NUMBERS

We don’t know the exact distance of how many kilometres of miles, nautical or statute, we done. This wasn’t important to us. The track and goal were clear, to make a full circle, but if it is 200km more or less, really who cares. We had GPS, but only used it for crossings and in fog, it was switched on every hour or two, depending on our need.

We know that the full circle has taken us 119 from Gravesend to Gravesend.
The whole journey lasted for 122 days, exactly four months as we planned, from 1.04. to 31.07. 2012.

But there are few other interesting numbers and facts which I would like to share with everybody.

We had 94 paddling days.
We had 28 non paddling days, of which 26 were due to weather, 1 a mental rest (after our Lundy landing) and 1 in Gravesend as we were back too early.

We pitched tent and camped for most of the nights of which 7 were spent in 2 payed campsites.
We slept 28 nights under the roof:
2 in bothys
6 in hostel (Rubha Reid, Thurso, Cullen)
3 in B&B (Wick and Robin Hood’s Bay)
3 in Gravesend Sailing Club

14 at nice people houses:
3 at Howard & Gill’s in Brighton
1 at Mark and Sherril’s close to Portsmouth
4 at Barbara & Ian at Burton Bradstock
1 at Tanya & Andy’s (MidlifeKayak) in
1 at Steve’s at Aberporth
1 at Stuart and Kate’s at Easdale
2 at Finley and Linda’s at Aberdeen
1 at Tim’s close to Harwich

This trip was very liberating and brought us back to nature. We develop a need for one clear luxury, a fresh towel, so only took a shower if offered together with fresh towel.

All together we had showers on 16 different places around Britain.

We had a little competition here. Not between us, no. But it was showers against whisky bottles.

Sadly I have to say that the whiskey lost 14:16 for showers.
It may be due to us leaving unprepared and not having one till Brighton. On the other hand we had some very special stuff prepared by Zdislaw Dubinsky and carefully packed by his daughter Ania in handy containers of a size of double shot. We had one to two a day all the way till Brighton. Also the last bottle of whisky is not counted since it was bought in Walton-on-Ness as the very small bottle they make.

Where food is concerned, the statistic is very simple. This trip wasn’t about cooking. So altogether we used only few ingredients.
For cooking it was salt, pasta, quick rice – Egg fried rice was very popular, kidney beans in chilli sauce, pesto, tomato sauce, coconut milk and green Thai paste, odd carrot or courgette and leek, chorizo.

For snacks we had wraps, cream cheese, various salamis and cheeses, ketchup, mustard and mayo and occasionally a cucumber or pepper.

30 packets of Czech soups, various flavours (all time favourite a Goulash soup).

We used 480 tea bags of Roibosh and 1,5 kilo of sugar.

Favourite power bars were: Mars, Chunky KitKat, Wagon Wheels, Can’t-remember-name- ones, and a selection of Czech favourite ones especially imported for this trip.