Three Friends Set Out on 1,200-Mile Kayak Trip Around Ireland
Three friends are taking on a challenge to travel around Ireland, but they’re not taking to the road or traveling by rail instead they are going to kayak their way around the country.
On the 5th May the three will set off from Dún Laoghaire pier, on the south side of Dublin. From there they’ll be heading south along the Irish coast on a 1,200-mile journey that could take them up to two-and-a-half months to complete.
The team’s boats are all made of fibreglass and are specialist sea kayaks that are five metres long with watertight compartments in front and behind the cockpit where the person sits.
Each kayak can hold two rucksacks and the group has to pack its camping gear (tent, sleeping bag, mat), food, spare clothes, stove, pans, plates and emergency gear in the space.
And that’s not all they’ll have on board as they explain:
On the deck, we’ll be carrying spare paddles, map and compass, marine VHF radio, towing rig, solar charger and a deck bag with odds and sods of choice, which can include spare hat and gloves, sunglasses, suncream, lip salve, plasters, distress flares, emergency patch kits, camera, binoculars, food (on-the-water nibbles and energy bars)
@Irelandbykayak
Pete Bridgstock packing finished, panic started, but postponed for a visit to the pub!
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The three are raising money for RoadPeace and the Irish Lifeboats. They are blogging about their journey ahead and some of the challenges that they think they’ll face along the way:
We will be facing ‘interesting’ weather conditions coming straight from the Atlantic, committing coastlines, open crossings and Guinness This is not a common journey, and more people have stood on the summit of Everest than have circumnavigated Ireland. We are doing this mainly because it is there, and Claire was inspired by Tony Hawks’ book, hence our trip name, although she promises not to take a whole fridge. Along the way, Claire and Wendy will be looking at the problems of dyeing hair on a beach, and Pete will be wondering how he can be wrong for such a long time.
There are 47 maps covering the coast of Ireland, and all have been sorted with tidal and local information, then copied onto waterproof paper at A4 size.
You can find out more on the team’s blog and follow along with their journey here.
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