On Tuesday 11th August, Nick Tissot and Ed Coley finally got to have a go at kayaking round the Isle of Wight in under 24 hours.
Wind and weather forecasts were not ideal but we had got bored of waiting (as had family and friends) and it was getting slightly embarrassing replying to all the congratulatory texts from those who had thought we had kept to our original date two weeks earlier.
So, at 12.10am, after a large supper, very little sleep and with food bags, a shower radio and a GPS gadget taped to the kayak, we set off from Cowes in the dark.
Approximately 16 hours 45 minutes later – and after seasickness and about 57 flapjacks – we made it back into the Cowes harbour to complete the trip about 3 hours ahead of schedule. It was a long day but a huge amount of fun and a great experience.
Just over a month after the finish we passed our fundraising target of £10,000. We have been overwhelmed with the level of support.
Special thanks should be made to our support crew on the day; Hugo, Stuart and Kim (who kindly let us use his boat as the ‘mothership’ to follow us round) really made this possible, following us from start to finish as well as lending us flares and radios (one of which is somewhere at the bottom of the Needles), life jackets and giving sound advice such as “you can’t have a break now we’re having lunch”. Hugo even became our spokesman on Solent FM.
More photos from the day can be found at www.lynxsports.co.uk where it says “click to see photos of our recent event”.
For those with an eye for detail here are some of the highlights:
12.10am Nick and Ed leave Cowes in the dead of night. 200 yards later they narrowly miss the harbour wall. Nick says he needs the loo.
4.00am Arrive at The Needles but due to the lack of daylight and the amount of tidal flow and large waves we decide to take a break and wait for the water to subside.
5.00am Approach The Needles. Two large waves attempt to sink us – our radio is washed overboard but Nick’s afro keeps us afloat.
9.15am Approach St Catherine’s Point and decide to stop.
9.16am Nick throws up due to seasickness.
9.18am Nick is sick again and turns a nasty shade of yellow.
9.50am Round St Catherine’s point and reach a top speed of 7.1 knots.
11.30am Hugo conducts a live interview with the DJ of the morning show on Solent FM, to give the third and final update of the progress (“Rocky” music is played in the background).
12.15pm Coley attempts to relieve himself on the go using an old water bottle.
12.16pm Coley promises to wash out his seat at the end after failed “relief attempt”.
2.40pm Pass Bembridge Bay and the Seaview Yacht Club where we receive cheers and encouragement from various followers.
4.35pm Reach Cowes harbour with stiff shoulders but no blisters and feeling in surprisingly good shape.
Nick Tissot & Ed Coley
