idea what these 'crazy' Gulf Stream conditions everyone loved to tell us about would be like. We had spent extra money on charts, received all forecasts possible and still we were utterly clueless as to what we would face.  

As Midnight approached we checked any last messages, completed our final weather check and sat down to make the decision. The weather had not improved, the coastguard had left the small boat advisory warning in place until the morning yet all our weather forecasts were adding up to manageable conditions. As T.S. Eliot said 'Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go'. We went. 

1am arrived and at last we were climbing into the boat to face the closing stages of the expedition. If there was ever a sign not to go we probably had it as soon as we set off. In total darkness and fortunately in the shelter of the marina the rudder started to play up. On the opposite side to where the rudder cable had snapped a couple of weeks earlier we were strangely barely able to turn left. Continuing on we next realised we had left our prized GB flag in one of the hatches. Unused for 3 months and waiting for our arrival in Miami we simply had to stop to get the flag out. Having only just left the marina we scanned the tip of Cat Cay with our torch to find a suitable place to land. Once landed we quickly unpacked the flag, had a play with the rudder and all was good. 5 minutes later and we were back on the water, heading into the frantic shipping lanes in the Gulf Stream. 

Our photos didn't come out after the waterproof camera decided it didn't want to be waterproof anymore.... this is from pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/384213411943040499/

10 miles out to sea and the first ominous lights appeared about 8 miles to our South West. Briefly visible as we reached the crest of a wave before disappearing as we were plunged into the trough. Unlike pleasure cruisers which have a green light on their starboard side (right), red light on their port side (left) and a white stern light. Oil tankers and container ships are slightly more problematic. I'm actually not familiar with the lights they are meant to display but the only lights we could see were two white dots. Totally clueless, Will thankfully knew that the white light at the stern should be raised higher than the white light at the bow. This gave us a slight upper hand on the direction of the ship but lights tend to be incredibly deceptive at night. It was virtually impossible to tell how close or far away these boats were. In the knowledge that container ships average around 20 knots and oil tankers at around 16 knots we really had to make sure our decision to slow down or speed up to get out the way would be correct. This is where I attempt to do some maths. The furthest we could spot these ships was from 10 nautical miles. We travel at around 3 knots. If we assume the vessel chasing us down is a container ship travelling at 20 knots then it gives us half an hour to get a mile out the way. A mile takes us 20 minutes .... 

Container ships appearing out the dark

We spent the next 6 hours of darkness constantly looking over our shoulder. Fearful that one of these vessels would appear at any minute directly behind us. At this point I realise I've failed to mention anything about the weather everyone was so concerned about. If we're perfectly honest the waves weren't anything like what we had been expecting. Their size not as big as let on and the wave pattern predictable. There's no doubt the Gulf Stream in the wrong conditions becomes pretty perilous but the concern over the conditions we faced was not necessary. With our weather concerns subsiding our attention turned to the power of the Gulf Stream. Having struggled to predict how far up the coast of Florida we would be pushed we had a number of potential landing points. Fort Lauderdale being the most Southerly point and West Palm Beach hopefully being the most northerly. The power of the Gulf Stream certainly shouldn't be underestimated. Looking back on our tracker we were averaging around 6/7 knots in the middle of the stream. Consequently we made seriously quick progress. Setting off at 1am we arrived in Fort Lauderdale at 2pm on the 27th of December.  

Overriding emotions were probably of sheer relief. Relief that the countless dangers have finally disappeared for the last time. Sharks, thunder and lighting, squalls, dehydration, weather concerns and reefs were no longer. The strangest feeling of all, we wouldn't have to go through the daily routine we had experienced for 3 months.  

So where does this leave us?

Well it would be fair to say that none of this would have been possible without so much help from so many people. The list is genuinely endless but a few very special mentions must be said. David McCreadie (Will's father) was simply fantastic, always keeping a watchful eye on our progress, alerting us of any ships in our area, supplying weather updates, keeping coastguards informed of our location and handling any enquiries back home. We're extremely grateful for all our financial sponsors, equipment sponsors and accommodation sponsors. Vital in every aspect of the trip. Lastly a huge thank you to everyone who has donated. Although the trip has finished work with the Get Exploring Trust has just begun and we're extremely keen for people to keep donating, promoting the charity and now choosing our charity in your fundraising activities! 

Please share our page and pass it on to friends and family to donate: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/goldenarcexpedition

The future? 

