The pair will leave from Port Stanley and paddle in a clockwise direction; they will encounter a range of conditions with the Islands being exposed to the weather patterns that circle the globe across the southern oceans and under South America. They will also have natural hazards which include large open kelp beds, which will restrict landing opportunities, open crossings and remote surf landings. Man has also thrown in a few hazards of its own by way of land mines on some of the more stunning and prospective landings spots, these are left over from the Falklands war and by now some of them have been known to have moved due the Oceans currents and storms over time.
This will not be the first time that the pair have paddled together, they have done many small trips as well as meeting up to paddle from Baltimore on the West Coast of Ireland to Inverness on the East Coast of Scotland via Rathlin Island and Cape Wrath together in 2004. The pair both work for The Outward Bound Trust, an organisation that uses the outdoors as a medium for personal development in Young people. Tom is based at the Welsh Centre in Aberdyfi on the west coast and Fiona at the Lake District Centre on Ullswater.
As part of the expeditions focus the pair have two other aims the first is to give something back to the Falkland Islands community, they are planning to work with some of the young people from the School in Port Stanley delivering personal development courses and the second is to raise money to help a few of the young people from the Islands about to leave school to travel to UK and enrol on a three week ‘Outward Bound Classic course’ next summer. The pair hope to raise money whilst they are paddling with reports being sent home but also through presentations and talks about the expedition after returning from the trip.
