London2London Update: Sarah's In China And Headed Towards The Sea

It has been nearly five months since Sarah Outen set out on her London2London via The World expedition, so we're long over due for an update on her progress. As you might recall, London2London is an attempt to circumnavigate the planet completely under human power, and considering Sarah has already rowed across the Indian Ocean, she knows a thing or two about human-powered adventures.

When she began her journey, Sarah started in London, and paddled down the River Thames, and across the English Channel, making landfall in France. After that, she jumped on her bike and started along ride across Europe and Asia. She's made great progress however, and she's already into China and making her way towards the Pacific Coast, where she'll eventually kayak to Japan, and then row across the North Pacific, eventually arriving in Vancouver.

As you can imagine, it has been a very busy and eventful five months for Sarah, with lots of adventures on her route. Although she has been joined by a few others along the way, she's currently riding alone, somewhere in eastern China. She's well ahead of schedule however, and is likely to take some down time for awhile after this epic ride, as she doesn't expect to start rowing the Pacific until the spring of 2012. In a recent blog post however, she did show off her new boat, the Gulliver, which she'll use in that crossing.

Below you'll find a great video of Sarah riding in China which will give you a sense of what it is like for her on the road day in and day out. The video was shot back in July, but shows her taking on a rather long and tough climb on her bike that is built more for strength than speed.

Stay tuned for more updates from Sarah as she nears the end of her first stage and gets ready to hit the water.

Solo Sailing Update: Laura Dekker Arrives In Australia

Last week, 15-year old Laura Dekker achieved two major milestones in her attempt to sail solo around the world. First, it has now been a full year since she set out on her epic journey to become the youngest to sail around the globe, and perhaps more importantly, she safely arrived in Darwin, Australia, having successfully crossed the Pacific Ocean.

You may recall that Laura garnered a lot of attention when she first announced her intentions to circumnavigate the globe on her own at the age of 13. But before she could get underway, the Dutch government stepped in, with child protective services investigating her plans and whether or not she was ready for such a big adventure. That process took some time to complete, but eventually she was allowed to sail, and at the age of 14 she was able to hit the open water at last.

Since that time, she's been making slow, but steady progress around the globe, first crossing the Atlantic Ocean, then navigating through the Panama Canal. The Pacific was her next major obstacle, and with that now behind her, she'll be setting her sights on the Indian Ocean and eventually the Suez Canal. But for now, she plans to enjoy some good old fashion Aussie hospitality for awhile.

According to her blog, Laura arrived in Darwin last Friday, August 25, and while she is in good spirits, and her ship, the Guppy, is fine, the final approach to land wasn't great on her sails. The course took her across the Van Dieman Gulf, where the winds tore her main sail to shreds, which will keep her on land for awhile. She plans on staying at least through the weekend, when she hopes to use a borrowed boat to compete in a local regatta.

For now, it is time to rest, resupply, and repair the Guppy. The trials and tribulations of the Indian Ocean await, and after that, home at last. But Laura has earned some down time before she takes on those challenges. I can't think of a better place to recuperate than Australia.

Circumnavigating Ellesmere Island: Adventure Complete!

Last week I posted an update on Jon Turk and Erik Boomer's attempt to circumnavigate Ellesmere Island and at the time, they were nearing the end of their journey. In fact, when I wrote that story, the feeling was that they would finish that day, but strong winds and navigating through ice, slowed their progress and the boys didn't reach their end point, located in Grise Fiord until the following day.

When they did finally finish, they showed the toll that the expedition took on their bodies. According to Jon's blog, he could hardly walk by the time they had reached their final destination on Friday, and Erik's feet had swollen to the point that they were two shoe sizes larger than normal. Despite all of that, they were reportedly in good spirits, but ready to come home.

In the end, their expedition really was quite and adventure. The two men spent 104 days skiing and kayaking around Ellesmere, a remote island that falls in the Arctic Ocean to the north of Canada. In all, they covered 1485 very challenging miles to become the first men to circumnavigate the island.

There hasn't been much in the way of updates since last week, and I can only assume that Erik and Jon are now on their way home and looking forward to a much deserved rest. I'm sure we'll get more information about their journey once they've had time to decompress and recover some. Until then, we'll just have to send them a hearty congratulations, and hope that all is well.

Circumnavigating Ellesmere Island: Nearly Done!

