By Josh Raper​

Josh Raper Media (article author/expedition support + photographer)
Adventure brand and expedition photographer and film-maker www.joshrapermedia.co.uk
www.instagram.com/joshraper.media/

Wanderlust Action Films
Feature Documentary expedition filmmakers: The Art of The possible
www.instagram.com/wanderlustactionfilms/ www.wanderlustaf.com

If you are interested in supporting or donating to the expedition, you can visit their website
www.kayak4heroes.co.uk
or their Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kayak4heroes.

Kayak 4 Heroes

Lands End to John O’ Groats (LEJOG) has been an endurance challenge taken on by a whole variety of people over the decades, ranging from the top athletes of their sport to members of the general public pushing their limits and, more often than not, raising funds for charity in the process.

The majority of these expeditions have been land-based, with only a handful of attempts on the water and certainly not many recorded attempts by kayak. This summer, Kayak 4 Heroes, a world-first expedition, will be setting off on June 19th to take on this challenge of a lifetime, as well as pushing their fitness and endurance to the extreme.

I’ve been lucky enough to join their journey in one of their first expedition training camps last year. Acting as support crew and the official photographer of the expedition during the training stages, and hopefully meeting them at various points of the expedition when I can.

So what makes this expedition the first of its kind? The expedition team features five veterans, all with life-changing injuries, which makes this an adaptive team, and so far, only non-disabled individuals have taken on LEJOG. They will have to face the challenges of the route, the weather and control of the kayaks, and the challenges of what their bodies will face along the way.

The mental and physical challenges

Expeditions and adventure sports, in general, are not normally associated with disabilities or long-term injuries of this kind, and to see the team’s determination in overcoming the mental and physical challenges leading up to the expedition launch is incredibly humbling. Hopefully, this inspires others to take to the water, if not just enjoying more time outdoors and having adventures, but pushing their limits and overcoming any fears, injuries, or disabilities.

It’s been incredible to see how far the team have come and the kayaking skills they had developed since their first training camp in June last year. Many of the team had minimal kayaking experience, and considering some of the teams’ injuries and disabilities, I have so much respect for the guys taking this on – to see them now cutting through the water with ease and paddling in unison demonstrates their determination, endurance and down to earth attitude. They just get on with it, have a laugh, and it’s such a joy to work with them.

The Kayak 4 Heroes team will set off from Sennen Cove in Cornwall and take on 1,400 kilometres of the United Kingdom’s most challenging waters before arriving at John O’ Groats in Scotland. Hoping to utilise the prevailing south-westerly winds at this time of year, the decision was made to tackle the challenge from south to north to maximise the team’s chance of success, with the planned duration to be 35 days approximately with almost daily paddling.

two inland sections

The route also features two inland sections covering approximately 400 kilometres of the total distance. The first of these two passageways will lead the team inland through the Bristol Channel, diverting off onto the Sharpness canal to Gloucester, before heading up the River Severn and canal networks of the West Midlands until the team reach Ellesmere Port. They’ll then paddle along the coast, passing through some of the most challenging water sections, such as Morecombe Bay, before they then reach Fort William in Scotland.

Here they’ll paddle up through the famous Caledonian Canal, which passes through Loch Linnhe, Loch Lochy and Loch Ness, before finishing along the east coast up to John O’ Groats.

Epic V8 doubles

One of the major expedition sponsors is Epic, which sponsors and provides the kayaks for the whole duration. The team will be using Epic V8 doubles, a versatile surfski which is proving to be popular with the team so far compared to other types they have tried during expedition training. The main advantage of the surfski is they are reasonably easy to get in and out for those members of the team with disabilities and injuries.

The team has been training in various waters and conditions, allowing them to be as prepared as possible when launch day comes. They’ve trained in enclosed water such as Lake Windermere, the River Exe and Exe Estuary, and the Cotswold Water Park lakes, where they have learned and adapted how to paddle in double kayaks as well as capsize drills and kayak recovery. They have also trained in open waters such as the Bristol Channel and the edge of Cardiff Bay, where they have practised drills with the safety RIB, which is being crewed and provided by Wanderlust Action Films, who are also producing the expedition documentary.

The expedition aims to raise £100,000 for the Armed Forces Para-Snowsport Team, an integral part of the recovery process for the Kayak 4 Heroes veterans and hundreds like them. The independent charity uses the restorative and transforming power of para-snowsports to accelerate and support the recovery welfare of wounded, injured and sick military personnel and veterans. Their world-class programme of adaptive snowboarding, alpine and Nordic skiing gives those with physical or psychological conditions a unique environment to achieve individual and team goals. Ultimately, the charity seeks to provide these athletes with freedom, a recovery pathway, and transform their lives after giving so much to their country.