Paul Caffyn is a

sea kayak 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 man ...

er 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: Caffyn was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

in the

2012 New Year Honours 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, for services to sea kayaking and water safety.

Expeditions

*1978 Circumnavigation of the South Island, New Zealand The expedition around the South Island started as an expedition along the Fiordland coast with fellow paddler Max Reynolds. Caffyn continued solo and with ground support to complete the circumnavigation in 76 days. *1978/79 Circumnavigation of the North Island, New Zealand Caffyn sea kayaked solo around the North Island, with ground party support. The circumnavigation took 86 days, after which Caffyn undertook a crossing of Cook Strait by sea kayak. *1979 Circumnavigation of Stewart Island, New Zealand The expedition around Stewart Island was done with Max Reynolds, August and September 1979. This expedition departed from Bluff, New Zealand starting with a crossing of Foveaux Strait. *1980 Circumnavigation of Great Britain Caffyn and Nigel Dennis circumnavigated Great Britain by sea kayak in 85 days. *1981/82 Circumnavigation of Australia *1985 solo circumnavigation of the four main islands of Japan *1991 completed the first solo sea kayak trip along the entire coastline of Alaska *1997 Circumnavigation of New Caledonia *Two attempts to cross the Tasman Sea by sea kayak *2001/2002 Circumnavigation of Phuket

Bibliography

Caffyn has written a number of books about his expeditions: *The Dreamtime Voyage around Australia Kayak Odyssey *Cresting the Restless Wave, North Island Kayak Odyssey *Dark Side of the Wave, Stewart Island Kayak Odyssey. *Obscured by Waves, South Island Canoe Odyssey. *The Dreamtime Voyage around Australia Kayak Odyssey (25th anniversary edition) *The Search for the Deepest Hole in the World (January 2021) by Paul Caffyn and Van Watson , Kayak Dundee Press

References

External links

Paul Caffyn's website

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090518092243/http://www.paddlermagazine.com/issues/2003_4/article_221.shtml Article Paddler Magazine
Article regarding Paul Caffyn

Paul Caffyn's The Dreamtime Voyage 25th Anniversary Edition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caffyn, Paul Living people Kayakers Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit Year of birth missing (living people)