Way back in May, Jon Turk and Erik Boomer set off on a 2390km (1485 mile) expedition to circumnavigate Ellesmere Island. Since that time, they've been paddling and trekking their way through the icy Arctic Ocean and remote tracts of land that have seldom been visited by humans. Their journey may be coming to an end at last however, as according to Jon's blog, they expect to complete their expedition sometime today.

Located above the Arctic Circle in Canada's Queen Elizabeth chain of islands, Ellesmere presents a considerable challenge for any adventurer, even in the warmer summer months. But it seems Jon and Erik have gotten more than they expected, encountering harsh weather, polar bears, and thick pack ice. Those conditions have conspired to slow their progress and make this an amazing adventure in one of the most difficult environments on the planet.

An entry on Jon's blog from yesterday says that the two men are now about 35 miles from their planned finish point in Grise Fiord. That's still a long way to paddle, especially since they expect to face 10 knot winds throughout the day, but they are anticipating finishing up the expedition today. Needless to say, it won't be an easy day for them.

It seems the boys have had more than their fair share of bear encounters along the way. Just a few days ago the awoke to find that one of them had bitten holes in their tent, while five others prowled around the camp. Pretty scary stuff. I'm sure these guys have a lot of tales to tell once they're home. Can't wait to read them!

World Run II Update: Heading North Through Peru

I was reminded earlier today by my friend Darrell Raubenheimer, who organizes the terrific Rhodes Run in South Africa, that I hadn't posted an update on Jesper Olsen and his World Run II in awhile. Turns out Darrell was right, I haven't written about Jesper in nearly a year and a half, and since that time, he's continued to make tremendous progress.

For those that don't remember, World Run II was the Danish ultrarunner's attempt to run more than 40,000km (24,855 miles), fully documenting and tracking his progress via GPS. The run began at the northernmost point in Finland and continued south across Europe, into Turkey and onto the Middle East, then into Africa, before finally running out of land in Cape Town. From there, Jesper jumped across the pond, and turned his way north at last, resuming his run in Punta Arenas, Chile. He has since made his way into Argentina, and now Peru, as he continues to make steady progress towards the top of South America. From there, he'll cross into Cuba, run the length of that island, then move on to the United States, where he'll travel from Miami to the tip of Nova Scotia, Canada, his eventual finish line.

Along the way, Jesper has been posting updates from the field and sharing information and photos on his progress. He is now into his 30th day in Peru, and while he has experienced stomach issues (something that plagued him throughout Africa as well), he continues to make steady progress. In his last dispatch, he was running near Nazca, Peru, home of the famous Nazca lines, where he mentioned he was hoping to find a good hotel where he could rest up for a few days, and let his stomach ailments pass.

When I've written about the World Run II in the past, I've always been in awe that anyone would undertake such a journey on foot. Of course, this isn't Olsen's first long distance run. As you might have guessed, he has the World Run I under his belt as well, during which he quite literally ran around the world, covering 26,232 km (16,300 miles) in the process. The sequel to that run is much longer of course, and, it seems, more demanding as well.

I'll try not to take so long between updates next time. Obviously Jesper still has a long way to go and will be experiencing some interesting things as he continues. Reaching Cuba should definitely be an interesting milestone. Oh, and for the record, he has so far run 27,346km (16,992 miles). I'm not sure my car has that many miles on it!

Olly Hicks Gears Up For Global Row 2012

Remember Olly Hicks? He was the young adventurer who attempted to circumnavigate Antarctica in a rowboat back in 2009. Ultimately, due to a number of reasons, he was forced to abandon that voyage, but now he is back and gearing up to give it another go next year.

In his first  attempt, Olly set out from Tasmania to challenge the Southern Ocean, but soon found the conditions in that body of water were fickle and conspiring to work against him. The wind and currents made it nearly impossible for Hicks to make progress, and after weeks out on the water, he eventually conceded defeat, due in no small part to design flaws on his boat that made it less than ideal for the waters in which he was traveling.

Since that time, Olly has been working with two veteran naval designers on ways to overcome the flaws in his original boat design. With those new designs complete, he now feels ready to start planning his next attempt at the Global Row 2012, as the expedition has been dubbed. The new boat incorporates some unique features that will make it better suited for the conditions in the Southern Ocean, and the design team feels that Olly can expect to average 50-60 nautical miles per day. He'll put those estimates to the test when he returns to the water in October of next year, departing from Tasmania once again.

