“It’s about the experiences that we have living in the wilderness with big
animals around us… animals that are tooled up” - Nick Healey
How was the idea to paddle Alaska
conceived and what was your motivation?
I heard about the trip from Jeff (Jeff Alan of Sea Kayak Cornwall). I didn't really need to think
too hard about the opportunity because Jeff is a properly mental explorer with
a massive amount of experience and knowledge. He’s been there a few times and
he’s got loads of stories that your friends haven’t got. I'd paddled across
Scotland with WeSUP and it’s been hard to come up with something to top that
experience so this is a follow up to that really.
During the early discussions,
did you even consider whether a 10 day, un-supported wilderness adventure was
doable on a paddleboard?
Well, when you are doing things that no one else is doing and the book hasn't
been written for you yet, you never really know if it’s doable. I know it is
doable but I don’t know what the complications will be yet. I just want to get
there as prepared as possible and work it all out. This is really, really spontaneous.
I do have lots of experience paddleboarding great distances and I know it can
be tough, but it’s the camp craft and survival side of that I'm least experienced
with. This trip isn't about covering huge distances each day, it’s about the
experiences that we have living in the wilderness with big animals around us… Animals
that are tooled up.
What are the new
elements of this trip over say, Scotland?
The main one is that this is a completely unsupported exploration. I am going
to be taking everything I need with me on my board. I am going with a group of
Sea Kayakers who will help me out with some of kit but I have to be prepared.
It’s their summer time but conditions can change dramatically so I still need
to be fully prepared for all weathers. Temperatures will range from -10 degrees
to 14 degrees. I got a photo from a friend 3 weeks ago out in Anchorage
(Alaska) of his house under 3 metres of snow which was mental!
What physical training
have you done to deal with the cold, especially the cold water?
The only SUP training and experience I have of in cold water is Scotland. The
Lochs were 4 Degrees but I have a life time of experience in the ocean and cold
seas that include sailing the Atlantic where one minute you can be all
comfortable and the next its all change and you can be suffering from
Hypothermia. So those experiences have taught me that this trip is serious and
that I do have to be prepared and have the right equipment. My cross sport training and flat water paddling
training is what will have to carry me through this trip as with my other
hobbies (surfboat rowing, Kitesurfing etc…) and work, there just isn't the time
to add more stuff in. I do quite a lot of fitness stuff every day.
Have you undergone
any additional professional training specific to this trip?
The only additional qualification I took was a Level 5 remote access first aid
course which teaches you about first aid in seriously remote situations,
perhaps 8 hours from help. Things that don’t kill you on Falmouth high street,
will kill you in the wilderness and you have to know how to try and survive out
there. What you do will save your life and your buddies or you will die.
What situations might
you come up against in Alaska where this training will be most useful?
Well, we did talk about Bears and Animals. The guy who led the course had been
to Alaska the previous year but the main things are like a run of the mill cut,
dehydration or a small broken bone that might not cause you a problem on
Falmouth High Street, but 8 hours from help will cause you a major problem if
you don’t know how to deal with it. We’re grown grown men but you know, were
also boys. We’ll have fires and big knifes and half a chance to buy a bow &
arrow and we’re gonna have it! (Insert boy like laughter)
Are the other 4
members of your team as prolific watermen as you?
Well I only know one of them, Jeff and he is extremely knowledgeable and far
more experienced in this kind of thing
than me. This trip is all about the experience opposed to being a brilliant
paddler. It’s about living in the wilderness, learning about campcraft and
seeing amazing scenery with animals that probably most have never seen before.
How far are you
hoping to paddle?
It’ll be about 10-15 miles per day over 10 days, but its conditions dependant.
We’ll be leaving from Whittier and paddling out of the Fjord with aim of
paddling out through a group of Islands to circumnavigate Night Island and then
paddle back. But this is all dependent on the wind conditions and we can change
the route at any time. We don’t want to be paddling into the wind for 10 days!
What board and paddle
will you use to undertake this trip?
