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Crossing the Ditch

Sunday, 11 November 2007

Sydney to Auckland trans-tasman crossing in a kayak

James Castrission and Justin Jones are a couple of ambitious kayakers that are planning to paddle their custom crafted tandem kayak from Australia to New Zealand in what will be the first ever succesful yak crossing. Providing the weather doesn't present any sudden surprises James and Justin will be launching from Sydney harbour in just a couple of days.

The trip will be journalled at Crossingtheditch.com.au website, which has a lot of interesting information about what they are doing, how they are doing it and the gear they are using to accomplish the journey. It's common knowledge that there's a good reason why a trans-tasman crossing hasn't yet been performed in a kayak: it's a precariously dangerous thing to try and do. Andrew McAuley failed in his bid last year and paid for it with his life. With the advantage of travelling in a pair, it appears as if James and Justin have pretty good credentials as experienced kayakers, however, and their website does demonstrate a high degree of planning and preparation. And the kayak they are using to make the voyage is a pretty impressive looking boat.

I've always harboured dreams of kayaking from the mainland to Tasmania, so I'll be following their adventure closely and paying close attention to any lessons learned. Good luck and godspeed on your adventure guys, my hat goes off to you.