The voyage is expected to take somewhere between 18-22 months to complete, during which time Hicks will cover more than 18,000 nautical miles. The first phase of the journey will take Olly across the Pacific Ocean to South Georgia Island, where he plans to wait out the winter before resuming. That stage is expected to take approximately 160 days to complete. After overwintering and resupplying in South Georgia, he'll take to the Atlantic Ocean and continue around the globe, before arriving back in Tasmania. If successful in his venture, Hicks will become the first person to circumnavigate the Southern Ocean by rowboat.

While Olly loves a good adventure and wants to set the record, he's also making the row for two of his favorite charities as well. He hopes that his efforts will help raise funds for both the Hope and Homes for Children organization as well as the Save Our Seas Foundation.

While October 2012 seems like a long way off at this point, Olly is about to begin the all important search for sponsors for the Global Row 2012. With that in mind, a new website will be launching soon, and you can keep up with Olly's progress on his Facebook page right now.

Stay tuned for more as Olly ramps up for his next big adventure next year.

Vancouver Island Speed Circumnavigation Attempt

Long distance paddler Colin Angus is attempting to break the speed record for a solo, circumnavigation around Vancouver Island. He's hoping to cover the 1150km (714.5 mile) journey in less than 16.5 days. He's now halfway through the attempt, and has passed the 600km mark and is now headed toward the finish line.

You can follow Colin's adventure on his website, AngusAdventures.com, where you'll find daily updates on his progress and a SPOT tracker feed of his current location. As of this writing, the SPOT doesn't seem to be tracking accurately, but hopefully that's just a temporary glitch.

Reading the updates on his progress, it doesn't seem like this has been an easy row for Colin thus far. Not only is he dealing with painful tendonitis in his arm, he has also had to contend with difficult headwinds and turbulent waters. He has also been forced to row further out to sea than you would think was necessary in order to avoid submerged reefs that can create massive waves – sometimes 50 feet high, that could potentially put a premature end to the expedition.

For Colin, and his wife Julie, a rowing challenge like this one is old hat. They once rowed from Scotland to Syria, covering more than 7000km (4350 miles) in the process. Back in 2004, this adventurous couple also set out on a human powered circumnavigation of the planet, covering the land on foot, bikes and skies, while rowing across the Bering Strait and the Atlantic Ocean. They completed that journey two years later, and have continued their pursuit of outdoor adventure ever since.

If everything goes as planned, and his tendonitis doesn't get any worse, Colin should complete his journey sometime early next week. He's setting a pace that should allow him to break the record, but weather and conditions on the water can still play a role. Stay tuned!

Thanks to Julie for sending me the tip on her husband's adventure!

Solo Sailing Update: Laura Dekker Reaches Bora Bora

15-year old solo circumnavigator Laura Dekker reached another milestone on her round-the-world journey over the weekend, sailing into Bora Bora in the South Pacific. Her arrival in that island paradise puts her a little more than halfway across the Pacific Ocean.

When we last checked in with Laura back in April, she was getting ready to pass through the Panama Canal and challenge the sometimes turbulent waters of the Pacific Ocean. Fortunately for her, the seas have mostly been kind to Laura, who has made good time in the open waters. After visiting the Galapagos Islands, she arrived in French Polynesia a few weeks back, and has been enjoying the calm, clear waters ever since. In fact, Dekker has enjoyed it so much, that she has visited a couple of extra islands along the way.

She nearly had disaster strike on Saturday however, when she was moving into an anchorage on her approach to Bora Bora. Spotting a larger yacht already at anchor, Laura assumed it was safe to sail into the area, but she ran her boat, the Guppy, into a coral reef, scraping the bottom as she went. Luckily, there was no damage, but it was a good reminder of the dangers of the sea.

For now, Laura will enjoy a few days of relaxation in Bora Bora before she gets underway again. She still has a long ways to go before she is done, but she doesn't seem to be in any hurry, after all this isn't a speed record attempt. There are worse places to be than the South Pacific and Dekker doesn't expect to reach Australia until November.

So? What were you doing on your summer break when you were 15? I think I was mowing lawns and riding my bike to the local movie theater. That seemed like a long way to go back then. Laura, on the other hand, has already covered thousands of miles on her journey, with many more to come.