Life following the blue dot tracker may have ended for now but there will be so much for everyone to get involved with now we are back home. Keep an eye out for news on our talks, fundraising dinners and the premier of the film! We would love to see you all there! 

Moving in Circles

Last Phase

We left you last as we arrived into George Town, the capital of the Exuma Islands. We were kindly hosted by Lumina Point Resort during our rest day and made full use of the time we had to resupply and sort our rather dirty and smelly camping gear! 

Carlton, the manager at Lumina Point, was incredibly welcoming and we have nothing but praise for the fantastic resort. The cost of supermarket products in the Bahamas are, as you can imagine, extremely high! With 4 nights of camping ahead we approached the supermarket with slight unease. To our surprise it turned out to be one of our best supermarket shopping experiences (For us to enjoy the supermarket is really something special!). A huge thank you must go to Kevin (our aforementioned hero from Long Island) for his massive support and Basil Cartwright and Exuma Markets for sponsoring our food shop! Running around like over-excited puppies we grabbed so much food that we had to take a trolley back to the boat to carry it all! Needless to say at 4am the next morning we had some real difficulty packing the boat. With bags of food stuffed between our legs and dry hatches overflowing we began our journey (very very slowly) up the famous Exuma chain! 

How close is too close to a cruise ship?

It was brilliant to be able to escape the rough seas we've experienced so far. With the islands sheltering us from the Atlantic to our East we were able to make good progress across the calm seas. The only downside was the sweltering heat and the lack of wind, made worse by the fact that we had plastic food bags between our legs making us hotter and hotter! So we had a new challenge. Not only did we have to make good mileage each day but we also had to eat. A lot. In principle this sounds wonderful. Two guys who have spent the majority of the time starving over the last 3 months now have too much food! Unfortunately our stomachs have shrunk and trying to eat and paddle doesn't make for a particularly comfortable day. That said, we found an amazing camping spot on Lee Stocking Island that night and cooked an absolute feast! It was the first time we went to bed feeling full.

No luck diving for conch.... just a massive hermit crab

We soon realised we had finally entered the land of friendly yachties cruising the Bahamas. As we climbed into our hammocks that night to escape the bugs we heard the hum of an engine approaching. We both rolled our eyes and prayed it wasn't the police kindly telling us that no camping was allowed. Fortunately it was Diego and Marina, two lovely sailors we had met earlier in the day who had their boat anchored just offshore. They supplied us with a couple of beers and some brilliant snacks. Ironically replacing all the food we'd tried so hard to eat during the day to reduce our weight! A huge thank you though to Diego and Marina and thank you also for donating to our charity! 

If you want to be like Diego and Marina, you can donate too by clicking here. 

Campsite on Lee Stocking Island

From Lee Stocking island we carried on to Staniel Cay Yacht Club. A good mornings paddle was followed by a knackering afternoon. Some very strong headwinds set in just after lunchtime which left us fighting to move forward. 5 hours later and we arrived in Staniel Cay Yacht Club. Such a friendly community with some great accommodation where we were kindly placed for the night! Staniel Cay showed us a side to the Bahamas we were yet to experience. The land of super yachts and celebrities, spending their time down in the stunning Bahamian water for Christmas and New Year. We were quick to meet Steve and Jay who showed us a brilliant time. Steve, with a stunning house on the island, loved the sound of our trip and invited us back to his house to learn more about what we have been up to. After sharing our stories Steve and Jay shared their great knowledge about the difficult currents and tides of the Exumas which we had struggled with the day before. As we said our goodbyes and headed back to our accommodation Steve decided to go out his way once more. Having two jet skis at his house he suggested that before we set off the next morning the 4 of us take the jet skis out and plan our route for the day ahead. Neither of us having been on a jet ski before (and of course to gain more knowledge about the currents of the islands) we jumped at his suggestion and had great fun on them the next morning! Returning back to the boat and paddling at 3 knots as opposed to 30 knots wasn't as fun. 

Field repairs on an Exuma Island.

After speeding around in the morning our spirits were high but progress on the boat was slow. We were about 4 miles from our planned camping spot for the night when disaster struck. Will tapped his foot pedal to turn the kayak right when we both heard a twang. Shit. A lighthearted conversation two days prior had turned reality. We had snapped a rudder cable and now only had the ability to turn left. On a long open water crossing this would have caused some serious panic but fortunately we were in the lovely Exumas. Our first attempt at tying a piece of string to the rudder which Will could pull to turn right failed and so we limped to the first island we could see (the first island we could see that was on our left).

