Solo: Lost at Sea
In December 2006 Andrew's first attempt to cross the Tasman Sea in a standard one-man kayak was aborted after two days due to trouble keeping warm inside the cockpit. Andrew's second attempt began on 11 January 2007 and ended on 12 February when the search for his missing body was called off following the recovery of his partly flooded kayak on 10 February just 30 nautical miles short of his destination Milford Sound.
The sleeping arrangements at sea involved deploying a sea anchor, squeezing his body down into the kayak and sealing the hatch with a bulbous fibreglass capsule (dubbed "Casper") fitted with an air-only ventilator which, with its self-righting capabilities, made it possible to ride out the most severe storm conditions that are inevitable in that part of the ocean. Unfortunately, when the capsule was pivoted to its stowing position behind the cockpit, it made it impossible to kayak roll due to being filled with water like a bucket. Therefore, whenever he capsized, he had to swim out of the kayak, push it upright and perform full self-rescue.
When his kayak was recovered, only this capsule was missing. It was presumed to have been torn off by a freak wave. One of its pivot arms had already been damaged. Veteran sailor Jonathan Borgais, who was directing the expedition by providing weather predictions, explained: "From the beginning, my biggest concern was the approach to New Zealand. And this part of New Zealand is notoriously dangerous. On a good day you can get rogue waves: a two or three metre set that can come out of nowhere. Not big, but powerful. That's very dangerous. I have no doubt that a wave got him."
The documentary of Andrew's journey Solo: Lost at sea incorporated video footage recovered from one surviving memory stick in his camera as well as interviews with people on his team during the expedition. It begins with the distress call he made on 9 February.
dude with balls and it's not for us to judge hi
"Play stupid games - Win stupid prizes"
What else can you say.
Ruining his small family by taking away himself as a father. Shame on him.
He was brave. He pushed the limits but sometime nature will push back and she pushed back this time and took his life. Ships have been lost in and on that ocean - strong ships with seasoned sailors that didn't survive. It's one of the most dangerous oceans on the planet. I wished he had made it and it's one less miracle on Earth that he didn't. He was a mountain climber I note and people have been calling mountain climbers selfish for decades but they are a special breed and humanity would be less without them. Sometimes the greatest failures are remembered with the greatest honour - for example Scott and the failed 1911 expedition to Antartica.
Im not saying what he did was a bad thing, just a selfish thing, he knew the risk, he knew he would probably die, he knew he would never see his wife and kid again, but he went anyway. If he loved his wife and kid, I doubt he would have done this. I would love to do something like this, but I wont, I don't want to hurt my family and I am not capable of living in a kayak. Good for him for what he did, but he did it for 1 peron, himself, with no regards to his family, selfish selfish man.
I watched this documentary 2 years ago and posted this was a selfish act. I still think this is a selfish act, he said the tasman sea isn't a competition but his actions totally disregards that's statement, he was a selfish man who was looking to get famous. I hope his wife found a new husband, one that wont abandon her, and I hope his kid his happy and wonders why his dad did what he did. What did he prove? No one would have heard of him if he accomplished this goal, some dude just kayaked 202 days across the atlantic. that makes this 30 day trip peanuts, he wanted to become famous, and had to die in the process, not much sympathy for him.
He killed a little boy's father. He put his own immature urges higher than taking proper care of that little boy - he didn't deserve to have that family as he clearly didn't value it appropriately, he listened to nobody with an adverse take on this trip, left in a vessel laughably under-equipped to deal with that vicious sea - and latterly was clearly well aware of how bad it could go towards the end of the recordings they used for this documentary. Anyone with a little vision could have foreseen an ending of that approximate sort - ie, he'd end up feeding the sharks.
All those praising this ridiculous fool are only showing your own tenuous grasp on what is important in life. This wasn't glorious, it wasn't helpful to anyone - it was an utter waste.
His sort are not Captain James Cook(s) or Christopher Columbus(s)....they are not discoverers. Being the first to cross the Tasman Sea in a kayak, bathtub or giant teapot is an exercise in self-aggrandisement ("look at me"!!) by people lacking self-esteem. If a life only has meaning or happiness through risking it to such a ridiculous purpose......
if i had a wife and young son, i'd love them more than breaking some stupid record. he died, living recklessly, drunk on adventure, risking his son's future as a fatherless child. give him a break? yeah, right. he was about as self-centered as you can get, and his wife and son pay the price every day of their lives.
