Former soldier, author and star of Channel 4’s Hunted and Celebrity Hunted, Jordan Wylie, has stopped in Ramsgate as part of a record-breaking bid.
The extreme adventurer set off from Blackpool last weekend for his attempt to be the first person in the world to Stand-Up Paddleboard (SUP) around Great Britain, a complete circumnavigation of over 2,000 miles of paddling.
The 36-year-old left Essex Marina at Wallasea Island on Sunday (July 26) at 11.18am with a strong tide pushing him out into the Thames Estuary into a choppy sea.
The wind gradually built during the day reaching gusts of 18 knots meaning that conditions were at the upper limit for paddle boarding. Ideal conditions would be up to 10 knots. As a result his first seven hour day was mainly spent on his knees but he still managed to cover 22km, arriving in Ramsgate by the evening.
Poor weather conditions mean he will wait until 5am on Wednesday to set off for the next leg of the journey. He has been staying with Ramsgate RNLI members Chris and Karen Cox.
Among his team is world record breaking sailor Alex Alley, a local lad born in Ramsgate and who attended Chatham House, He is skipper for the support boat and overall project manager.
Adventure psychologist and polar explorer Paula Reid heads up the onshore team and former military adventurer turned film maker James May is documenting the official Guinness World Record attempt. Andover based business Mye Prints and Bear Behind is managing a website, social media and press enquiries.
This is a feat that has been attempted previously in recent years, but to date no person has been successful due to the extreme physical and psychological barriers, combined with the relentless and unpredictable British weather system all year round.
Jordan, who is no stranger to risk or danger, served in the British Army for 10 years, and ran through the three most dangerous countries in the world in 2018, which was also the subject of his latest book; Running For My Life.
Last year he completed another world first when he rowed across the perilous Bab El Mandeb Straits, the gateway to the pirate infested Gulf of Aden, coined the most dangerous stretch of water on the planet.
This year he was scheduled to run marathons in the 10 coldest places on earth but having completed Siberia, Yukon, Alaska and Iceland, his plans came to a grinding hold on his way to the North Pole when the world went into lockdown as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Jordan will return to his polar running challenge in December by heading to Antarctica.
In the meantime the national ambassador for Army Cadets hopes The Great British Paddle will inspire young people around the world and raise money to build a school for refugees on the Horn of Africa that have been displaced by the conflicts in Yemen and Somalia. He hopes The Great British Paddle can contribute towards the £100,000+ he has already raised in the last 12 months to finish the build.
This expedition has been sponsored by Angel Call Handling, an Andover based business which is where Jordan lives these days.
Jordan’s full time exclusive sponsors, Eton Harris and Chartercross Capital Management based in the UAE are also supporting the project
To find out more go to www.thegreatbritishpaddle.com