Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body. This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth.
A sea kayak or touring kayak is a kayak developed for the sport of paddling on open waters of lakes, bays, and the ocean. Sea kayaks are seaworthy small boats with a covered deck and the ability to incorporate a spray deck. They trade off the manoeuvrability of whitewater kayaks for higher cruising speed, cargo capacity, ease of straight-line paddling, and comfort for long journeys.
Fabian Gottlieb Thaddeus von Bellingshausen was a Russian naval officer, cartographer and explorer, who ultimately rose to the rank of admiral. He participated in the First Russian circumnavigation of the globe and subsequently became a leader of another circumnavigation expedition that discovered the continent of Antarctica. Like Otto von Kotzebue and Adam Johann von Krusenstern, Bellingshausen belonged to the cohort of prominent Baltic German navigators who helped Russia launch its naval expeditions.
Outdoor literature is a literature genre about or involving the outdoors. Outdoor literature encompasses several different subgenres including exploration literature, adventure literature, mountain literature and nature writing. Another subgenre is the guide book, an early example of which was Thomas West's guide to the Lake District published in 1778. The genres can include activities such as exploration, survival, sailing, hiking, mountaineering, whitewater boating, geocaching or kayaking, or writing about nature and the environment. Travel literature is similar to outdoor literature but differs in that it does not always deal with the out-of-doors, but there is a considerable overlap between these genres, in particular with regard to long journeys.
The National Outdoor Book Award (NOBA) was formed in 1997 as an American-based non-profit program which each year presents awards honoring the best in outdoor writing and publishing. It is housed at Idaho State University and chaired by Ron Watters. It is sponsored by the National Outdoor Book Awards Foundation, Idaho State University and the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education. As of 2021, awards have been presented in 13 categories, although not all categories are awarded in any given year.
Bruce Kirkby is a Canadian adventurer, photographer, and writer. Recognized for expeditions to remote wilderness areas, his achievements include a 40-day, 1000-kilometre crossing of Arabia's Empty Quarter by camel (1999) and the first contiguous descent of Ethiopia's Blue Nile Gorge from source to Sudanese border. The author of three best-selling books, Kirkby's writing has appeared in numerous publications, including The Globe and Mail, Canadian Geographic and The New York Times. National Geographic Channel featured his photography in the documentary Through the Lens (2003). An Ambassador for Mountain Equipment Co-op and member of the Starboard SUP Dream Team, Kirkby makes his home in Kimberley, British Columbia.
Colin Angus is a Canadian author and adventurer who is the first person to make a self-propelled global circumnavigation. Due to varying definitions of the term "circumnavigation," debate has arisen as to whether or not the route travelled fulfilled the strictest criteria. As part of the circumnavigation, Angus and his then fiancé Julie Wafaei made the first rowboat crossing of the Atlantic Ocean from mainland Europe to mainland North America, and Wafaei became the first Canadian woman to row across any ocean. Colin and Julie have two sons: Leif, born September 2010, and Oliver, born June 2014.
Peter Bray was in 2001, the third person known to cross the Atlantic Ocean alone in a kayak but the first one to paddle west to east and also the first one not using sails to help his paddling. He documented his expedition in the book Kayak Across the Atlantic in 2004.
Jason Lewis is an English author, explorer and sustainability campaigner credited with being the first person to circumnavigate the globe by human power. He is also the first person to cross North America on inline skates (1996), and the first to cross the Pacific Ocean by pedal power (2000). Together with Stevie Smith, Lewis completed the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean from mainland Europe to North America by human power (1995).
Andrew McAuley was an Australian mountaineer and sea kayaker. He is presumed to have died following his disappearance at sea while attempting to kayak 1600 km (994 mi) across the Tasman Sea from Australia to New Zealand in February 2007.
Paul Caffyn is a sea kayaker based in Runanga on the West Coast of New Zealand. He has completed a number of supported, unsupported, solo and group expeditions by sea kayak in various locations around the world. He has been described as follows by John Dowd:
Amongst sea kayakers Paul Caffyn is almost in a class of his own. For the longest time after he finished his awesome solo circumnavigation of Australia the silence was deafening: few of his peers knew the significance of what he had done, and perhaps those who understood felt lost in his shadows. Not only is Paul's Australian adventure a pinnacle for sea kayaking, it should eventually be recognized as one of the great small voyages of recent history along with those of Slocum, Shackleton and Franz Romer."
The Banff Mountain Book Festival is an annual book festival held at the Banff Centre in Banff, Canada.
Riaan Manser is an explorer based in South Africa. He has done his exploring on a bicycle or a kayak.
Eric Philips OAM is an Australian polar explorer, adventurer and polar guide.
Freya Hoffmeister is a German business owner and athlete who holds several sea kayaking endurance records. In 2009 she completed a circumnavigation of Australia solo and unassisted, becoming the first woman and only the second person to do so. On 3 May 2015, she became the first person to solo circumnavigate the continent of South America.
Nigel Foster is an English sea kayaker, kayak designer, instructor and author. He is the first and youngest paddler to circle Iceland by kayak.
Marin Medak is a Slovenian adventurer.
Oliver "Olly" Hicks is a British ocean rower, kayaker, explorer and inspirational speaker. He holds three world records for adventure. He is best known for his solo ocean rows and extreme kayak voyages. He first made the headlines after his solo trans-Atlantic voyage in 2005 when he became the first and currently only person to row from America to England solo and the youngest person to row any ocean solo. Hicks has rowed and paddled over 7,000 miles on ocean expeditions since 2005. Over 6,000 miles and 220 days alone at sea.
