Crossing the Ditch - Awesome Sea Adventure.
 

You're probably not aware of this, but there is a truly amazing adventure effort being played out as we speak. Two very young Australian lads are attempting to be the first people to successfully paddle a kayak across the Tasman Sea. This sea is in the lower part of the Pacific Ocean and seperates Australia and New Zealand. It is a notoriously difficult stretch of water, with 10 meter waves not being uncommon. As well as this there are the conflicting currents and the brutal storms from Antarctica which can come up at any time without warning.

The total distance is 2200km and they are paddling a two man kayak with no naval backup. They're out there on their own. This stretch of water makes experienced sailors nervous. If you can claim to have sailed the Tasman then you hold high stocks in sailing circles. Last year a lone kayaker attempted this and he was never heard from again.

You can follow their progress at www.crossingtheditch.com.au

They have sat nav and internet aboard and update every day. I think that this is really cool and that these two young guys have serious balls to do this. I hope that some of you get something out of it.

Re: Crossing the Ditch - Awesome Sea Adventure.
 

When you said "kayak" that's not what immediately came to mind.

Pretty cool.

Re: Crossing the Ditch - Awesome Sea Adventure.
 

[ QUOTE ]
When you said "kayak" that's not what immediately came to mind.

Pretty cool.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, maybe a few photos would be appropriate. They designed and built their own specialised kayak for the trip, with a lot of help from professionals. Here are a few shots on their day of departure.

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/8640/kayak1eu8.jpg

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/6165/kayak2ou8.jpg

Also, check out the videos on their site on how they made it. Very cool stuff.

Re: Crossing the Ditch - Awesome Sea Adventure.
 

why are Australians so crazy?

Re: Crossing the Ditch - Awesome Sea Adventure.
 

they need to bring with them 180 kilos of food, so that kayak design makes sense.

Re: Crossing the Ditch - Awesome Sea Adventure.
 

ads,

Sounds v cool. Will check it out this weekend. Reminded me of this very cool journey: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/runningthesahara/