It was third time lucky for Lewis Gordon Pugh. After being runner-up twice, he was the runaway winner of OutThere Adventurer of the Year 2008. Congratulations to all the other nominees, particularly to the runner-up, Ryan Sandes, for his quite extraordinary performance in two of the world's toughest extreme marathons.

THE ICEMAN COMETH: Lewis Gordon Pugh - most northerly kayak trip in the world

Runner-up for the OutThere Adventurer of the Year Award three times (in 2006 for setting the record for the most northerly long-distance swim in the world - a 1 070m swim at 80 degrees north; and becoming the first person to complete a long-distance swim in all five of the world's oceans - the Pacific, Indian, Atlantic, Arctic and Southern oceans; and, in 2007, swimming across the low-lying islands of the Maldives to draw attention to their vulnerability with rising water levels and by swimming 1km across an open patch of sea at the North Pole to highlight the effect of global warming) the 'Ice Bear', Lewis Gordon Pugh, continued his work in 2008 by paddling from the Island of Spitsbergen (about 1 000km north of Norway) into the Arctic ice packs and further north than anyone has ever kayaked before.
As if that wasn't enough, he and his paddling partner, seven-time World Kayaking Champion Robbie Hegedus from Hungary, chose to embark on the adventure not in solid, sit-in expedition kayaks of the type favoured by most polar paddlers, but in open surf skis, supported only by a Norwegian fishing boat.

If that doesn't mean much, let me explain. A surf ski is a long, thin and highly unstable craft some 20ft long and only 2ft wide at its widest point, tapering sharply at both ends. Surf skis are what those bare-chested macho guys at Clifton Beach go out for an afternoon paddle in - not the sort of thing you'd expect to see in the wild, freezing wastes of the Arctic Ocean - particularly not for a 10-day expedition which, measured as a straight-line distance (which it wasn't, as they zigzagged around the ice) was over 135km. Lewis explained the choice of craft: 'Robbie and I sat on top of them, not in them - this meant that if we fell out in a big wave or were attacked by a walrus, we could get back on quickly without having to empty water out of them. They are composed of carbon Kevlar honeycomb, which is incredibly stiff, but also fragile. We had to strengthen the tips with duct tape and foam, as we hit lots of ice and logs (chopped down in Canada, which we found floating in the Arctic Ocean). The surf skis were light - each one weighed only about 12kg, so we averaged 9-10 km/hour. This was the first polar expedition that I am aware of that used surf skis, so in this, as in other things, the expedition was pioneering'.
The expedition received extensive coverage on ITV and CNN, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown called Lewis when he passed 81 degrees north to receive his account of the extent of the melting of the Arctic ice. Over a period of 15 months the sea ice at 81 degrees north had melted from three meters thick to just one meter thick. That exposure and the interest from the British Prime Minister was, for Lewis, one of the biggest achievements. 'I wanted to bring home to world leaders the reality of what is happening in the Arctic. The rate of change is clearly faster than all the models predicted, which has huge implications for climate change and how we tackle it. Urgent action is needed to protect the Arctic, together with a strong and fair deal at the Copenhagen Climate Change talks in December.'

Join us for the OutThere Adventure of the Year Awards at Wynberg on Wednesday 3rd June. Lewis will speak about his unique adventures and achievements and answer questions on 'where next?

Proceeds from the evening will go towards the Polar Defense Project.


When: Wednesday, 3 June 2009
Where: CAPESTORM, Wynberg, Cape Town
Time: 19:00 - 19:30
Cost: R20.00, Cash bar & snacks
Bookings: info@capestorm.co.za