Canoeist to paddle solo

Press, 2 February 1982, Page 7

Canoeist to paddle solo

PA Sydney Westland canoeist, Paul Caffyn, is now going solo in his attempt at the first kayak circumnavigation of Australia. Mr Caffyn had been travelling with an American, Thom Turbett, but the two parted company amicably earlier last month. “We found we were not getting on as a team as well as we should have been,” Mr Caffyn, aged 34, said in Sydney.

He paddled into Botany Bay on Friday, a month and 1080 km after leaving Melbourne. “It was not too bad a time considering I lost about 10 days paddling due to an elbow infection and weather conditions,” he said. “But it has not been easy and is definitely harder than the trip around Britain in 1980. “Around Jervis Bay off south New South Wales there were really high cliffs and

y the back-swell was throwing d me around and at times [- tossing the kayak right out of the water,” he said. e An indication of the haz--0 ards he will face during the n 14,720 km trip, was the fact r that a number of sharks came close to his kayak as y he neared Sydney. n “There were four of them n and it was pretty horrific seeing their dorsal fins cutf ting through the water about e two metres from the boat,” 1 he said.

He said the most difficult j part of his trip would be ; crossing the Great Austra- ; lian Bight. 1 “I will have to paddle for 1 at least 20 hours at a stretch i because there will be no ; landings,” he said. ! Going solo meant he had i lessened his chances of com- ! pleting the journey, he said. ' “But I will keep going and j in some ways am happier on ' my own as i am not carrying i the responsibility of having I someone paddling with me.” ■