Circumnavigating Ellesmere Island Update: Slow Going In Thick Ice

Adventurers Jon Turk and Erik Boomer continue their epic expedition to circumnavigate Ellesmere Island by kayak. The two men set out last month with the hopes of becoming the first team to accomplish that feat, and while they continue to make good progress, the remote Canadian island has lived up to its reputation for being one of the harshest and most challenging environments on the planet.

In late May, Jon and Erik reached the Eureka Weather Station after covering 338 nautical miles in just 23 days. At that point, they were on schedule and well situated to continue their journey. Now, a couple of weeks later, their experiencing the harsher conditions of the arctic, as the cold weather has kept the pack-ice from breaking up, and slowed their progress significantly. In fact, in their latest blog update, we're told that progress could slow to as little as 1/2 mile per day, thanks to the very thick and dense ice that refuses to break-up thus far this year.

The expedition has reached a critical point, as the two men have rounded the northwest corner of the island in what is considered the most treacherous leg of the journey. Because of the conditions there, and the fact that they expect progress to be slow, Jon and Erik are now carrying 50 days worth of food with them, just in case it is some time before they can restock their supplies. They're hoping that the warmer weather will arrive soon however, opening up the passages through the ice and speeding their progress.

Ellesmere is part of the the Queen Elizabeth Islands and is located in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. In order to successfully circumnavigate the island, Jon and Erik will need to cover 1485 miles, which is expected to take them roughly 100 days to complete.

Circumnavigating Ellesmere Island

Ellesmere Island is one of the most remote places on Earth, located above the arctic circle, and falling into the chain of the Queen Elizabeth Islands in the  Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is a cold, icy, mountainous place that is seldom visited due to its rugged and challenging nature. It is also the site of a spring expedition in which Jon Turk and Erik Boomer will be attempting to circumnavigate the island by kayak.

The expedition officially got underway a few days back, with Jon and Erik setting out from Resolute Bay last Thursday, and taking a series of short flights on "puddle jumpers" to eventually reach their starting point. The weather forecast had been good for their first week out on the water, but according to Jon's blog,  which was updated two days ago, that has changed some. The blog posts reports heavy snow in the region, and that the duo were holed up in a small cabin at the time of their last check-in.

They also report that the paddling has been hard going through the ice fields that surround the island, but when they move in closer to shore, the fjords have been smooth as glass. They've encountered quite a few polar bear tracks as well and even spotted a mother bear with her cub. The creatures are fairly common on Ellesmere, and of course they would like to avoid them as much as possible.

The journey will cover 1485 miles (2390 km) and is expected to take upwards of 100 days to complete. At the moment, they're just 75 miles into the expedition, and despite the fact that it is spring there, they are experiencing bitterly cold, sub-zero temperatures. Even in the height of summer, the place never really gets all that warm, so this will be a long, slow, challenging journey to complete, to say the least.

To check out the official expedition website, click here and for blog updates click here. This should be another interesting expedition to follow as it unfolds.

Ocean Rowing: One Indian Ocean Row Ends, Another Resumes

It seems the Indian Ocean is the source of all kinds of interesting news at the moment, with a couple of challenging rows just getting underway and another recently coming to an end. This is the season for those kinds of aquatic adventures on that great big body of water, where rowers scheduled their journeys around cyclones and monsoons.

We'll start with the fantastic voyage that ended last week, when Erden Eruç became the first person to row from mainland Australia to mainland Africa via the Indian Ocean. Erden reached Angoche, Mozambique on April 20th after setting out from Madagascar where he took shelter during the stormy season.

Successfully crossing the Indian Ocean is just the most recent step in Erden's great Around-n-Over adventure which is a human powered circumnavigation of the globe. He has been riding his bike and rowing his way around the globe since 2007, and has now crossed both the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Along the way, he is also climbing six summits as well. He has already knocked off Denali and Kosciuszko in Australia, and now that he has made landfall in Africa, he'll make his way to Kilimanjaro as well. Following that climb, he'll hit the road once again, crossing Africa on his bike before rowing the Atlantic.

While Erden's great Indian Ocean adventure has come to an end, Roz Savage's is continuing. As I mentioned last week, Roz was towed into Geraldton, Australia for a few minor repairs and adjustments to her boat before she hits open water, where small issues can become BIG problems. Eager to get back underway, Roz set out from Geraldton again on Saturday and made good progress on her first few days back on the water. Yesterday however, she noticed an issue with her solar panels charing the onboard batteries, which in turn power the boats electronic devices, Roz's laptop, sat phone, and so on. So, she once again elected to pull into shore for a very quick fix. This time, it would be at the very last port of call before facing 4000 miles of open ocean.