After a long think we attached some rope to the snapped rudder cable and hoped it would hold until we reached our end point for the day. Fortunately our patchwork was so good that we haven't had to fiddle with it anymore. Duck tape does wonderful things! To our joy we were welcomed in by the Park Rangers for the night and they let us crash on their sofa out the wind and rain. The drama had however not finished for the evening. One of the bolts in the mast of the sail had sheared off when we were tightening the mast that night and we were seriously worried this could be a big problem. In turned out we had arrived in no better place. Early the next morning the Park Rangers opened their tool shed and we were able to drill and new hole in the base of the mast and fix the sail. We must say a huge thank you to Patrick, the president of Falcon Sails, for such a rapid response that night (even whilst being in the theatre) and giving us the much needed solutions! 

Trouble with the mast!  

At this stage we had one day left in the Exumas. The islands certainly live up to their reputation. The water is incredible, there's so much wildlife and like the rest of the Bahamas everyone is so friendly. So we continued onwards to our crossing point at Highbourne Cay. Kevin and his wife who are the managers of the island generously gave us a bed for the night in their house and supplied us with some much needed grub. An early night was had before the 4am start to head over to Nassau.

Kevin and Carol at Highbourne Cay  

An extremely windy and rather rough crossing but rather speedy at the same time. With half our mind on the rudder cable and the other half on life the world and everything we failed to realise that the wind, which was directly on our backs, was shunting us along at an incredible speed. We were able to arrive in Nassau just after lunchtime which is definitely a first! We are being looked after amazingly in Nassau and are preparing everything for the final stages of the trip. 

Carey and Bullock from the Royal Bahama Defence force wishing the Golden Arc team good luck.

Although anything can happen at any stage of any day on the water, we have 2 'major' crossings left. From Nassau we head to Andros where we spend a day traversing the north side of the island. From here we will be crossing 65 miles to Cat Cay which will be the longest crossing of the trip (over 24 hours of paddling). Here we plan to get a good nights sleep before crossing 55 miles the next day to Miami! It's fair to say that we don't exactly have an easy ride to finish the trip but spirits are high and the end is potentially (weather permitting) nearly in sight! 

Feeling small.

Feeling very small.

376 miles in 11 days

Well we've reached George Town! After an arduous 11 days of paddling it's fair to say we're more than excited to have a rest day scheduled! Although a rest day never turns out to be a rest day the prospect of not having to wake up at 4am and prepare for another long day kayaking is certainly a great feeling.

Looking back on the last 11 days we've experienced so much. A variety of marine life, some absolutely stunning uninhabited islands and we've continued to be utterly overwhelmed by people's generosity. Leaving Grand Turk feeling fully rested and itching to get back on the water we blasted down to South Caicos. The East Bay Resort were so welcoming. We were well fed, fixed up with some food for the boat and managed to grab a few hours sleep before waking at 1am to make it all the way to Provo.

Having been shown a picture of a 12 foot tiger shark the night before that was 'lurking' in the area we were certainly fully conscious of every splash as we left in total darkness. 15 minutes after passing through Shark Alley we felt our paddles touching something beneath the boat. A shark? A whale? Were we imagining it? 5 minutes later and we were no longer moving. We had successfully ran aground on a sandbank at 2am just half a mile from Shark Alley.

Just a starfish looking dandy

The only real option was to laugh and after seeing the comical side of our situation we jumped out of the boat and began to drag the kayak  out to sea. An incredibly disconcerting and slightly strange feeling. When we signed up for this we didn't picture ourselves walking in the middle of the ocean in total darkness and dragging our kayak! An uneventful hour later we had reached deep enough water to get back into the boat and carry on to Provo! Darkness turned to light and the day continued without drama. As Provo grew larger and we reached about 4 miles from land we both spotted two large, dark and fast moving objects speeding towards our boat in the crystal clear water. The rest of that story can be saved for another day.

A fantastic welcome from the Big Blue dive centre and Tanya sorted us a great place to store the boat for the night. Ben, our host, was brilliant in aiding all our needs. He took us for a great meal, made us very welcome at his home and introduced us to Dr Sam, who runs the local clinic and assisted us with replenishing medical supplies, and Tim, a man of fantastic knowledge who built his own catermeran Beluga before sailing it down to T&Cs. Both have been vital to the course of the next stages of our expedition. A huge thank you to everyone from Provo!

