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Adventure

Tag: Solo

Updated » Cyril Derreumaux has been rescued from his 4,450 km solo kayak to Hawaii

2021.06.07 /
Cyril Derreumaux and his custom-made kayak named Valentine

Cyril Derreumaux and his custom-made kayak named Valentine

Updated 2021.06.11 »

After more than four days of holding in place and waiting for things to get better, Derreumeux made the difficult decision to call the U.S. Coast Guard for a rescue.

A helicopter was dispatched in the night to retrieve the ocean kayaker, who was airlifted off the water and flown back to shore. Once on land however, it didn’t take him long to start thinking about resuming the journey.

Updated 2021.06.07 »

After just a week, Cyril Derreumaux has abandoned his attempt to kayak alone to Hawaii. He set off on May 31, and although the first few days went smoothly, conditions deteriorated over the last 72 hours. He eventually called for rescue.

Derreumaux had not moved since June 4. Because of the rough weather, he deployed his sea anchor and stayed inside the cabin.

Yesterday, winds reached 55-65kph with gusts over 80kph. The waves towered to 4.5m. He also had an issue with his sea anchor but couldn’t try to fix it in such weather.

Earlier…

Rebecca McPhee for Explorersweb »

On May 31, Cyril Derreumaux dipped his paddle in the Pacific and began his 4,450km solo kayak from San Francisco to Hawaii. The 44-year-old hopes to complete the journey in 70 days.

His custom-made kayak Valentine — named after his sister –- includes an enlarged watertight aft cockpit for sleeping and storage of some of his 140 kilograms of equipment and supplies. This makes his experience quite different from the iconic paddle that Ed Gillet did in 1987, using an off-the-shelf sea kayak. Gillet, the only person to kayak from the U.S. to Hawaii, was the inspiration for Derreumaux’s project.

More »

Inspiring 60-year-young solo female Dot Bekker overlands the African western route in a two-wheel drive Sprinter van from Europe to Zimbabwe

2021.03.16 /

Dot answers a lot of questions about travelling overland solo through Africa in a 2WD van. She offers proof that it can be done.

Dot Bekker tells of her adventures returning home to Zimbabwe after a failed 22 year marriage in Europe. She paid £1,700 for her old two-wheel drive Sprinter, built the interior herself for less than €2,000, using many reclaimed materials, and set about on her inspiring adventure. Dot drove over 20,000 km through more than 20 countries and is now helping educate and inspire young women in Zimbabwe.

Marion et Anatole, the young couple who did the interview, set off from France to explore Africa in 2018. Their YouTube channel is well worth following if you understand French. They offer lots of useful, practical information about overlanding in Africa, all based on their experiences.

 

Ben Saunders: What I learned from crossing Antarctica on skis, alone

2018.07.12 /

TED:

On November 8, 2017, a plane dropped Saunders — who was 40 at the time — at Berkner Island, just off the coast of the Weddell Sea (to see a map, click here). Like Ernest Shackleton (although Shackleton was ultimately unsuccessful), Saunders was aiming to reach a point on the southern coast where the Ross Ice Shelf meets the land. For the next seven weeks, his only connections to the outside world were a satellite phone (only for emergencies), a tracker to keep a remote team aware of his position on an hourly basis, and a smartphone he used to write emails and blog posts. He skied an average of 15.5 miles during 9- to 10-hour days while pulling a sledge that held all the food and equipment he’d need for the journey and weighed 300 pounds at the trip’s start.

Many are now choosing to travel alone

2018.05.16 /

Annabel Fenwick Elliott, The Telegraph:

As far as younger travellers go, according to data from the Abta, almost one in eight 18-24 year olds reported going on a holiday by themselves in 2017. In 2011, this question was asked to 15-24 year olds and the figure was just 4.5 per cent.

According to Hostelworld, the number of solo bookings made by Britons has increased 60 per cent over the past three years, the highest rise globally.

Singles holiday operator Just You says the age of their clientele ranges from 21 to 90, but averages out at the 55+ age group.

What does appear to be consistent, however, is that women are much more likely to travel alone than men, and that’s only rising.

19-year-old Oliver Crane becomes youngest person to row solo across Atlantic Ocean

2018.02.02 /

 Kateri Jochum and Michelle Franzen, writing for ABC News:

New Jersey teenager Oliver Crane became the youngest person to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean early Sunday, when he arrived on the Caribbean island of Antigua to a crowd of cheering friends and family.

The 19-year-old broke the previous record for the youngest solo crossing, set in 2010 that was held by then-22-year-old Katie Spotz.

Crane completed his 3,000-mile voyage in 44 days after starting in the Canary Islands on Dec. 14

Going it alone? Lonely Planet has some suggestions for solo travel

2018.01.12 /

To celebrate the release of their new book, The Solo Travel Handbook, Lonely Planet compiled a list of destinations for solo travellers, categorised by interest.

For adventures, they suggest South America. For foodies, Lonely Planet suggests solo travellers look to Vietnam.

From Lonely Planet:

With mountains to climb, rivers to raft, ancient ruins to uncover and jungles to explore, South America is the ultimate adventure destination. Don’t let its size daunt you – South America is more conducive to solo travel than you may think.

The well-worn Gringo Trail, which encompasses the continent’s most popular destinations along a vertical path, promotes recurring rendezvous with fellow adventurers and, for those inclined, provides ample opportunities to buddy up with travellers heading in the same direction. This, paired with the general warmth of local people and the continent’s premium hostel network, makes travel relatively simple, leaving you to focus your anxieties on the likelihood of long-dormant El Misti erupting during your morning ascent.

Epic solo travel experience: Mountain biking down Bolivia’s infamous Death Road and debriefing with your fellow riders over a few beers afterwards.

New rules bar single, blind, and double amputees from climbing Everest

2018.01.02 /

We start off the year with news of new regulations out of Kathmandu, Nepal. The motivation is obviously one of safety, however this will be controversial.

From The Himalayan Times:

The government has revised the Mountaineering Expedition Regulation under the Tourism Act barring people with complete blindness and double amputation, as well as those proven medically unfit for climbing, from attempting to scale mountains.

The Council of Ministers which passed the revised regulation yesterday also stated that Sirdars, mountain guides and high-altitude workers, who accompany expeditions to the top of the climbing peaks, including Mt Everest, shall get summit certificates.

More coverage by Tamara Hardingham-Gill, CNN:

Nepal has amended its mountaineering regulations, prohibiting foreign individual climbers from scaling all mountains in the country without an escort.

Double amputee and blind climbers are also banned (with the exception of those who obtain medical certificates) as part of the new guidelines, which were implemented in a bid to reduce accidents and climbing-related deaths.

Please tread lightly, pack out your trash, and treat every person and location with respect.

Please do not bury waste or wipes – even those that are biodegradable. Always pack out bags, sanitary wipes, and feminine hygiene products to minimize impact on the environment and the spread of disease.

If you find any errors, have any tips, or see anything that might need improving, please let me know.

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