Some people have a distaste for the celebrity aspect of sea kayaking. Celebrity belongs in professional sports, politics, and People Magazine. Sea kayakers are usually paddling far and wide to escape that world. They have no need for it, maybe because they tend to be so fiercely individualistic. Or maybe because they're smart enough to see through the artificiality and hype involved in the creation of a celebrity, which is usually done to sell you something. Once in a while though you meet a person with such exceptional talent and personality that you simply must sit up and pay attention.
Recently I had the chance to chat with
Freya Hoffmeister about her upcoming expedition, the “Race Around Australia” sponsored by
Epic Kayaks. I guess everything sponsored by
Epic has to be called a “race”, even though Freya is the only one participating.
I first met Freya at SSTIKS 2005. At the time I only knew her as the laconic woman in black who did head stands in her kayak and hung out with her
“black brother” Dubside. I recall her complimenting me on my two skin−on−frame kayaks (they were black, of course).
In the few years since then, Freya has risen to full−blown sea kayaking
super stardom. She has successfully fused traditional Greenland techniques with modern design (using both a carbon fiber Greenland stick as well as an Epic wing) and cultivated a unique persona: a striking figure in shiny black Reed Chill Cheaters and dark glasses. It resembles something like a cross between Xena Warrior Princess and Bettie Page. She boasts an impressive collection of ten or so custom black kayaks. They have names like
SexyHexy and
Sexplorer. She's gained membership in the elite club of the kayakers invited to perform in front of the camera for Justine Curgenven’s
This is the Sea series
, completed a number of expeditions,
and is the most successful foreign competitor in the National Greenland Kayaking Championships, having won 8 gold medals. She has successfully landed dozens of corporate sponsorships.
Epic is supplying Freya a kayak for the circumnavigation: an
18X Sport modified with a stronger expedition layup, day hatch and the
Track Master Plus rudder system. This will be this first time she has used an
Epic on an expedition. (She's a little concerned that
Epic still has yet to complete her kayak.)
The choice of the Epic is interesting. With its plumb bow, round hull and rudder, it looks nothing like the more "kayaky"-looking British boats. Don't kayaks need pointed overhanging ends for good rough water handling? Isn't a rudder just one more complicated mechanism that is bound to fail on long trip? Any paddler who knows corrective strokes and edging doesn’t need a rudder anyway, right? (By the way, the only other person to successfully circumnavigate Australia by sea kayak was Paul Caffyn 26 years ago, and he outfitted his HM Nordkapp with a rudder.)
Freya's success with this kayak might change the way people think about expedition kayak design.
I'm a fan of traditional kayak design, but I also believe in good engineering. These
side by side comparisons of kayaks in rough water that
Epic has recorded on video might get you thinking. I paddled an
Epic Endurance recently and was blown away by not only the speed but also the maneuverability (even with the rudder up), light weight, comfort and workmanship. While paddling a state−of−the−art fiberglass Greenland-inspired kayak design at Deception Pass, Freya commented that it felt like she was “paddling in chewing gum”, compared to her
Epic.
Another reason to care about Freya's Australia expedition is that it simply pushes the limits of what is possible for any human being. The trip is expected to take an entire year. She has to deal with sharks, poisonous sea snakes and vast stretches of cliffs with no beaches for landing. Crossing the crocodile−infested Gulf of Carpentaria alone will take 7 days. So how does one sleep at night during that crossing? There were so many questions I should have asked her, but I guess I was still trying to wrap my brain around it all.
The biggest question of all that I neglected to ask was, “Why?” Why risk everything? For adventure? To promote a kayak? Because after circumnavigating Iceland, Newfoundland, and the south island of New Zealand, no other challenges remain? Because a person who has jumped out of a plane over 1000 times (500 with her infant son strapped to her chest) lives on adrenaline and will simply shrivel up and die without it? The reasons she has given don’t satisfy me and I’m left wondering what inner demons she is possibly chasing or running from.