Arriving at Big Blue after setting off at 1am

The next day was an exciting prospect. Despite the long 45 miles ahead we would be entering the Bahamas! Mayaguana was our destination and we once more set out in the early hours to commence the crossing. We faced some strong winds but all in all made good time and managed to arrive in Mayaguana in time to be charged the extortionate Bahamian yacht cruising fee... for our 22 foot kayak...

After staying with Murphy it was back to the hammocks, this time set up between the posts of a beach shack

Fully set to bed down for the night in our hammocks a local Bahamian, Murphy, was adamant that we shouldn't sleep amongst the savage sand flies on the beach. He welcomed us like nothing we've experienced before. Having known these two salty, smelly Brits for the best part of just an hour he gave us his personal bed in his home for the night and made sure we were fed in the morning. Incredibly kind! Similarly on the north side of the island the owners of Baycaner Beach Resort found us all nestled into our hammocks and brought us a couple of dinners and some snacks for the next day! Even the local policemen came down to see how were were and offer any help. We were certainly very content going to sleep that night!

The next couple of days saw us continue through the Bahamian islands at some speed. Camping on some stunning uninhabited islands and watching the sun go down as we cooked up our dinner. As the sun sets around 1730 we were nicely tucked up in bed by 1800 on these nights!

Cooking dinner before darkness descends  

The paddle over to Crooked Island was as enjoyable as the last few days. Having a look at the map we decided to cut through the sand flats. Amusingly as we approached the shallows Will mentioned the prospect that this could be good shark territory. I quickly dismissed the idea claiming that the water would be far too shallow. 2 minutes later and two dark 6 foot finned shadows glide past the kayak. Turning to briefly catch a glimpse of the yum yum yellow kayak and then continuing on their way. Nerves were high.

The water once again became shallower and shallower and soon we found ourselves once more playing drag the kayak. Having seen numerous sting rays we were conscious of the hazards lurking around our feet as we powered on to find deeper water. After a good half hour walking we spotted a fast moving shadow heading towards the kayak. The water so clear and shallow that it was perfectly easy to make out the distinctive fin. We threw ourselves into the boat and watched cautiously as a smaller 3 foot shark charged past. It was fair to say we didn't much fancy getting back out to drag the boat but we soon found deeper water and all was well. We were able to get back into the sea and find another great place to camp for the night.

Always fresh as a daisy...

On Crooked Island we were kindly hosted by Sonya at Blue Horizon and Willie from Gibson's Restaurant. Here we had a great dinner with Griff and Andy. Two friends on a fishing holiday who had some wonderful stories to share. Chris from Crooked Island Lodge was so generous in assisting us and we would like to extend a huge thank you to David for his very kind support... we hope you are reading! 

From Crooked Island we travelled to Long Island. A slightly choppy crossing slowed our progress but we were able to reach our desired camping spot prepared to set up for the night. Here we ran into an American family just going for an evening swim in the sea. Assistance was once again right on our doorstep. They so kindly gave us a delicious meal and a much needed shower to wash off the salt and nurse the salt rashes!

Long Island is, as you would imagine, rather Long. With a cold front sweeping the island we to had to battle strong headwinds the next day to make good progress up the island. 20-25 knot winds were forecast and they certainly didn't feel any weaker than that. Good distance was however covered and after a kind local allowed us to sleep in one of the huts we were all set for the night!

Our home for the night on Long Island

At this point we made contact with Kevin and Audrey, two  of the most amazingly friendly and kind people in the world and they provided the perfect TLC we needed after a the past ten long days. They treated us to copious amounts of food, hospitality, great company and snacks for the coming days. It was just amazing. Kevin and Audrey then revealed another brilliant surprise... the hot tub located just around the back of the house was the perfect relaxation before being dropped back at our camping spot. Fighting the tale end of the cold front yesterday we managed to jump across to the Exumas.

It's not all bad!

Here we are. With not too long to go now we'd like to say a huge thank you to all the donations so far and please could everyone keep donating and spreading the word.

Water is life

The last couple of weeks have certainly been hectic and we're extremely pleased with the distance we've covered in the short time period. We do, though, apologise for the shocking lack of contact and updares we have been able to post - a lot has happened in the meantime! This post was written to be published a week ago... wifi signal has not been kind and alas here we are. A post covering the more recent events will follow!

