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Paul Caffyn - Sea Kayaking Resume
When not sea kayaking, Paul Caffyn lives on the edge of the
Tasman Sea on New Zealand's West Coast. He worked as a coal
exploration and mining geologist, a job which took him deep
underground in the local coal mines (now retired). Although Paul
began canoeing at the tender age of 9 on the Brisbane River, he
only took up serious sea kayaking in 1977. In the following 30
years he has notched up over 35,000 miles in his single Eskimo
style kayaks. His Australian trip is regarded as one of the great
small boat voyages of recent history.
Paul's first sea kayak expedition was around Fiordland with
co-paddler Max Reynolds. From Jacksons Bay, Paul carried on solo to
complete the first kayak circumnavigation of the South Island. This
trip was the subject of Paul's first book Obscured by Waves. In
1979 Paul kayaked 1700 miles around the North Island, another
first, and completed the trip with a Cook Strait crossing. This
trip was the subject of a second book Cresting the Restless Waves.
In August 1979, Paul teamed up with Max Reynolds again to cross
Foveaux Strait and complete a tough kayak circumnavigation of
Stewart Island. Dark Side of the Wave completed Paul's New Zealand
trilogy of his kayak travels around New Zealand.
In 1980 Paul teamed up with an English paddler, Nigel Dennis,
to complete the first kayak circumnavigation of Great Britain. This
2,200 mile trip took 85 days.
In December 1981, Paul set out from Queenscliff near
Melbourne and spent the next 360 days achieving the first kayak
circumnavigation of Australia. This 9,420 mile paddle is
acknowledged as one of the most remarkable journeys ever undertaken
by kayak. Paul had to contend with a tropical cyclone which nearly
swept him off a small offshore islet in the Coral Sea, raging surf,
tiger sharks which frequently bumped into the kayak in the Gulf of
Carpentaria, crocodiles, sea snakes and three sections of sheer
limestone cliffs. To overcome the three 100+mile plus long sections
of cliffs, Paul used Nodoz tablets to stay awake and lomotil to
keep his bowels dormant during these overnight paddles. The longest
stint along the awesome Zuytdorp Cliffs in Western Australia, took
34 hours of continuous paddling. After 10 years of trying to
interest a publisher in a book about the Australian trip, in April
1994 Paul finally self-published his story as The Dreamtime
Voyage.
In 1985 Paul completed a 4,400 mile 112 day paddle around the
four main islands of Japan.
With co-paddlers, Paul has twice attempted to kayak across
the Tasman Sea from Tasmania to New Zealand but has been thwarted
on both occasions by the Tasmanian authorities and bad
weather.
In August 1991, Paul paddled into Inuvik, in the North-West
Territories of Canada, to complete the first solo kayak trip along
the entire coastline of Alaska. Commencing from Prince Rupert in
British Columbia, this 4,700 mile trip took three northern summers
to complete. Highlights of this trip were: a herd of walrus
swimming around the kayak, a large brown bear ripping open Paul's
tent while he was asleep, being charged by a bull musk ox, and
meeting the Eskimo villagers who are the descendents of the Inuit
people who originally evolved the skin kayaks of the Arctic
waters.
Paul filmed the 1991 trip from Nome to Inuvik, not easy when
paddling solo, and Canterbury Television edited the tapes and some
Television News footage of Paul training on the West Coast, into a
30 minute documentary.
In September 1997 Paul, and Wellington paddler Conrad
Edwards, completed a 550 mile circumnavigation of New
Caledonia.
1998 - 690 mile trip along south-west coast of Greenland,
from Kangerslussuaq to Narsarssuaq with Conrad Edwards
1999 - 700 mile paddle along the west coast of Greenland from
Kangamiut to Upernarvik, with Conrad Edwards.
2001 -2002: 610 mile trip from Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, to
Thailand; with Conrad Edwards.
2007: East Greenland coast from Isortoq to Lake Fiord, with
Conrad Edwards.
Paddle to the fjord where Gino Watkins drowned on 20 Aug
1932, and also to the 1930-31 BAARE expedition base.
2008: 691 mile paddle from Isortoq down the SE coast of
Gronland, to Prins Christian Sund, then westwards to Narsaq. with
Conrad Edwards. This trip followed the 7th journey of the 1930-31
British Air Route Expedition, which expedition leader Gino Watkins
made in a small boat with Cortauld and Lemon. First time since the
day of the Iniut paddlers that this trip was completed by
Westerners in single kayaks.