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Watkins Expedition East Greenland 2014 pt 2 - update 21 July 2014

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It is now a little under three weeks until I fly to Iceland and then on to Kulusuk on the East coast of Greenland for the start of the expedition to Lake Fjord. This is where Gino Watkins drowned whilst seal hunting from his kayak on the 20th August 1932. Our team leader Martin Rickard Seakayakadventures  has commenced his first trip of this years season and is currently on the West side of Sermilik Fjord. From their position via Spot the team appear to have made excellent progress since leaving Tasiilaq last Friday. I am sending them regular weather and ice updates via sat phone whilst also monitoring their progress on Spot. We have devised our own code for sending these updates and we use the chart below to give information on a number of locations. Numbers 1 to 10 are very much like the numbers of a clock using Angmagssalik Island as its clock face. Number 11 is in Sermilik Fjord near to Martins present location and north of the settlement of Tiniteqilaq which is near to

Watkins Expedition East Greenland 2014 Part 1

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On the 12th August 2014 I will be joining a strong team of eight sea kayakers, all with Greenland paddling experience, from Great Britain and the United States. We will meet up at Sermiligaq on the coast of East Greenland and attempt to paddle approximately one hundred miles north to Lake Fjord (Tugtilik). This is the site of the base camp of the Second British Arctic Air Route Expedition and the place where Gino Watkins died on 20 August 1932. The expedition will be led by Martin Rickard   www.seakayakadventures  and Sam Cook assisted by Les Kirkpatrick and supported by the well known sea kayak film maker and guide book writer Jim Krawiecki   Welsh-Sea-Kayaking  . Lake Fjord has a latitude of 66 deg 19 min North so it is just outside the Arctic Circle. It has been visited by kayak previously but this is believed to be the largest kayak expedition since the original BAARE in 1930. The coast north of Sermiligaq is extremely rugged and fully exposed to the North Atlantic. During th

Freddie Spencer Chapman's Kayak

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So who was Freddie Spencer Chapman? one description I have read was that he was the most famous war hero that you have never heard of. He certainly had an amazing life. A quick search on the internet reveals much about his life and his exploits. My search has prompted me to buy his autobiography which I am about to start reading. So where is the connection between this amazing man and kayaking? It is logical to start reading about Gino Watkins, Greenland and his expeditions by first reading Gino Watkins by J.M.Scott. In this book you receive an introduction to Freddie Chapman who was primarily the expeditions Ornithologist. You are also given an insight into his strength of character when he is tasked with relieving Augustine Courtauld who was forced to spend a winter on the ice cap alone. FSC did not locate Courtauld but only gave up when all options had been exhausted. J.M.Scott's book finishes abruptly when Watkins dies. FSC picks up the story in his book Watkins' Last