this that
Keirron Tastagh
Jeff Norville
Joe O’Blenis
Rapid Transit THE RACE IS ON FOR A SPEEDY CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF VANCOUVER ISLAND
>> AS IF PADDLING ALL 1,200 KILOMETRES around the rugged coast of Vancouver Island wasn’t challenging enough, two expeditions will be vying this season to complete the jour- ney in record time. Keirron Tastagh of Isle of Man, Great Britain, and Jeff Nor-
ville of Portland, Oregon, are aiming for a 14-day circumnaviga- tion in a tandem boat while Joe O’Blenis of Kamloops, B.C., hopes to complete a solo circuit in 21 days. Both expeditions are sponsored by British boat designer Nigel Dennis. The current record is held by Leon Sommé of Orcas Is-
land, Washington, who completed the challenging trip in 28 days in 1998. On May 10, Tastagh and Norville will launch from Orcas Is-
land, cross into Canadian waters and begin their circumnaviga- tion. They hope to paddle an average of nearly 100 kilometres a day in what in all likelihood will be sketchy spring weather. And high wind and surf isn’t their only potential pitfall. “One challenge that also fits into the ‘looking forward to’
category is that Keirron and I haven’t met one another,” says Norville. They’ll paddle a pink-coloured boat in support of their mutual friend Ginni Callaghan, who’s recovering from breast cancer. Tastagh says he’s looking forward to paddling their nar-
row, high-performance Triton double in the squirrelly cur- rents of Vancouver Island’s Inside Passage and the gales and surf of the open west coast. Their two-week goal wasn’t an arbitrary choice. “In the sea conditions we expect in May the distance be-
tween relatively safe landings on the west coast is roughly 50 miles,” says Tastagh. “So taking that as a daily average, it will have to be done in 14 days.” About a month later, Joe O’Blenis will start his circum-
navigation from Nanaimo, B.C., in Nigel Dennis’ Greenland Race kayak. O’Blenis has a number of long-haul paddling ac- complishments to his credit, including a single-season cross- Canada canoe trip in 2004 and several top finishes in the 700- kilometre-long Yukon River Quest. In 2003, he paddled 275 kilometres in an attempt to set a new world record for distance paddled in 24 hours. By waiting until June, O’Blenis will likely have better weather
and be able to glean knowledge from Tastagh and Norville. He will also have a time to beat. When asked if he would try to best Tastagh and Norville’s efforts, O’Blenis replied, “I’ve never publicly said that I was out to beat their time.” Yet, says O’Blenis, “I’ve been told I have a competitive streak a mile wide. So yeah, I’ll go for it.” —Conor Mihell
ADVENTURE KAYAK | | 17
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PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: MIKE WADE, JONATHON WALPOLE, ALAN FORTUNE PHOTOGRAPHY
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