Cornwall Kayak Challenge 26th Aug – 2 Sept 2016
Mission - To successfully circumnavigate Cornwall, England in sit-on Kayaks including bike ride. Distance – 170 miles Kayak & 38 miles Bicycle (as the crow flies) Nearer 260 miles given road and tide
Paddlers - Thomas Gigg (Serving Able Rate Royal Navy) Kevin Gray (Veteran, Army,)
Distance Travelled - Paddled – 179 miles
Cycled - 50 miles
Day 1
Tamar bridge - Fowey
Distance Travelled 30.5 miles. We paddled for 6 and a half hours.
Day 2
FOWEY – FALMOUTH
We paddled 25miles on Day 2. Tom injured his arm in a capsize . Accident and Emergency Dept. diagnosed ligament damage. Rest for 24 hours and re evaluate
Day 3
Weather broke and the sea around the lizard dangerous for at least 2 days Decision made to let Toms injury rest and Kev to paddle inland to make up for lost distance
33 miles covered on the inland water of the Fal
Day 4 – The day was planned for more mileage on the inland waterways with the Helford River being the target. With Tom`s arm rested we were both keen to make progress but we were to keep an eye on his arm.
28 miles paddled
Day 5
St Ives – Newquay
Calm seas
37.5 miles covere
Day 6
It was raining and there was a wind in the air. Sea was choppy . Unsafe to paddle
We did not paddle on day 6
Day 7
Tom cycled to Calstock . Kev paddled the Tamar
The mileage covered was 50 peddling and 19 miles paddling.
Day 8
Back to the Tamar Bridge to finish on a brisk tide
Distance paddled 10.75 miles.
Summary
The challenge was to paddle 170 miles and ride 38 miles totalling 208 miles in 7 days. We covered 229 miles.
Though we were not able to circumnavigate Cornwall along the planned coastal route due to weather and time constraints this has been a great success. To paddle the Cornish coastline starting and finishing at the Tamar Bridge, using google earth as a measure would require 255-260 miles on the water and 40 miles on the road.
Special thanks finally must go to the people who have sponsored me on this adventure. These include, Garry Carr building services (Pilling), The hair lounge (Fleetwood), The Duke of Lancaster Old Comrades Club (Fleetwood), The Railway Pub (Parbold), Heroes on the Water USA, The Blackpool & District Licence Victuallers Association and the many family and friends for their all the donations received.
THANK YOU TO ALL
Kevin Gray. (army ret.)
