Sean Morley is back from his record setting trip around Vancouver Island.  See his trip route at the TrackMe360 Adventure Zone.

Here’s Sean speaking of his achievement:

“Hi folks:

I am just back in Cali, at a Motel 6 in Yreka, catching up on some work and sleep before leaving in the early hours to make the final drive home.

So just a quick update: I finished the circumnavigation of Vancouver Island at 7.42pm on Saturday October 11th, in the dark and rain. I started at 2.53pm on Wednesday September 24th which by my sketchy math makes a total of 17days 4hours 49minutes.

It was one of the toughest challenges I have ever undertaken on several levels. Whilst the sea conditions I faced were much less challenging than during my UK and Ireland circumnavigation, and that was of course a much longer (6 month) trip, the fact that I was trying to break a record and that I desperately wanted to get home to be with my family meant that what seemed at times to be constant headwinds became incrediby frustrating. I pushed my body and mind as far as I ever want to go and will not rush to put myself in that position again. I found the pressure of breaking a speed record quite different to that of being ‘first’ to do something. It was definitely a different mindset and one that turned an amazing journey into something of a chore for a large part of the time.

That said of course it is very satisfying to have set out with a goal and to achieve it. I saw some incredible scenery, had some really close encounters with some amazing wildlife, and grew to love and respect our ocean and its coastline even more than I did before. I learnt a lot about myself now that I am a father and how this has changed my attitudes to record breaking and risk taking without me being aware of it until now.

I will download my camera and get some photos posted asap. Thank you so much for your support. Believe me, knowing that there were quite a few folk willing me on made all the difference when the doubts crept into my head, which they did several times.

By the way, I used a Valley Nordkapp (standard size, NOT the low volume) and it was awesome! My Kokatat gear performed superbly, as did my Optimus cooker and Gaia dry bags. I used a Lettmann Nordic wing paddle in a medium blade size and 215cm in length. The same type of paddle that I used for my UK and Ireland trip and once again it was as smooth as silk and bomb proof.

After 700miles I had no blisters on my hands, just an aching back and two very sore heels which I bruised whilst bracing in big seas whilst being blown down the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Time to get some sleep so that I will have the energy to play with Shea Bella tomorrow afternoon.

Good night!”

***The Race is On! – Live GPS Tracking of 5 racers here***

About the 2008 Baja Epic (Nov 5-8, 2008)

The first-ever Baja Epic—a four-day stage race through the mountains and deserts of Baja, Mexico—is set to kick off November 5, 2008.

Some 100 racers are expected to attend, including big names such as endurance buff, Tinker Juarez. Organizers are promising them plenty of challenges.

The Baja Epic will cover nearly 250 miles, with 24,000 feet of climbing. About 20 percent of the course will be singletrack, with roughly 77 percent on fire roads. Only about three percent will be paved.

Stage one starts on the beach in Rosarito and runs 65 miles, with 7,860 feet of climbing and 4,888 feet of descending. The stage runs through the infamous Tequila Hill and the old King of the Mountain course to the finish in Santa Veronica.

Stage two is the longest leg, totaling 81 miles, with more descending than climbing—6,216 feet and 5,523 feet, respectively. This stage starts in Santa Veronica and ends at Ojos Negros.

Stage three has more frequent ups and downs than the first two stages and, like stage two, has more down than up. The trail also overlaps part of the legendary Baja 1,000 (motor vehicle race) course. This stage has 6,850 feet of ascending and 7,807 feet of descending. It starts and finishes in Valle de la Trinidad via a 53-mile loop.

The 45-mile fourth and final stage will start at the “Wine Village,” Ensenada and finish in “The Lobster Village,” Puerto Nuevo. The trails between the cities are private and virgin to bicycle rubber.

The race is different from most mountain bike stage races because racers and guests will have the opportunity to stay in hotels each night. The Baja Epic will pick up participants from the San Diego Airport and transport them to the starting point. There are also discounted entry fees for riders who wish to take care of their own lodging and transportation.

For more information, including registration, course profiles, videos and maps, visit www.bajaepic.com

***For Baja 1000 GPS Tracking Offer, Click Here***

Make your Baja Epic experience the very best with real-time GPS tracking for friends and family, and satellite based 911 service for safety. For just $39.95, participants can rent a SPOT GPS Tracker from TrackMe360.com, for use during the entire event. What do they get? Their very own online tracking map, where friends and family can see where they are. Every 10-30 minutes, depending on terrain, the GPS tracker sends the racer’s location to the online map, immediately visible from any Internet browser. In addition, the standard SPOT features (OK, Help and 911 messaging) are also available. To learn more about that, click here. Advance reservation IS required! RESERVE YOURS NOW!

About the 2008 Baja Epic

The first-ever Baja Epic—a four-day stage race through the mountains and deserts of Baja, Mexico—is set to kick off November 5, 2008.

Some 100 racers are expected to attend, including big names such as endurance buff, Tinker Juarez. Organizers are promising them plenty of challenges.

The Baja Epic will cover nearly 250 miles, with 24,000 feet of climbing. About 20 percent of the course will be singletrack, with roughly 77 percent on fire roads. Only about three percent will be paved.

Stage one starts on the beach in Rosarito and runs 65 miles, with 7,860 feet of climbing and 4,888 feet of descending. The stage runs through the infamous Tequila Hill and the old King of the Mountain course to the finish in Santa Veronica.

Stage two is the longest leg, totaling 81 miles, with more descending than climbing—6,216 feet and 5,523 feet, respectively. This stage starts in Santa Veronica and ends at Ojos Negros.

Stage three has more frequent ups and downs than the first two stages and, like stage two, has more down than up. The trail also overlaps part of the legendary Baja 1,000 (motor vehicle race) course. This stage has 6,850 feet of ascending and 7,807 feet of descending. It starts and finishes in Valle de la Trinidad via a 53-mile loop.

The 45-mile fourth and final stage will start at the “Wine Village,” Ensenada and finish in “The Lobster Village,” Puerto Nuevo. The trails between the cities are private and virgin to bicycle rubber.

The race is different from most mountain bike stage races because racers and guests will have the opportunity to stay in hotels each night. The Baja Epic will pick up participants from the San Diego Airport and transport them to the starting point. There are also discounted entry fees for riders who wish to take care of their own lodging and transportation.

For more information, including registration, course profiles, videos and maps, visit www.bajaepic.com

TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT, CLICK HERE

Mount Diablo (May 2008)

100 Lakes (June-July 2008)

Desolation (July-August 2008)

Silver Lake (August-September 2008)

Sep 24 – Oct 11 – Track Sean’s journey here!

Sean lives in California where he runs River and Ocean LLC; a sales and customer service agency in the watersports industry. He is the US West Coast importer and distributor for UK based sea kayak manufacturer Valley Sea Kayaks. Sean is also the Western region sales representative for Kokatat Watersports Wear and has been a member of Team Kokatat since 2006. He is the current World Masters Surf Kayak Champion in the High Performance category.

In 2004 Sean completed the first solo circumnavigation of the UK and Ireland and all the inhabited islands; a six month, 4500mile expedition and the longest journey ever undertaken by kayak in British waters.

Supporting Sean in this endeavor is AquanSports of San Carlos, California.