We left Saint Lucia in the early hours of the 8th, a 35 nautical mile crossing that led us to Martinique and our fantastic host Karl Gruand and his family. Martinique being our first French speaking island we were fully aware of the language barrier we were about to encounter. Our GCSE French skills having now stooped to an embarrassing 'Bonjour', 'Je voudrais followed by a hand gesture' and 'Merci'.

So after an uneventful crossing we pulled into the beach at Anse Mitan. Our worst fears were confirmed. No one spoke a single word of English. We needed a safe home for our beloved kayak and luckily stumbled across a water sports shop. After frantic hand gestures to and from the boat, a lot of oooooo la la's and a fair bit of 'Crazy Crazy' we thought our boat had a home for the night.

Mistaken.

10 minutes later another French man appeared with far more frantic aggressive hand gesturing. The type of man that doesn't care if you say you're English and don't speak French. He jabbered at us and ended with 'Kayak, here, NO!'  With the sun setting our host, Karl, luckily came to the rescue and found a great home for our boat at the very accommodating Cayanou hotel around the corner!

Kayak transportation at its finest  

From Martinique we continued to make good progress, shooting up to the north side of the island and tackling another hard crossing to Dominica. It was looking like it might become our first calm crossing as we came around the North point and set off into the channel. What a great day we thought to ourselves!

NEVER.

Never ever again will I think that to myself. We're still unsure if it was an extended squall or if our multiple sources of weather reports were entirely wrong but a couple of hours into the crossing and we were being blasted by at least 10 ft waves (That's like my height, 6ft, plus Amber Haas for those that know her). The horizon was visible one second and gone the next as we were plunged from the peaks to the troughs of these waves. They were also coming from behind us which meant the boat would swerve frustratingly and dangerously to the right each time the wave passed over us. Incredibly hard for Will to keep the boat on our bearing to Dominica. Being drowned by waves and having to stay so mentally alert for the next 5/6 hours was knackering and we were extremely pleased when the wind and waves began to die down. Onwards through Dominica was much calmer and we quickly crossed to Guadeloupe.  

Here we had planned to camp on the mariner dock and set off for north Guadeloupe early in the mañana. Unexpectedly a great French ex news cameraman welcomed us onto his yacht for the night. Arriving dehydrated and tired after a long crossing this was ideal. Unfortunately he was so welcoming that many beers were suddenly brought to the deck.  Having not drunk alcohol for quite a few months you can imagine our head space an hour later. I wouldn't be surprised if we asked to take his yacht to Miami and drag the kayak behind it! Anyway the next thing we knew it was 5am, our alarms were ringing and it was time to get back out to sea. Urgh. Sore bodies, sore heads and a day that turned out to have 0 breeze.

If anyone fancies giving it a go (we take no responsibility if anyone actually decides to try this) but maybe enjoy a night out on the town, try getting into a Sauna in the morning, drag a rowing machine into the Sauna, set the temp to 32 degrees and row for 12 hours. That was our day. We ended up making it 25 miles to north Guadeloupe after a real struggle of a day. Fortunately the unbearable heat allowed us both to forget about the engineless lifeboat we passed that morning when leaving the mariner.

At least it looks nice ….  

Onwards to Montserrat, yes the home of everyone's geography GCSE volcano. A marathon 40 nautical mile crossing nailed and a huge thank you to Ceinwen and Jacquie for hosting us at the beautiful Sea Song Villa They also provided a great dinner for us at Watermelon Cottage, thank you so much to Jacquie, Trevor and Joe for all your support. More info on how they helped us here - more photos going up soon! The Montserrat crossing itself was a strong day of paddling, our arrival at the beach on Monsterrat is an event that we plan to keep undisclosed until our film/documentary is released. All we can share with you now is that the rudder was bent 90 degrees and we count ourselves incredibly lucky.

A good crossing to Nevis and here we are. From here we plan to head to Saint Kitts, Saint Barts, Saint Martin and then our longest crossing yet to the BVI (60 miles +). Thank you so much to everyone for your messages of support and your donations. We both think we've nearly thought through our whole lives whilst out paddling so keep the messages of support and donations coming please!

The 20 Q's

The 20 Q's

We've loved hearing your interest about the expedition. To feed your hunger we've put together 20 of your most common questions. Enjoy! 

1. Is the expedition supported by a support boat? 

George: 'Nope, although it would be incredibly reassuring having a boat along side us for anything that goes wrong, I personally think it would completely defeat the months of planning that have gone into the trip. We've taken the responsibility of our safety and that's just one element of the challenge! 

