British adventurers complete bold Greenland to Scotland sea kayak expedition!

Over the course of nine weeks the intrepid duo dodged storms and icebergs while braving the frigid arctic waters

Congratulations to British adventurers Olly Hicks and George Bullard, who have completed a gruelling 7 week sea kayaking expedition, paddling 1200 miles all the way from Greenland to Scotland! They set off from the ice floes of East Greenland on 30th June, arriving at Balnakeil Bay in north west Scotland yesterday, 4th September.

Land ho! Congratulations Olly and George!

The expedition was not without upsets: after crossing the Denmark Strait to Iceland, the pair were turned back by a storm while attempting to paddle across a dangerous stretch of ocean between Iceland and the Faroe Islands – 290 miles of roiling ocean that gives even commercial ocean trawlers pause for thought. Their second attempt was successful, but exhaustion and further bad weather forced them to seek refuge on North Rona – an isolated rocky outcrop just 50 miles off the Scottish coast – for a week, their supplies dwindling all the while.

The faces of determination

They made the trip in a 6.8-meter carbon fibre Inuk Duo sea kayak, with the bulkheads repositioned to allow them to slide the full length of their bodies into the cockpit to sleep at night. With a makeshift tent glued to the cockpit rim to provide shelter and four inflatable buoyancy bags plus drogue (an external parachute-like fixture designed to keep the boat perpendicular to the waves) stability, it’s safe to say sleep was challenging and nights at sea somewhat terrifying!

Training for the rough ocean conditions near Shetland