Again, slightly experimental… I’ll be taking a 14ft inflatable Fanatic Fly Race.
It’s got a great waterline, not as fast as a Sea Kayak but to the best of my
knowledge and anyone else’s, it’s going to do the job! I also have a 3 piece
Quickblade Paddle which is an incredible bit of kit for the purpose of this
trip. Keeping everything portable and compact makes it much cheaper and easier
to do a trip like this. The new inflatable boards are just amazing and definitely
the future of SUP.
What’s going to be on
the menu?
Well we've got no space to take Pizza’s and Asda spit roast chickens so we’ll
be enjoying 10 days of freeze dried food. Ill be buying as much fresh veg as we
can take and obviously whatever we can fish for and food that we can forage for,
mussels and berries etc… I'm really
worried about being hungry (pause and deep breath) I get pretty grumpy when I'm
hungry (Face of great concern).
Do you think that
this is the kind of trip that anyone can just do?
I don’t really know because I haven’t done it yet, but I think it is going to
very accessible to a wide range of athletes to have a go at. I'm going out
there really to check it out and although not everyone is a watermen, I think
it will be doable for most with a guide and I am going out to learn these
skills so that we can take others out there, without it being an experiment.
Would you say you
have the ESUP bug?
Yeah definitely! I mean, Alaska is quite an extreme exploration in relation to
our local waters but I'm looking forward to coming back and sharing my new skills
with others in the UK who are coming to WeSUP looking for guided ESUP tours of
our own coast line and the rest of the world eventually. It’s a comfortable way
to explore and I’d really like to open it up to others who want to come along
and do it.
Who’s been key in
lending the inspiration to do this trip?
To kick the idea of exploration paddleboarding off for me, id say that Club
WeSUP has been a massive inspiration to that concept. Going across Scotland was
the platform that made me realise that this was the future of the sport for me.
It was the most interesting and offered the best opportunity for a great story.
I have been massively helped out by my sponsors to making this all possible and
my friends and family have been incredible support. Everyone has just been
right behind me, you can’t do this thing on your own.
Has anyone told you
that you’re mental to take this trip on?
Well, I get the feeling that everyone is mentioning quite a lot about bears…
(Laughs) and the Cold. Its not exactly your average summer holiday is it. Most people
are thinking about packing up and going on a camping holiday to France, I might
think that was a more sensible option when I'm there… I'm sure I will at some
point.
Will you be touching
down after your 18 hours of travelling and getting right to the paddling?
No. We will have two days to get organised before the paddling starts. I've
still got quite a lot of kit to buy because I couldn't fly with it all. I've
got to get 2 summer sleeping bags, my roll matt, all of my food and most
importantly, some outdoors stuff like big knives and just other cool stuff I
was allowed to buy as a kid or travel with (smiles). You have to live in Alaska
for 3 months though before you are allowed to buy a gun. Shame really. The
reason I'm buying most of it out there is because it will be designed for the
environment we are going to be living in. I'm going to be wearing lots of
Layers, all lightweight stuff. I reckon its going to cost about £1000 for the
out doors equipment I need. Its not about taking lots of stuff, its about
taking the right stuff.
What are your top 5
bits of Kit?
My inflatable paddleboard, my 3 piece inflatable paddle, my dry suit, warm
clothing and enough food to survive on, in case my fishing fails! I’ll be
taking lots of other kit though. I will have my emergency distress signal, I’ll
be taking my phone but there is no way of knowing if I’ll get any signal. I
will be taking a camera to try and capture as much of the experience as
possible and a solar charger to keep it all working.
Finally, can you
paddle faster than a bear?
No way. No Chance! I can’t run, climb swim or paddle faster than any bear. I’ll
be keeping my pepper spray to close hand and praying I don’t have to use it!
Nick would like to take the opportunity to sincerely thank
everyone who has helped him on a personal level and with his kit sponsorship. K-66,
Fanatic, ION, Quickblade, WeSUP, Freeriders, FCS.
