The majority of paddlers have at some time felt the desire to take part in a sea kayaking expedition. Mountaineering has had a long tradition of traveling to remote peaks and attempting new routes. For the sea paddler, the opportunity to be the first person to explore a region by kayak is extremely limited. Geoffrey Winthrop Young expressed the feeling that for each group of explorers the sense of discovery can often be the same:

"The adventure - and it is the test of a good adventure - goes on, the same for each generation. It can lose nothing by time or repetition. The first sight of the sea, of the desert or of a mountain, remains the first sight for each new child, and evokes afresh the same response. The passion for discovery, for the mastery of unknown difficulty, stays always the same."

Traveling along the west coast of Greenland for 4 weeks we were retracing the steps of many generations of Inuit paddlers but at no time did we feel that it devalued the quality of the journey that we undertaking. In fact, at times, the historical perspective enhanced the quality of the experience. One evening, climbing a low hill close to the fjord to look over the camp site and from an elevated view point, it became clear that we had erected our tents in the centre of man made stone circles which with closer examination appeared to have remained untouched for a long period of time. An immediate empathy with previous generations of kayakers was engendered.

Closer to home, it is possible to maintain this feeling of discovery as long as evidence of earlier paddlers or other users of the environment is kept to a minimum. The old adage, "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints", is particularly pertinent when related to some of the more fragile ecosystems and popular paddling destinations.

Trips in local waters are the usual starting point in the education of paddlers. As time progresses though, thoughts tend to turn towards longer paddles in more distant regions. For many British paddlers the west coast of Scotland holds, quite rightly, a particular fascination and is often the first destination for the aspiring touring kayaker. In North America, the west coast of Canada and Alaska, probably occupies a similar place in the hearts of US and Canadian paddlers.

The advent of the rental business in many areas of the world means that the opportunities to travel and explore new areas by kayak have become far more numerous and easier to achieve. The days of shipping equipment out months in advance and all the attendant problems associated with a multi day trip have disappeared. In addition, the use of the Internet and e mail, in particular, has meant that it is fairly straightforward arranging visits to distant shores. The days of working out time differences to ensure that a telephone call isn't received on the other side of the world in the middle of the night are a relic of a former age.

The Four "W's"
Any trip, which is undertaken, can be planned within the framework of the four "W's". These are Who, Where, When and Why. These can be considered in turn.

"Who" should be straightforward. If the aim of the trip is to achieve an objective in a pleasant style then the only people to consider going on trips with are friends and spouses. Long periods of time on the water and confined in small spaces, places an inordinate strain on relationships and as a general rule only well established and strong friendships are able to withstand the demands placed upon them. The concept of selecting strong but relatively unknown paddlers to go on an expedition is a complete anathema to the concept of a kayaking trip. The environment and experiences are there to be shared with friends and family as opposed to acquaintances.

"Where" is a matter of individual choice once a variety of factors have been considered. These include finance, just about anywhere on the planet is now accessible at a price but most paddlers are subject to financial constraints when planning trips away. What type of environment wants to be experienced is also a crucial factor. Some people lean very clearly towards the tropics whereas others seek their adventure in more northerly latitudes, whilst others are perfectly happy in the more temperate regions between 30 and 60 degrees north and south of the Equator. Some people seek the solitude of the higher latitudes whilst others prefer the cultural and human landscapes of more populated regions. Most people develop a preference for one of the environments but welcome the opportunity to experience some of the others.

"When" isn't as simple as it sounds. Factors to be considered include, which hemisphere is it in? Alaska in January and South Georgia in August are non starters. Therefore, if the majority of leave from work has to be taken at a particular time, it will have an immediate bearing on where to paddle. A thorough study of the weather statistics of a particular region will provide an insight into the paddling opportunities. Wind, temperature, precipitation and in certain areas, sea ice have a considerable effect on the paddling potential. On one expedition to the Arctic, the best time to have visited in terms of air temperature and hours of daylight was at a time when not all of the winter's ice would have broken up. The trip becomes a compromise - leave at time when there is still the chance of some sea ice, because to leave it much later would mean that by the end of the journey still being away when the sun was starting its rapid decline towards the autumn equinox with its much lower air temperatures and less settled weather patterns.In other areas trips may be arranged to avoid the worst of the insect population. Switching the departure date by a few weeks either way may miss the black fly season.

" Why" should we go away on a particular trip? There are all sorts of laudable reasons to go paddling. Empathy with previous generations of kayakers, exploring unknown coasts and hostile environments as part of a character building enterprise etc. In reality the only real reason to go paddling is for enjoyment. That is not too say that it has to be easy, as there will be times when it becomes demanding both physically and emotionally. Underpinning all our paddling exploits though has to be fun and enjoyment. If that is not the case then it is possible to argue that the time could be spent more constructively.

Download the PowerPoint Presentation on Expedition Planning It is quite a large file.

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