On Monday 28th February 2011, Bruce Jolliffe, left his home town of Largs on the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, to paddle a sea kayak 313 miles across the waters of the West of Scotland to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The expedition intended to raise £10,000 for two cancer hospitals; The Royal Marsden Hospital and The Beatson Oncology Fund and the RNLI (lifeboats). During the expedition Bruce (36), an experienced kayaker of 24 years, had to dodge strong winds, endure hail, snow and sleet, paddle on bearings through foggy conditions, navigate large open crossings with strong tidal streams and even recover from a winter vomiting virus. “I’d said before the expedition that this was going to be the coldest, toughest, longest paddling trip I’d ever done and the West of Scotland lived up to its reputation with full on displays of every conceivable type of winter weather and sea” explained Bruce. “Paddling alone for so long allowed me to empty my mind; I focussed on the task at hand, day by day and hour by hour. The routine of the paddling was soothing even when the world around me was not.” The first week was characterised by 30 mile days in varied conditions of weather, tide and visibility. Week two was partially lost to illness and week three hampered by cold wintry weather and severe gale force winds.  Despite all this the expedition was completed in 3 weeks and 3 days when Bruce crossed the Minch alone on an equinoctial spring tide the day after a force 9 had blasted in from the Atlantic. Bruce reached Stornoway on Wednesday 23rd March 2011 in some of the first warm spring sunshine to be felt at 58 degrees North. Bruce paddled in the harshest conditions at the tail end of the Scottish winter, when daylight hours are limited and the sea is at its annual coldest temperatures making immersion no option at all. Bruce is very thankful that Kokatat supported his project by keeping him dry and warm in his GORE-TEX® Expedition dry suit. The journey was dedicated to the memory of Andy Edwards from Stornoway, who passed away at 33 from bone cancer.