With the latest repairs taken care of, Roz can now get down to what she does best – rowing oceans. Hopefully the next time I post an update, she'll be well on her way to adding another big body of water to her resume.

Adventurer Prepares To Circumnavigate The Globe Via The Poles

South African adventurer Ray Chaplin hopes to circumnavigate the globe, under his own power no less, in just 80 weeks. But even more impressive is that he will do so via both Poles, and not traveling around the planet in a east-west direction as is typical for these kinds of expeditions. If successful, he'll be the first person to circle the globe in this direction and manner.

Ray has named his expedition SHOVA360, and plans to get underway in August from Table Mountain, in Cape Town. He has broken down the journey into stages, with the first stage covering Africa as he travels north. From there, it is on to the Middle East, then Europe, before moving into the Arctic. If all goes according to plan, he'll pass through the North Pole and begin heading south once again at long last. The next stage of his journey will take him across North and South America, then a crossing into the Antarctic, followed by a traverse of that continent. When he's done there, he'll cross the Southern Ocean back to South Africa, and return home. Remember, he wants to do all of this in 80 weeks, which is fairly ambitious all things considered.

Since he's also doing all of those miles under his own power, that means he'll either be trekking, skiing, or pedaling while on land and paddling, either in a kayak or boat, while at sea. Along the way, Ray hopes to stop at more than 200 World Heritage Sites, while covering more than 66,000km (41,010 miles).

Update: For those wondering the source of this story, I came across it in a link from the Explorers Club tweets yesterday. The original article can be found here. Obviously there are a few discrepancies on Ray's website, and as I've noted, his scheduled of going around the world in 80 weeks seems rather ambitious, but I wanted everyone to be aware of where I found this story.

Solo Sailing Update: Laura Dekker Prepares For Panama Canal

It has been a few months since we last checked in on Laura Dekker, the 15-year old Dutch girl who is attempting to sail solo around the world. Back in December, she had just completed her crossing of the Atlantic and was enjoying the Caribbean Islands, which she planned to leisurely explore while she waited out the storm season. With that behind her, she's now on track to navigate the next treacherous leg of the journey – the Panama Canal.

Laura arrived in Panama last week, and has been taking her time in her preparations to sail through the canal, which can be a challenging experience for a sailor in a boat as small as her 38 foot Guppy. While that boat is nothing to sneeze at, she'll be out in the water with some huge cargo vessels making their way between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the increased traffic, in such a relatively confined area, could be a cause for concern.

Fortunately, Laura plans to travel through the canal as part of the crew of another boat first, which will help her to get some knowledge of what she'll be dealing with when she does it on her own in a few weeks time. She'll make a there-and-back-again sail on April 10th and 11th, which should get her more than ready for the real voyage.

Once she's passed through the canal, she'll face the Pacific Ocean, which will bring entirely different challenges. It is one vast, magnificent body of water and it will take her a number of weeks to cross it. But for now, she seems to be enjoying her stay in Panama and soaking up some of the attention there, even if the media are being a bit challenging at times.

Keep up with Laura's progress on her blog by clicking here.

Sarah Outen Launches London2London Expedition

Back in December I posted a story about ocean rower Sarah Outen's plans to circumnavigate the globe under her own power. Sarah, who had successfully rowed solo across the Indian Ocean in 2009, had made it known that she would be riding her bike and paddling her way around the planet, an ambitious endeavor to say the least. Last Friday, she kicked off that journey, setting out on what she calls her London2London via The World expedition.

Sarah started this latest adventure by paddling under the London Tower Bridge, which serves as both the starting and finish line. From there, she's now traveling by kayak down the Thames River and then across the English Channel, where she'll get out of the water and hop on her bike. Over the course of the rest of this year, she'll be pedaling across Europe and Asia, where she'll eventually reach the Pacific Ocean. When she does, she'll get back into a boat and row her way across the Northern Pacific to Vancouver. That stage will be followed up with another leg on her bike, which will take her across the U.S. and Canada, eventually ending in New York City, where she'll get in her boat one last time, and row across the Northern Atlantic. If all goes according to plan, she'll be paddling back under the London Tower Bridge sometime in 2013.

