December 11, 2007

"...sometimes the cabin gets airborne and comes down with a thump..." Justin Jones and James Castrission are about midway through a trans-Tasman kayak journey, hoping to be the first to kayak from Australia to New Zealand. They left Forster, north of Sydney, on November 13 in a heavily modified kayak with cabin large enough to sleep the paddlers top-and-tail, and with plenty of computer hardware for nav tracking and communication. However, their tall, square cabin is causing them to move backwards at about 1km/hour in head winds. Whatever: we here in NZ are just hoping they stay alive.

I had thought about linking to more stories of extreme sportspeople who come to NZ with the intention of breaking one record or another, but end up being killed or requiring rescue to the effect of hundreds of thousands of dollars. I'm a tad cynical, and I don't really get it, as such.

posted by tracicle 16 years ago
  • If I had the surname Castrission I would certainly change my first name to Landru.
  • "These are the kind of conditions you expect when you are 1558km out to sea," Mitchell said. "Obviously, this is having a negative effect on their morale." Travelling with friends can be a tricky thing at the best of times, but being cold and wet and sore and trapped in a tiny box with some guy who is obviously losing it while you're just fine thank you and fighting off the looming spectre of death... Yikes.
  • I agree with the Capt. Trying conditions can bring out the worst in people. Why, just look at some of these posts we've had here! That said, they're crazy.