The sea is also a part of nature that makes you feel incredibly small. Although it can be bloody terrifying and it's incredibly important to respect it, it's a real thrill to be so cut off from the madness of our daily lives!'

Will: 'No safety boat, no support boat.. madness eh? We will be fully equipped with everything we need to look after ourselves, including appropriate safety kit in case a bad thing happens. A huge part of the challenge is being self-reliant and being able to deal with any event on our own. That said, we will be stopping off on land most nights and passing small villages / towns / and marinas for repairs and supplies. We will also have a tracker and communications with our support in the UK so will not be completely cut off from the world!'

2. How long do you think it will take? 

George: 'Más o menos 3 months. We don't want to put a set end date. 

We plan to finish before Christmas but if we don't then Santa will have to find our kayak bobbing around in the sea to deliver any goodies.'

Will: 'We will be going as quick as we can - 2000 miles is a considerable distance and at times we will be at the mercy of the weather and sea conditions. We would rather delay big crossings than take unnecessary risks to reach the end by a certain time. George has booked a flight home for the 21st December... I haven't risked it!'

3. What do you plan to eat? 

George: 'Good question. Your average Jack or Bob needs to consume about 2,500 kcals a day. We'll need about 5000. Otherwise we'll end up like this. 
 

We've been kindly sponsored by Adventure Nutrition who have offered us a substantial discount on their variety of dry and wet meals for the expedition. Huge thanks to them.' 

Will: 'We will be working off a selection of dehydrated meals from Adventure Nutrition and fresh food bought locally throughout the expedition. We will look to resupply every 4 or 5 days to keep ourselves going. The biggest challenge will be eating lunch on the kayak!...'

Lunch at sea while training around the Dalmatian Coast with Outdoor Croatia

4. How many hours a day will you paddle? What will be the longest crossing? 

George: 'On average we'll be paddling for 8 hours a day. It'll mean very early starts so that we can reach land before the darkness descends' 

'It's no fun to try and land a sea kayak in big surf when it's dark'. 
 

5. Talk us through the boat

George: 'Our fabulous Seaward Passat G3. 22 feet long, constructed out of fiberglass and reinforced with Kevlar (yes the stuff they make bullet proof vests with)

We hope she'll provide some stability when the big waves come in and is also agile enough to quickly eat up big miles' 

Will: 'The kayak is currently on a big ship somewhere between Canada and Grenada.. hopefully it will arrive for us to start on time! We will post a video tour of our super craft as soon as we can when we're out there!'

6. What's your biggest fear? 

George: 'Urgh. Probably sharks. Or actually maybe a storm.

Dark in a city like London and dark in the middle of the ocean is obviously a completely different story. There is 0 artificial light in the middle of the ocean. 

The idea of a shark having a nibble in complete darkness or a huge storm nestling in is not my idea of fun. 

Will kindly explained waves to me when we had a little chat down the pub. (Obviously over a glass of water). When you're told potential for 10 - 15ft swell, I thought phfff that's alright. He then told me to sit down against a wall and reminded me I was 6ft tall. I encourage you all to sit down against a wall somewhere (maybe not public) and imagine over double your 6ft friend stood over you. Not that fun is it, especially not being able to see the horizon.'

Will: 'Two things - firstly getting delayed by bad weather, and secondly the heat..

We have put considerable thought into assessing the risks of the expedition, eliminating or reducing them where possible and developing contingencies for most eventualities. However, some things are out of our control and the weather is one of them. It is more than possible we might get stuck for a couple of weeks for conditions to be suitable enough for us to kayak - waiting around would drive us crazy and eat into our limited funds we have to last us the expedition.

I believe the heat is the biggest threat to the expedition. Spending 12 hours working hard in the relentless sun, amplified by its reflection off the water, will make this hugely challenging. The risk of heat exhaustion, sunburn and dehydration cannot be underestimated and will create big problems for us if we get it wrong. That said, we are fully focused on this and have the right protection in place to succeed if we are careful enough.'

7. What are you most looking forward to post expedition?

George: 'Ah probably a beer. I gave up alcohol in July so by the time we finish it will be about 6 months. In other words, watch out for me at New Years' 

Will: 'No more fvcking emails... the amount of work over the past few months has been incredible and the email flow relentless. I will be slightly relieved when it all quietens down a little!'


8. Who wears the trousers in the boat? 

George: 'Umm probably Will. It's a running joke amongst my friends that he does all the organising whilst I twiddle my thumbs.  I can assure you this isn't the case ….

