3120kms in 40 days – 78km a day average. A new record!

On Tuesday 11th July at 17:40, I had the surreal experience of arriving back at Aldeburgh beach 40 days after I set off on the grey, chilly morning of June 2nd.

The shingle looked the same, but I felt different. An adventure like this can’t fail to change you. It may have only been 40 days, but time stretches when you live intensely – it feels like I’ve been away for months.

It’s been a great challenge. The sheer distance, the exposure of being far out to sea, tidal races, sunburn and chafe, relentless headwinds on the East coast, managing my type 1 diabetes. I was outside my comfort zone for much of this trip, and that was stressful. At one stage, I questioned if I could deal with the weight of it.

But I knew that the truth was that I could get through these things, and it would only be my mind that stopped me. We choose the stories we tell ourselves, the very stories that create the reality we live in. As the trip went on, I became addicted to the reward of winning the mental battles and started to look forward to the challenges.

This circumnavigation was a great adventure too. What a privilege to spend 40 days living the simple life of eat, sleep, kayak repeat. Britain is beautiful and it was a joy to live like an animal, immersed in nature. Minke whales, dolphin, seabirds….and a submarine!

All around the country, I received such warm-hearted, generous support from friends, the kayaking community, and from kind strangers too. This came to characterise the trip and I felt so many people were behind me, it really pushed me on. It continued to the end with Billy and Connor paddling with me and Gary giving me food. Thank you everyone.

This was the first circumnav in a surfski. Thank you to Epic Kayaks UK Kirton Kayaks LTD for building a fantastic boat that harnessed the power of the ocean. I urge everyone to try this sport!

I will talk more about my kit but thank you to my other sponsors. Firepot who provided delicious freeze dried meals, Vaikobi who provided paddling gear, Geo Tracks who tracked me, Ivan Lawler whose featherweight saved my wrists, Ryan Lark Sport Psychology – trainee who helped me with the mental side of the challenge, FIDLOCK who kept my electronics dry, Lifesystems Lifeventure who provided the camping essentials, Fourth Frontier who kept an eye on my heart, HAMMER NUTRITION who kept me fuelled when I needed it.

Finally thank you to everyone who has donated to Action4Diabetes, my justgiving link can be found here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/dougals-epic-adventure-a4d9