HMS Endurance Kayak Team Blog

26th February We’re done. Back on board, kayaks stowed, kit cleaned, fed and watered. Breathe a sigh, reflect. Anita, our online conscience, when it comes to recording our thoughts and sending them back for the website, has asked us to write a few words about how we feel. Hmmm…

Honest, there is a tinge of disappointment. We didn’t get a chance to even try the circumnavigation. Quashed before we started out and the frustration is easy to recall. Especially, because even as the decision was made, we had to remain positive and optimistic. Now, in the aftermath, it is different, it’s done, finished and the ‘what ifs’ can be considered and that’s the problem with setting a difficult goal. If it was easy, it would have been done before and if it is difficult then failure must be likely so the possibility exists and therefore you have to be able to deal with it.

Maybe this is the real test? Just a mere hiccup towards an eventual goal and the certainty of achieving it. I know this of course, any physically hard endurance test is about mental strength not physical. But knowing and feeling are different and at present the feeling is stronger. I only need to reread the above advice to myself.

On a lighter note, all the above is tosh! Should really just delete it, but Anita did ask for the “touchy-feely” stuff; so there you go! It’s tosh, because as I go through and edit the photos and select the better ones, the experiences comeback. Hard to describe what it is like navigating icebergs and sea ice, all moving and changing with the wind, tide and weather. Not knowing where you will stop for lunch or camp for the night. No guide book, just decisions based on what you see. It’s the thrill of a first ascent that is the most remembered and we have had plenty of that. Each day was different; each day had challenge and excitement. From high winds to still fog. From bitter cold to scorching sun. From danger to boredom, it was all there everyday. Hard not to want more.

Endurance Kayak