Sea Kayak Scandinavia Circumnavigation

South Georgia 2005

For me an expedition doesn't really start to feel like one until I have been away for at least a couple of weeks and have had the opportunity to shake off the cobwebs left by this world of what is often termed...

'a society governed by credit cards and protected by double glazing'

So the ideal type of journey I would like to embark upon is one where I know I am going to be away for at least a couple of months at a time, if not more! The expedition needs to be conducted in an area that is both remote and beautiful. So what better place to go than Norway, or even better Scandinavia as a whole.

It's a pretty big and remote region. More than 60% of Norway's coastline lies above the Arctic Circle and much of the outer coastline is open to all of the fetch of the North Atlantic but with many islands offering some shelter along its fjord lined coast.

We hope to see much wild life including both Orca's and Sea Eagle's, we may even experience the 'Northern Lights' or 'Aurora Borealis' and  meet the original descendants of this great seafaring and adventurous nation, the Vikings. In the North of Scandinavia is an area known as Lapland, home to the Sámi people, the last nomadic tribe of Europe. It is with these nomadic people we hope to meet up with in the far North.

In February of 2008, Jeff Allen and Mark Schoon set off on an expedition to circumnavigate and explore the Scandinavian continent by kayak and ski. The journey started from Goteborg in Sweden and true to Celtic tradition the pair set off in a clockwise direction, following the Swedish Archipelago north to Norway.

Weather conditions during the Baltic winter are extremely cold and temperatures often fell well below freezing. Many of the islands, which in the summer months are heavily populated, were deserted at this time of the year creating a surreal and ghost like feel to many of the places they visited. At the mouth of Oslo Fjord they decided to commit themselves to what would soon become the first of many open crossing’s and late that day they arrived in Larvik, home of the famous Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl.

Leaving the Baltic and heading north, now in the exposed waters of Norway’s western coastline, Jeff and Mark kayaked to Stavangar ending the first leg of their journey around Scandinavia.

In March of 2009, Jeff and Mark will return to Norway and continue northwards towards the Arctic Circle. Through this expedition, Jeff hopes to help raise both awareness and desperately needed funds for the Ovarian Cancer Action and to help have a children’s hospice built in his home county of Cornwall, England.

Charities & Education

We have also decided to try and use the expedition to raise awareness for two charities, the 'Ovarian Cancer Action' Charity and the 'Children's Hospice South West' Both are very worthwhile charities and we hope to raise money for valuable research into Ovarian Cancer as well as securing financial help to have a children's Hospice built in my home county of Cornwall.

If you wish to help financially towards either of these two charities please click on the 'Donate now' link at the base of this page.

We are also hoping to develop an educational work sheet which any school or college who may be interested in can download and use as a means of helping us to develop this whole expedition into an interactive package which students from all walks of life can participate in over the next few years. Links with Falmouth Marine School have been developed to help and construct this.

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Expedition members are

Jeff Allen               Mark Schoon

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