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A little bit more than six weeks have passed since the departure, early morning of June 21st, the kayaker Cyril Derreumaux launched solo and without assistance from Monterey Bay, CA for his second attempt at crossing the Pacific Ocean though 2,700 miles towards Hawaii.
Born in the North of France, Cyril Derreumaux, naturalized American—and world citizen as he likes to call it—has been able to manage during the first few weeks the difficulties that pushed him to give up the adventure last year during his first attempt. Sea sickness for the first few days, lack of sleep, change of rhythm, physical efforts, new diet… Thanks to his previous experience and his patience to pick the optimal weather window the week following his departure, the kayaker has managed with success to take his distances with the California coast. Two steps forward while paddling during the day, one step back at night because of the currents, he had to work with great determination to beat the strong currents and dominating winds pushing him toward the American and Mexican coasts.
The coming weeks were as difficult with the installation of great fatigue, several damages that he had to manage: a leak at the back of his boat started to flood a compartiment that had to be sealed, cabling issues with his battery that had trouble charging, a close encounter with the tropical storm “Estelle” which, thankfully, lost intensity just before crossing path with the kayak, but still required the navigator to stay sheltered in is cabin for 2 days while waves were bashing his boat and winds of 25 knots.
Leaning on his great logistical preparation and a supporting land crew as determined as he is, resolving issues one after the other, Cyril Derreumaux continued his way with a 9-9.5 hours of rowing per day towards the Hawaiian islands while sharing his experience daily the highs and lows of his adventure through a public diary translated in French and English published on Facebook and Instagram. Through the stories of the differents events happening on board, reflecting on his project, life lessons that he retains, and sharing his emotions, it’s an international collectif, built over the years around the various adventures around the world (Cyril can speaks 6 languages), that lives the adventure day after day through the writings and pictures from the navigator.
Arriving halfway after 49 days at sea, the kayaker who is a member of the famous “The Explorer Club” obviously knows that he still has more than 1,200 miles to complete and many more weather challenges, technical, health, that he’ll have to manage. He still wants to enjoy fully the joy from crossing this symbolic halfway point! As he likes to say: “There is no adventurer that has crossed halfway and could complete later on!”
The weather toward the end of the crossing still needs to be checked for logistical purposes. According to Michel Meulnet – the weather router part of the land crew – the end of the crossing will most likely be faster with winds and mainstreams will help the kayak. Moreover, the kayak is much lighter because a good part of the food stored onboard at the start has been consumed. But we still have to be careful, even if the initial time estimation was set at 70 days, and that the navigator left with an extra 10 days of supplies, now at halfway more than half of the supplies has been consumed, so Cyril’s rhythm on those next few days is going to be determinant to identify if he will have to start to ration his food to extend his supplies for a few days if necessary. Long story short, a lot could happen during the coming weeks before Cyril Derreumaux can arrive. The adventure is going to be exciting to follow!
Links to follow the onboard diary:
- Official Website: www.solokayaktohawaii.com
- Onboard diary: https://paddler.travelmap.net
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CyrilDerreumauxAdventure
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cyrildx