Sean Morley & the Valley Rapier Take on Vancouver Island

Sean Morley Dealing with the rough stuff....

In September 2008 British sea kayaker Sean Morley will be attempting to break the record for the fastest circumnavigation of Canada’s Vancouver Island. The records currently stand at 23 days 10 hours for a single kayak set by Joe O’Blenis and 19 and a half days for a double kayak set by Kieron Tastagh and Jeff Norville, both in 2007. Sean will paddle in a single kayak, a Rapier 20 manufactured by Valley Sea Kayaks.

Ian Tordoff in the Valley Rapier

He aims to complete the 700mile journey in under 18 days. Vancouver Island can present some of the most challenging conditions a kayaker can face including fierce winds and huge waves off the notorious headlands of Cape Scott and the Brooks Peninsular, high surf and treacherous reefs guarding the remote beaches of the west coast and raging tidal rapids reaching speeds of 15knots in the myriad of channels separating the Vancouver Island from the mainland.
Sean lives in California where he runs River and Ocean, the US importer and distributor for UK Valley Sea Kayaks. He is the current World Masters Surf Kayak Champion in the High Performance category.

Sea Morley on his way to winning the World Surf Kayak Crown in the Valley Rush

In 2004 Sean completed the first solo circumnavigation of the UK and Ireland and all the inhabited islands; a six month, 4500mile expedition and the longest journey ever undertaken by kayak in British waters. I had the pleasure of metting Sean at a show in the US last year & have long been an admirer of his paddling. He has done it all, from high performance racing, to slalom, to some of the most audacious sea kayaking trips undertaken, & even suurf kayaking. If ever there was boat in which to break a record, the Valley Rapier is it - my money is on him to pull off this feat.You can follow his progress from September 22 onwards HERE.

Postscript: Sean completed his epic paddle in just over 17 days, beating the previous record set in a double by almost 2 days. He ended up paddling the standard Nordkapp due to the forecast seas & conditions, judging the Rapier to be a bit too twitchy for such a trip.