I'm sure we'll have some tough decisions along the way in the boat so it'll be interesting to see what happens'.

Will: 'No comment.'

 

9. Its clearly a pretty big challenge to attempt, being the first British people would be an incredible feat. How do your parents feel? 

George: 'No comment'

Will: 'Undoubtedly nervous and would probably rather we had taken up ballet or something but I know they are supporting us all the way and hopefully they are convinced by our preparations.'


10. What will motivate you at 1am when you've been paddling for 12 hours, can't see your paddle in front of you it's so dark and you have another 24 hours to go? 

George: 'Fortunately I've always found it relatively easy to motivate myself. Friends and family of course but the charity will also play a huge part. 

I genuinely believe we have a huge problem forming in our society. Having spent the last 6 weeks in Mexico it has simply reassured me that it's not only a problem in the UK but all over the world. 

I had a really interesting chat with a work colleague in Mexico. He told me that more and more of the younger generations simply aren't getting into the outdoors enough. Whether they don't have the opportunity or they'd rather sit inside and play PlayStation. He thinks it's a huge issue responsible for a whole host of problems. 

I believe that it's in everyone's human nature to get outside, explore, push their limits and enjoy nature. It not only has a huge range of physical and metal benefits but it's a great way to develop people's character, learn to interact in teams and have those exciting experiences. 

What are you going to chat with your grandkids about? The time you beat your mate on Fifa or the time you took a road trip around Scotland and got lost climbing a mountain?' 

Will: 'Good question - if you want to help motivate me, sponsor us here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving/team/goldenarcexpedition

11. Just over a month to go. How are the nerves ? Scale of 1/10? 

George: 'Probably a 5/6. We've worked seriously hard and it's completely taken over our lives for the past 6 months or so. I think it's getting close to the stage where the organising is done and we're just excited to get going'. 

Will: 'It changes every day.. whenever we discover a problem or have a set back it shoots up to about 10/10, but usually we have fixed it the next day when it returns to a solid 5. I think (hope) the nerves will disappear when we are in Grenada with the kayak and all our kit and a good weather forecast!'
 

12. Let's talk wind, weather and hurricanes. There's two tropical storms brewing in the Atlantic and many more to come. Meteorologists have said this could be an extremely active hurricane season. What's the approach? 

George: 'Weather is without a doubt our biggest problem. We're really fortunate to have Karel from Kayak Weather supporting our trip with extremely frequent weather updates but there's just nothing we can do about the weather. If a storm forms while we're out there then we could be delayed for long periods of time. 

It's just going to have to be a waiting game and I'm sure our patience will be tested along the way. That's just part of the trip and we're not willing to take unnecessary risks to head out in a storm. It's a waiting game'. 

Will: 'Squalls will be an unpleasant inconvenience for us - they can appear out of nowhere and bring heavy rain and strong wing - it's just a matter of riding them out. Fortunately the big storms are not as much of a concern as we will have a good warning and will find somewhere to batten down the hatches on land until it passes.' 
 

13. What safety measures are in place? 

George: 'Ah where to do we start. The boys toys. Well we've got some great VHF radios, the survivtec group have helped us out with two Personal Locator Beacons which I personally won't let out my sight, we will be carrying a DeLorme Explorer that lets you track our movements on the Internet and then we have our buoyancy aids, flares, whistles, reflective mirrors etc etc

I must also mention Sharkbanz who have supplied us with two fantastic banz. No nibbling shall be occurring (hopefully)'

14. How has the support been so far?

George: 'From corporate sponsors to kayaking companies to friends and family it's been incredible how much support we've received so far. Anyone with any connections has been offering help left right and centre and we're very grateful for all the help! 

Obviously we've just launched our fundraising page and thank you to anyone who has donate already.  We're keen to keep that flowing'.

Will: 'Apart from the optimistic few who have said we are mad and it's an impossible trip, the support has been fantastic. In particular the really generous support from various companies who have supplied us with kit or discounts. Please check out our sponsors page here and follow the links to their websites.'

15. When is D-day? 

George: '25th of September. Watch this space'
 

16. What island are you most looking forward to? 

George: 'Hmm. If I'm honest I'd happily go on holiday to all of them! I'm sure they'll all display their dark side with hidden currents or unexpected reefs but for now they look great!'

