Over the next four months, two students are set to canoe 3000 miles across Europe in a bid to paddle a route never before completed.
You can follow their progress here on TIBS News as we receive exclusive updates to go alongside the more detailed reports available on the Canoeing the Continent website.
Nathan Wilkins, 21, and James Warner Smith, 22, have just started their journey from Nantes, in France, and are paddling hundreds of miles upstream across France and Germany before joining downstream rivers through another eight countries ending in Istanbul, Turkey.
James was inspired to propose the four and a half month expedition after undertaking a similar voyage in Canada.
Noting that many people have canoed across North America before, James wanted to find something unique but equally challenging in his home continent.
He said:
“Europe just doesn’t have the same canoeing history nor the canoeing enthusiasts of North America, so our expedition is definitely breaking down barriers.
“Europe also doesn’t have as many rivers running closely together so our task is a lot harder.”
The result is a challenging route that takes in upstream paddling, industrial locks and a long section of coastal paddling on the Black Sea.
The pair can’t be certain exactly how long it will take to get to Istanbul and are looking forward to testing themselves to the limit.
Camping along the way, navigating foreign waterways and negotiating the recently flooded Danube will make this far more than just a physical challenge.
In their final week before they departed, the pair were in the final stages of preparation: gathering kit, promoting the expedition and training hard on local rivers around the University of Warwick.
However, having spent the past few months revising for their final exams, James and Nathan haven’t had as much training time as they would have liked.
They see themselves as a pair of amateur canoeists ready to ‘learn the hard way’, keeping a lighthearted blog of their struggles along the way.
The expedition is supported by the Lord Rootes Memorial Fund at the University of Warwick which aims to encourage students to engage in challenging projects.
Their progress can be followed here, as well as on twitter: @canoeingEurope , and finally on their dedicated website: http://www.canoeingthecontinent.com/.
To track their progress on an interactive map click HERE.
By Luke Augustus
This photograph was provided by Renée S. Suen.
