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Exploding condom nearly sank kayak record bid
KNOWN as the father of modern-day sea kayaking, Derek Hutchinson has been instrumental in the sport's development.
Crossing the icy North Sea in a kayak just 21.5in wide was a drop in the ocean for Derek Hutchinson.
Mr Hutchinson, from South Shields, already had one failed attempt under his belt, which resulted in him being plucked from the sea by rescuers.
However, in what he describes as a case of foolhardy determination, a year later he tried again.
In June 1975 he paddled his way into the Guinness Book Of Records for crossing the North Sea in a single kayak - the longest continuous crossing.
He said: "We failed the first time due to a number of things, mainly fatigue, nausea and dehydration.
"But we were determined to take the kayak out of the toy boat class and prove it could make the journey."
All his survival tools were carried on top of the boat, secured by a piece of elastic.
And with no hi-tech equipment apart from a compass, he set off with two friends – Tom Caskey, the founder member of South Shields Sailing Club, and Dave Hellawell, from Felixstowe.
This time there was no fuss or media coverage in case history repeated itself, and they were left shamefaced yet again.
The father of three admits there were some difficulties, including staying awake at night, as it was so easy to drift off to sleep in the dark.
He said: "A kayaker in a single kayak is limited to the distance they can cover by their waking hours.
"We were like butterflies of the sea; once we stopped flapping our wings we would die."
The other, of course, was dealing with the call of nature.
Mr Hutchinson said: "Let's just say it was tricky, one of the team came up with an invention of rubber tubing attached to a condom.
"However, the tube ended up with a kink in it and the condom exploded, leaving him a little worse for wear."
Thirty one hours into their journey, with water stretching as far as the eye could see, they were finally able to make out the shape of their destination, Ostend in Belgium.
As they arrived on the shore and crawled out of their kayaks, unable to stand, they were greeted with silence, but the sense of their own personal achievement was enough to keep them going.
The boat Mr Hutchinson used and modified paved the way for others.
It was the only one of its kind, with water-tight bulkheads, elastic to hold charts and spare paddles.
It was later placed in the National Maritime Museum in Cornwall.
He said: "It was instrumental to the safety of the sport, it meant that the kayak was no longer sinkable. At the end of the day, it's a dry sport, you're not supposed to end up wet and swimming."
It wasn't long before Mr Hutchinson, now 74, was back on his adventures and covering expeditions in Aleutian Islands, Prince William Sound, the Sea of Cortez, California's Lost Coast, Alaska's Resurrection Bay and Scotland's Corryvreckan Whirlpool.
During this time, the retired teacher turned his hand to writing, and produced a number of books on the sport, which have since been translated into many languages.
Looking back, Mr Hutchinson is surprised at how much he has influenced the kayaking world.
He added: "When I first started out I never dreamed I'd achieve as much as I have done.
"I only took up the sport because I suffered vertigo climbing rocks and claustrophobia exploring caves."
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Weather for South Shields
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -2 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 1 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South west
