ThePADDLER 12
MEET UP Jordan Wylie ( of The Great British Paddle ) and I were lucky enough to meet up with Brendon at Southsea , near Portsmouth . He ’ d finished paddling and had been met by a big crowd . Once they had dispersed , we were able to chat with him and Harry about their exploits , and I was lucky enough to grab an interview on the beach . Brendon was everything , and more we hoped he would be and what a pleasure to spend time with him , Jordan , Harry , Mark Short , who has been supporting the challenge from day one , and Phil from Christian Surfers UK , one of the charities being supported by TLP2021 . All decent men with big hearts .
Please check out my interview on our Supjunkie YouTube Channel below .
There have been world records aplenty ! On July 19th 2021 , Brendon became the first person to SUP from Lands ’ End to John O ’ Groats via only the coast . He achieved this in 74 days and 12 hours . One of the first people to congratulate him was Jordan , who fully supported Brendon ’ s adventure .
THE LONGEST EVER JOURNEY In early August 2021 , Brendon broke yet another world record , the longest ever journey by a stand up paddleboarder , surpassing Shilpika Gautam ’ s 2017 record . He is also the first person to SUP the entire mainland coast of Scotland from the English border to the English border .
On August 23rd , Brendon ticked off paddling the four corners of mainland Britain by passing Lowestoft , the most easterly of those corners .
NOW , he is the first person to circumnavigate mainland Britain by SUP ! A pretty unbelievable feat , but there it is – an epic world record .
This journey has not just about world records , but these do highlight the huge accomplishment from Brendon and will further raise awareness of the events over the last few months and the fundraising goals .
The main aim of the fundraising is to develop and release the first ‘ gamified , interactive water safety app ’. The app will have specific locations , so you could even play the app on the way to the beach . It will also have all the essential water safety and drowning prevention information to stay safe on the coast or inland waterways . This app will be free to all schools . You can support this at :
www . thelongpaddle . co . uk / donate / sponsorship .
Other charities being supported are categorised into four different sections : l Water safety with the RNLI , Above Water and Surf Life Saving GB . l Helping children with The Wave Project . l Men ’ s health and wellbeing with Christian Surfers and Andy ’ s Man Club . l Coastal environments with Surfers Against Sewage .
If any of these are dear to your heart , you may wish to donate through The Long Paddle website .
There has been wildlife aplenty on this trip , huge pods of dolphins , gulls of all kinds swooping so close to Brendon ' s board as if to knock him off , and a large colony of seals being playful in the shallows and almost blocking his way into the ocean ! In 100 days , Brendon has only actually fallen off his board ten times ( not that we are counting !) Testament to his paddling prowess and awareness of only paddling when conditions allow him to with his ‘ Surf Life Saving ’ safety awareness hat on .
Brendon and the team are now looking at the LEGACY of this trip , and plans have been underway for a few weeks for their return and hopefully the build of that app .
We hope you have enjoyed following Brendon ' s journey ; we certainly have ! We were never in any doubt that this challenge could be achieved , and we wish The Long Paddle every success in building the app – if there is any way you can help , however small , please do visit the website . We want to thank Brendon and his team for having us on board and providing us with all the help we needed to write these articles .
“ Seeing orcas , sharks , seals and dolphins has Britain to have some of the most incredible