The mission
To Paddleboard from Dungeness on the southeast coast to Boulogne in France . Crossing the world ’ s busiest shipping lanes , joined by 24 species of shark , a guy called Will from ( Full Throttle in Rye Harbour ), and a rib with the biggest engines I ’ ve ever seen .
I knew the iRocker wasn ’ t up to the job , so I went for a Starboard 14ft Tourer ; I wish I went for a solid board , but one day , maybe . My paddleboarding experience was all on still slow-moving water ; I thought the sea would be the same ; how wrong was I !
The sea is a beast not to be messed with , and my training included four crossings to the Isle of Wight from Calshot . Coastline paddling around Bournemouth , Brighton and Devon and many miles up and down the River Ouse .
In Bournemouth , I bumped into a familiar face of the SUP scene who was out running , Mr David Haze . My wife thinks I have a man crush on him but don ’ t worry , David , I haven ’ t . I am utterly inspired by you and grateful to be in touch . David and I have some exciting plans ahead , which is so cool .
The crossing
The crossing was supposed to go on September 5th this year , but the weather stopped it , unfortunately . My next date was September 21st , 09:00 , at Rye Harbour . I was taxied around to Dungeness , about a 15-minute spin in the boat . They plonked me on the water and told me to go .
I gave myself 10 hours to complete the 26 nautical miles ; I was lucky , though ; the sea was on my side , as was the weather . I completed it in 5hr : 45m . This was the hardest thing I have ever done , both physically and mentally it was tough , even in calmer waters . Along the route , I was met by sea lions guiding me through the world ’ s busiest shipping lanes .
There were ships everywhere , and one container ship had 1200 containers on board , which was 400m in length . That beast travelled at 25 nautical miles per hour ; I paddled at five .
The sea looked beautiful , with enormous jellyfish bobbing in the water and my reflection shining from the sun . It was sad to see the amount of pollution , too , though , birthday balloons , drink cups , crisp bags etc . The saddest thing I witnessed was four separate boats loaded with families trying to escape France to better their lives in England ; I can see why so many don ’ t make the crossing .
A channel crosser SUP style
As we finished in Boulogne harbour , we enjoyed a pint in the first pub we found . We made it ! I ’ m officially a channel crosser SUP style . More people have climbed Everest than crossed the channel , and I ’ m told I ’ m now one of a few that have done it on a SUP .
To conquer an adventure like this , you need good people around you ; I could never mention everyone , but I would like to mention a few . The OLLIE Foundation , iMAB , Tesco , 3 Stooges campers , HATHA , Starboard UK , Cliff at EPIC Life and my safety team , Full Throttle Boat Charters . More importantly , though , are my loving family and friends .
Thank you .
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