Will: 'There's so many to choose from - the Caribbean is made up of over 7000 islands! Here's a list of where we will be passing through (Some parts will depend on the final route selected, which is dependent on the conditions at the time):'

Country List

 

17. In terms of organisation, is this a pre planned event for you by a company? 

George: 'Nada. Absolutely everything has been organised by Will. 

Or me. 

From bringing in corporate sponsorship to buying sun cream it's all been us. Luckily we've had great advice from some very experienced people.'

Will: 'We have organised everything ourselves, which makes the expedition all the more rewarding. George has in fact been brilliant... I don't know where the rumour of his lack of contribution came from... perhaps his spending the past six weeks on a jolly in Mexico...'

18. The longer crossings, presumably you will sleep during the 36 hours? 

George: 'Again no. We simply can't afford to stop and rest as the current will drift us too far off target. The longer crossings will be fuelled by adrenaline and energy supplements.

It's going to be really important that we stay switched on and focused. It only takes a second for something to go wrong and we're both very aware of that. We've heard some amusing stories about hallucinations when paddling in the dark for such extended periods of time. We'll keep you updated how we deal with it!'

Will:  'Sometimes you just have to knuckle down and get on with it...'

19. How do we know where you are and if you are sinking? 

George: 'We have a fantastic tracking device that'll update regularly and you'll be able to see us plodding along. 

We'll release the link closer to take off.'

Will: 'Sinking? Well that's a vote of confidence! You can track us as George mentioned and we'll be updating all our social media regularly.. like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter for all the updates! (You can also send us messages of support as we go!...)'

Find us on Twitter... at the moment we have 4 followers, which is good, but maybe we could do better?

 

20. You're both now founding directors of you charity, congratulations. What's the motivation behind the Get Exploring trust? Where can I donate?

George: 'Indeed we are, thank you. I've probably said all I want to say about the charity for now in my previous answer about motivation. It's extremely important to us though'. 

Will: 'You can find out all the details about GET here. We will be launching the charity properly after the expedition with the first grants going out to support young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in time for next Summer. We really appreciate all your generous support and are grateful for your kind donations. Don't stop at donating yourself, please pass our link onto friends, family, grandparents, uncles etc. who would like to support our charity: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/goldenarcexpedition.'

Bridges, Cranes and Traffic lights …

We thought it was about time we gave you an insight into what we’ve been up to over the Easter break. Aside from the looming prospects of exams, which we definitely won’t discuss, our kayaking has been progressing nicely. Our gym sessions take place 4 times per week and we kayak a further 3 times per week. One session focuses on technique in the swimming pool, spending the majority of the time capsizing and rolling back up (similar to being in a washing machine) and the remaining sessions are on the Thames, setting off from Putney Bridge. 

George has been spending some time on the Thames ... 

The mixture of rarely finding yourself sitting in a sea kayak in the middle of the Thames combined with the sheer insanity created through revision led me to getting slightly carried away on Thursday, taking pictures of pretty much everything I saw. I hope you enjoy them. The London waterbus is something that has provided a fair bit of humour over the last few of weeks. It turns out to be pretty terrifying when it comes shooting past, so we’re looking forward to seeing how the Caribbean cruise ships treat our arrival. I quickly found out the other day that the wake created from the waterbus tends to rebound against the banks of the Thames and leaves you being tossed around in a whirlpool of waves for a good 5 minutes. I was far from impressed. 

Fortunately the wake of any boats we pass in the Caribbean will not rebound against us, although we may be facing just slightly rougher conditions than going for an evening paddle on the Thames. In any case we're having a great deal of fun learning all the tricks and techniques, despite the organisational stresses, we are thoroughly enjoying our pre trip preparations. As we head back to Durham in the coming weeks give us a shout if you see us paddling along the river, we’ll try and wave back without capsizing. Finally we’ve got loads of news coming up including talking you through our sponsors, some of our equipment, naming our boat, our summer plans and the release of the much anticipated charitable donations page so please watch this space! 

Heading back to the boathouse at the end of our paddle 

Best of luck to everyone taking part in the marathon next Sunday! Despite the pain it's a fantastic experience and we'll be there cheering everyone on!  

A crane, captured in action for Michael Hemmings 

Up and Running (paddling)

Thank you all for the support you have given us so far ! We're planning on updating the blog once every week or so to keep you in touch with how we're getting on. At the moment, training started 2 weeks ago and we can safely say that the early morning starts aren't our favourite thing. We're looking forward to getting out on the water in the upcoming weeks and seeing what we can do ! We'll keep you posted on our kayaking skills !