What a courageous man. He believed he was invincible. Sadly I believe reality bit him in the ass (literally). If he was unable to apply ointment to sooth his sores on his rump, he had no way of dealing with passing waste and staying clean. Combined with constant salt water immersion and pressure/chaffing points his body tissue simply would have broken down to the point he could not go on. Without a plan to provide for his own sustainability, he was doomed. My heart goes to him as the situation had to be unbearable. He could not eat to stay warm and strong without adding to his other problems. Things we take for granted become life threatening under adverse conditions. His strength, willpower and skill, while huge, were not quite enough. I did water immersion testing for space travel and can not imagine the anguish he must have endured.
Andrew made it. And didn't make it. People who live life large run risks, and, in the end, any of us who do virtually anything at all, stand on the shoulders of the Giants who came before us. Many of those people died while trying to figure it out for those who would follow. Thousands died trying to figure out how to make an oceanic crossing in a sailing ship. Hundreds died while the engineers were trying to figure out how to make automobiles that could cruise comfortably at highway speeds. Many people died trying to figure out how to make airplanes cross mountain ranges, continents, oceans. Next time you drive or fly somewhere, think about those people. What Andrew did was very courageous. His death helps clarify some technical equipment deficiencies that those who want to kayak across huge expanses will learn from. There will definitely have to be a better hatch cover for those wishing to do trans oceanic crossings, and a redundant, perhaps inflatable, storm dodger (cover) for a kayak will have to be built. The issue of the hatch sleeping cover was one of Ed Gillette's main problems when he kayaked from California to Hawaii. An adequate solution to that problem has not been discovered yet. But it will. And someone else will paddle the Tasman sea Solo and live to tell the tale.
legend
If no one ever tried anything courageous, we would all still die. We would just die without ever really living.
I think we alll try to understand things in our terms and think that others should be like us. It was his life and he should be able to follow his dream. Most of us are too afraid of death to do something like this and thats fine. HIs relationship to fear was the area he was exploring in himself. His wife and friends mourn his loss but understood the risk he was taking and still supported him. Life goes on.
This kind of reminds me of Donald Crowhurst only Andrew wasn't trying to deceive anyone except maybe himself. I just don't see how anyone can do this to their family. If you're single yeah go for it but not if you have a wife and a kid.
Who else detected some doubt in his voice but not his words.....
So sad, so brave and so stupid. He lived his life the best way he could and HE MADE IT!!! NO ONE CAN SAY HE DIDN'T LOVE HIS WIFE AND KID'S!!
He just dreamed a dream that was too big, that's why no one has ever done it. God bless him and his family.
So sad that he didn't make it. What nerve, but still a bit too foolish, imo. There is something in this kind of pursuit that is not rational to people like me. There is nothing in it except personal glory after all. A type of vanity that serves no one but himself. His one words on camera reveals his understanding of the folly that he got himself into. Sad for his son and wife.
Look..this guy died doing something he felt compelled to do, he didn't die driving recklessly or drunk, he didn't risk anyone else's life with his adventure, give him a break..a lot of you will probably die aged eighty and never LIVE a single day.
This guy is an id**t, he obviously did not love his wife and kid because no human being would ever do this to people they loved. He proved nothing and is probably ended up in a shark which he almost deserves for such an id**tic decision and selfishness. This guy was thinking for himself and his wife and kid have to suffer. I dont care what his wife said, he obviously didnt make it or he would be with his family. SELFISH GUY. OR The greatest fake death and run away of all time.
This guy is a BEAST! And when dealing with the scale of the trip that Andrew took, to get within earshot on a radio and eye shot of shore and to die of some unforsean failed piece of equipment in 15 degree water. One has to admit that HE MADE IT MAN! In My Opinion. That there is noone that can take that away from him. The guy paddeled his ass across the Tasman and bore all. He is forever one of the most HARDCORE FULL ON INDIVIDUALS I HAVE EVER EVEN HERD OF!! Cheers Andrew.
He killed himself and his friends let him!! Thats the truth. it was suicide!!!
Does anyone know from who the music is?
y didnt they send rescue out sooner ? like as soon as they got the message?
Such a shame he died. His pride, and the need for an Adrenalin rush was a higher priority to him than his little boy. I am sorry for his widow and child.
Shame he died. His pride, and a need for an adrenaline rush was more of a priority than his little son.