The latest stage of Dave Cornthwaite's Expedition 1000 project got underway last week when the intrepid British adventurer set out on his 11th completely human powered journey of at least 1000 miles (1609 km) or more. This time out, Dave is traveling in a unique, pedal-powered kayak, which will carry him for more than 1200 miles (1931 km) along the Norwegian, Swedish, and Finnish coastlines between Oslo, Norway and Helsinki, Finland.This latest adventure began on Thursday, August 14, and is expected to take several weeks to complete. The route will keep Dave close to the coastline most of the time, as he passes through spectacular Scandinavian landscapes along the way, although he will find time to stop in Copenhagen in Denmark, and Stockholm in Sweden, as well. After departing from Stockholm, he'll face the most challenging leg of the expedition when he'll face an open water crossing between Sweden and Finland, that could be treacherous depending on wether and water conditions at the time.
As with all stages of Expedition 1000, Dave is traveling completely under his own power throughout the journey. In the past, he has traveled by skateboard across Australia, stand-up paddleboard the length of the Mississippi River, and by bike through the Atacama Desert in Chile. This time out, he's using a kayak designed by Hobie that is equipped with their Mirage Drive. This unique accessory to his boat will allow him to pedal through the water, thanks to a pair of fins designed to emulate those found on a penguin. In theory, this should allow Dave to cover more ground in an efficient manner, although 1200 miles is still a long way to travel in this type of boat.
As usual, you can follow Dave's progress on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and his YouTube channel. As of today, he's just a few days into the journey, with hundreds of miles still to go, and a bit of bad weather keeping him in place for the day. But he'll no doubt be back out on the water soon, and sharing plenty of stories about his adventures.
One of the great things about Dave's approach to Expedition 1000, and his adventures in general, is that he is often quite spontaneous about his plans. For instance, this entire journey was conceived an planned within the last two weeks. And now, he's out on the water pursuing his passions. Thats a great way to approach life in general, and it is always fun to see where his travels take him. Good luck Dave!
