Page 144 - 2022-08-01 Paddling Magazine

KAYAKING
CYRIL DERREUMAUX
PRE-DEPARTURE IN 2021.
PHOTO: TERESA O'BRIEN

SHORTS
Expedition Watch

Four record-breaking kayaking journeys to track in 2022 by conor mihell ANOTHER CRACK
AT A HUGE CROSSING
FREYA HOFFMEISTER STARTED HER To date, Ed Gillet remains the only person to
NORTH AMERICAN EPIC IN 2017
AND HAS COMPLETED ROUGHLY 40 complete a sea kayak expedition from Califor-
PERCENT OF THE DECADE-LONG nia to Hawaii. Gillet made his epic journey in
JOURNEY. PHOTO: JAIME SHARP
1987 in a modified Necky tandem kayak—long
before the advent of satellite communication.
In fact, the adventurer had been given up
for dead by the time he stumbled ashore on
Maui after 63 days at sea. Multiple attempts
to recreate the expedition have failed, except
for a 2019 SUP crossing by Antonio De La
Rosa. Last summer, France-born American
Cyril Derreumaux set out in a custom-built,
live-aboard, solar panel-clad sea kayak, but
was rescued by the coast guard six days into
the expedition following some equipment fail-
ures. Derreumaux, who set a Guinness speed
record for rowing the same crossing in 2016,
insists 2022 is his year. He predicts a 70-day
journey. cyrilderreumaux.com

FREYA KEEPS PADDLING CIRCUMNAVIGATING AUSTRALIA
Freya Hoffmeister knew her sea kayak expedition returned to paddle part of Mexico’s Pacific coast in On December 19, 2021, Bonnie Hancock set
around the North American continent would require the fall, approaching a total distance of 10,500 miles, out from the shores of Australia’s Gold Coast
up to a decade to complete. But she never imagined nearly 40 percent of the total distance. The tireless to attempt to become just the fifth person and
losing close to a full calendar year due to a global German super paddler keeps going in summer 2022 second woman to circumnavigate the continent.
pandemic. Still, Hoffmeister managed to tackle a along the northern coast of Alaska and Canada’s At the time of publication, Hancock was more
good chunk of the Alaskan coast last summer and Yukon Territory. freyahoffmeister.com than five months into her 10,000-mile, seven-
month journey by surfski, and on schedule to
break Freya Hoffmeister’s speed record set in
2009. Hoffmeister completed the circumnaivga-
tion in 10 months and 26 days unsupported.
NORTHWEST PASSAGE: THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE Hancock has the assistance of a support boat,
HAS NEVER BEEN PADDLED
which gives her the safety net to paddle point
ARCTIC COWBOYS IN A SINGLE SEASON. to point—she was able to save more than 600
PHOTO: PAM LEBLANC
After COVID-19 delayed the departure of three miles of distance by paddling across the Great
Texans planning to kayak the Northwest Passage in Australian Bight, at one point 300 miles from
2020 and again in 2021, the Arctic Cowboys are hop- shore. A professional Ironwoman and dietician,
ing to take a crack at the 1,925-mile expedition this Hancock is fundraising for Gotcha4Life, an orga-
year. West Hansen, a veteran kayaker who organized nization supporting mental health. She expects
a National Geographic-sponsored Amazon River to finish the expedition in July. paddleofaus.com
expedition in 2012, will be joined by Jeff Wueste and
Rebekah Feaster. They will be attempting the first
documented single-season kayak journey through
the Arctic Ocean islands of Canada’s Far North. The
team plans to paddle from Pond Inlet on Baffin Island BONNIE HANCOCK SET OUT FROM THE
to Tuktoyaktuk, near the Yukon-Alaska border. On this legedary water route they will document the impacts SHORES OF AUSTRALIA’S GOLD COAST
ON DECEMBER 19, 2021, IN AN ATTEMPT
of climate change that could reshape global transportation in an ice-free future. Much of the route has never TO CIRCUMNAVIGATE THE CONTINENT.
been paddled in modern times and includes crossings of up to 60 miles long. westhansen.com PHOTO: COURTESY BONNIE HANCOCK

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