Feature - December 2006 Sea Kayaker Magazine

An Ambitious Plan
The heart-shaped island of Tasmania has always fascinated me. I love to circumnavigate islands, especially beautiful and remote ones with some challenging kayaking. I’d sat at home with a map and traced a route 900 miles around the coast with my finger, imagining being there in my kayak beside the steep cliffs, white sandy beaches and the exposed southwest coast where the swells can reach 50 feet.
In 2004, I finally decided to go for it. I told a few friends about my intent, and to my surprise, Trys Morris and Gemma Rawlings said they could come along. In early November, the three of us boarded a plane at Heathrow Airport.
Trys is a highly qualified kayaker who kayaked 5,000 miles from the U.K. to Greece and has been coaching all over the world for years. Gemma is a gutsy paddler who earned her stripes playing in the tidal races of North Wales. She was keen to use her skills on her first big trip. I’d previously been on expeditions to Kamchatka, Alaska and Iceland, but this would be my longest journey to date.
Our various commitments allowed us only 42 days to complete the circumnavigation of Tassie. We’d have to paddle an average of 22 miles a day, without a single day off. The distance felt very daunting and ambitious, but we made a pact that we’d keep paddling until we got around, even if we had to change our flights and miss Christmas at home.
We landed at Hobart Airport on the morning of November 6. We rushed around buying fuel, food and flares so we could start paddling the next day. At a boat ramp in Eaglehawk Neck on the East Coast, we stuffed everything into our kayaks for the first time. It took a while, and at 4:45 P.M. we finally pushed off. I couldn’t stop smiling now that we were finally underway, and I wasn’t really worried that we only had about four hours of daylight to reach our planned campsite 14 miles to the north.