It has been an eventful first couple of days for Sarah, mostly due to the media attention surrounding her launch. Examining her expedition tracker however, shows that she has completed the first paddling leg this morning, and has successfully crossed the Channel. She'll now be climbing aboard her bike for the first really long and difficult stage of the trip. It'll be several weeks before she's out of Europe, and once she leaves those friendly confines behind, the real challenges will begin.

You can follow Sarah's progress on her blog, and if you read her updates from the Indian Ocean a few years back, you no doubt recall how interesting her reports can be. I'm sure these updates will be no exception, and I look forward to keeping track of how many Mars bars she consumes along the way. They're her favorite source of fuel on these calorie burning adventures that she keeps finding herself on.

I'll posted updates as Sarah makes progress on what is sure to be a long, yet amazing journey.

Polartec Announces Recipients of 2011 Challenge Grants

Polartec, the company behind the fabrics that keep us warm and dry while playing in inclement weather, has announced the recipients of their 20th annual Polartec Challenge Grants. The awards are generally awarded to small, innovative, and daring expeditions in need of funding to realize their goals. This year, there were four winners.

Amongst the recipients for 2011 is climber Mike Libecki who plans to make several first ascents above the Arctic Circle. Libecki will catch a lift aboard a Russian Icebreaker, than travel like a polar explorer on skis and rubber raft, across 50 miles of open ice, to reach his eventual climbing destination. Look for this expedition to get underway this spring.

The second grant was awarded to Jon Turk, Tyler Bradt and Erik Boomer, who will attempt the first circumnavigation of Ellesmere Island, one of the most remote pieces of land on the planet, falling not far from the North Pole. The team will be covering more than 1400 miles through treacherous pack ice in kayaks and on skis. This will be another spring time adventure that should be quite interesting to follow.

The third grant goes to an all-female team of climbers who have set a goal for themselves to make the first ascent on an unnamed peak in the Karakoram along the border of India and Pakistan. The team consists of top climbers and guides Janet Bergman,  Zoe Hart and Kirsten Kremer, who will be making an ascent of a mountain that is 6135 meters (20,128 ft) in height. The expedition will most likely take place this summer, when the Karakoram season is in full swing, and will be a daring alpine style ascent.

The final grant was actually awarded last year, but due to an injury to climber Kelly Cordes, it has to be postponed until 2011. Cordes, and his climbing partner Kyle Dempster, will be headed to Charakusa Valley in Pakistan, where they'll have their choice of a number of unclimbed faces. Of particular interest is a 6200 meter (20,341 ft) spire near K7 that has yet to be conquered. No dates are set for this expedition, but considering the destination, this is probably a summer adventure as well.

Congrats to the winners. These are some interesting and exciting expeditions.

Solo Sailing Update: Laura Completes First Stage, Crosses The Atlantic

15-year old solo sailor Laura Dekker has completed the first stage of her journey by crossing the Atlantic Ocean and reaching the island of St. Maarten over the weekend. It took her 17-days to sail from the Cape Verde Islands aboard her 38ft yacht affectionally named Guppy.

Reaching the Caribbean is a milestone for the teen, who hopes to set a new record for the youngest to sail solo around the world. It has been a turbulent path for the Dutch girl, who saw her departure blocked by authorities on more than one occasion due to her young age. Earlier this year she was finally granted permission to sail, and set out for the Gibraltar. She then spent two months in the Canary Islands, preparing for the voyage ahead. Once the Guppy was sea worthy, and her skills were finely honed, Dekker hit the open ocean on December 2nd.

Clearly Laura is in no hurry, and she still has nearly two years to break the youngest record, which is currently held by Australian Jessica Watson, who completed the solo sail a few days shy of her 17th birthday. Dekker currently plans to sail the warm Caribbean waters for a time, with an eye on passing through the Panama Canal in the April/May time frame.

It is "so far, so good" for Laura. There hadn't been much news on her progress until now, but it seems that she is doing well and enjoying the experience. Her unhurried pace reflects a course that has been designed for her to avoid some of the perils of the high sea as much as possible. For example, Watson had to deal with the notoriously bad waters off of Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, which can be very dangerous, but Dekker's route will allow her to bypass those hazards.

Congrats to Laura for completing the first phase of the journey. Well done!

