Patrick Winterton

Sea Kayaking

Age	47
Hometown	Stirling, Scotland
Experience	15 years of exploring the Scottish archipelagoes.
Achievements	My competitive career was limited to skiing and adventure racing. The highlight representing Great Britain at the 1988 winter Olympics in Calgary. The long training sessions have paid of for the sea kayaking and my efforts are geared towards completing unusual routes and filming the adventure. "Scottish Extremities" was a 1600km route linking all Scotland’s outlying islands that involved a number of previously un-attempted crossings and produced some spectacular and unusual footage.
Biggest Adventure	Three day circumnavigation of the Isle of Jura doesn’t sound much but it includes the notorious corryvreckan whirlpool and numerous 12 knot tideraces. As a first sea trip this wasn’t the biggest but it remains the most memorable for the way it destroyed my hands and my relationship. It also taught me that sea kayaking could be as intimidating as the waves and rapids combined. It led to a thirst for more and bigger adventures. The next big step, and most significant, was getting to St Kilda, a world heritage site that lies fifty miles to the west of the outer Hebrides. I attempted this with musician Steven McDermott in a double kayak. Ten miles out the visibility dropped to two kilometers. No problem, apart from the fact that our GPS bag turned out to contain nothing more than a calculator. Violent sea sickness slowed progress and after eleven hours on a NW bearing we resorted to following the Gannets and Guillemots. We chose the ones that were struggling to fly, assuming correctly that they were well fed and heading home. They led us to a wonderland of cliffs, caves, fertile hillsides and an inspiring but tragic history of human habitation. The pain and peril of the crossing soon forgotten, it was a genuine adventure that changed two lives.
Life These Days	As an aging paddler sea kayaking is no longer about speed records, there would be no point. My competitive streak still remains however and it is always tempting to try route/crossings that haven’t been done before. My greatest challenge is now to document and film the things that I see, to learn more about the places you go and to have a purpose other than physical achievement. The presentations, articles, films that result from expeditions will, I hope, demonstrate that you don’t have to be in your prime to live this sort of life, that adventure is for everyone. Making films is far more challenging than completing the expedition itself; inspiring others is far more important.
Website	www.patrickwinterton.com

Kokatat

Patrick Winterton