Sarah Outen Announces Human Powered Circumnavigation Attempt

You all remember Sarah Outen right? She's the 25-year old British woman we followed closely as she rowed solo across the Indian Ocean last year, becoming the first woman, and the youngest person to accomplish that feat. After taking some time off for much deserved rest and recuperation, Sarah is now ready to clue us all in on her next expedition, which is even more ambitious than her ocean row.

Sarah has announced that beginning April 1st, 2011, she will be embarking on a new expedition dubbed London2London, during which she will attempt to circumnavigate the globe completely under her own power. That means rowing the oceans and biking the continents, in what she estimates to be a 2.5 year endeavor to circle the planet.

Her route will naturally begin and end in London of course. She'll start off by kayaking down the Thames and across the Channel to France. From there, she'll get on her bike and head east, crossing Europe and Asia, eventually arriving on the Russian East Coast. After that, it's back in the kayak for a little jaunt to Japan, where she plans to spend some time before embarking on a solo row across the Northern Pacific Ocean, which she hopes to begin in the spring of 2012. Arriving in Vancouver, she'll begin another bike leg, crossing through Canada and the U.S. before arriving in Nova Scotia, where she'll get in her row boat one more time for a solo row across the North Atlantic.

You've got to hand it to the girl, she sure has ambition. You can read more about Sarah's plans in this interview over at WideWorld. Also, be sure to check out the video below so you can listen and watch Sarah announce her plans in person.

Norwegians Complete Kayak Circumnavigation of South Georgia Island

Explorers Web is reporting today that a team of Norwegian kayakers has successfully completed an unsupported circumnavigation of South Georgia Island located in the Southern Ocean. The team took 20 days to make the paddle, which has only been done on two other occasions.

The team, consisting of Simen Havig-Gjelseth, Sigrid Henjum, Tormod Austring, and Dag Marius Ammerud, returned to the village of Grytviken yesterday morning where they were greeted by a few locals who welcomed them back by shooting flares in the air and serving them cognac. According to the expedition's website, the paddlers hit the water at 3:15 AM to take advantage of good weather and low winds. By 9:30 AM they were finished and on dry land celebrating.

South Georgia is one of the most remote islands on Earth and is well known for its incredibly bad weather. The cold ocean waters and southerly location keep the place from ever getting warm year round, and the notoriously bad winds are a challenge for any visitor to deal with, whether on land or sea. Throw in some very choppy surf, with big waves that run unbroken across much of the Pacific, and you'll understand why ExWeb calls a circumnavigation of the island the "Everest of Kayaking."

Congratulations to this team for completing their expedition.

Expedition1000: Circling the Globe in 25 Increments of 1000 Miles

British adventurer Dave Cornwaithe has accomplished a number of cool things since he was struck by wanderlust while visiting Uganda back in 1999. For instance, he has skateboarded the length of Great Britain, paddled the Australia's Murray River from Source to Sea, and traveled 150 miles from Bath to London on a stand-up paddle board. But it is is next project, which is incredibly ambitious, that is likely to capture the attention of many.

Dave is currently preparing to launch his Expedition1000 sometime in 2011. The expedition will consist of 25 journeys, each 1000 miles in length, that will be completed without the use of motorized transportation. For instance, Cornwaithe is already planning on running a 1000 miles down the Mississippi River on a stand-up paddle board and he is hoping to paraglide through the Himalaya and cross Mongolia on horseback. Other modes of travel that are on his list include cycling, skiing, rowing, roller blading, and of course on foot.

While these 25 separate journeys will be their own reward, Dave has some altruistic motivations as well. He hopes to raise £1 million for the Blue Project, an organization dedicated to protecting coral reefs that are threatened by changes to the oceans and our environment in general.

ExWeb posted a brief interview with Dave today that offers more insights into his thoughts and motivations for the the Expedition1000 project. Definitely worth a read. Also check out the video below for an introduction to the project as well.

Freya Hoffmeister Talks Paddling Around Australia on Video

Freya Hoffmeister has earned the distinction of being named Canoe & Kayak magazine's Adventurer of the Year. In case you've forgotten about Freya, she's the woman who circumnavigated the entire continent of Australia in a kayak. The journey took her 332 days to complete, covering more than 14,000km (8700 miles). In the video below she talks about that journey, mentioning that she just always tried to keep Australia on the left and just kept paddling. It is a pretty amazing feat for sure and the video offers some insights into what it was like for her.