Leg 1 complete: Greenland - Iceland

At 3pm GMT Olly and George landed on the coast of Iceland after 40 hours of paddling, completing leg 1 of this challenge. They had paddled 138 miles.

They saw whales and seemed on good spirits on the brief sat phone conversation. More details and photos to come when signal/wifi allows.

Now they will spend the next two weeks hopping across the North coast of Iceland, they are hoping to cover between 30 - 60 miles a day. There is a good window of weather so they are aiming to push hard while that lasts. If the weather turns then they will have to wait it out - this will allow them to rest but could get frustrating for them too as they are keen to keep moving.

Taking the paddlers to the Drop zone

The film crew, Olly and George set off on Thursday evening to make the 24 hour journey to the ice edge of Greenland. They used this time to rest and eat before the paddle back. The ice was around 30 miles off the coast and that is where they were dropped. The sailing ship Aurora Arktika couldn't get any closer. 

The water was like glass (thanks to some clever weather watching) peppered with icebergs. Olly and George were keen to get going and sped off into the mist the moment they were dropped. Just as they were going out of site, the crew on Aurora were lucky enough to see 3 humpback whales.

Olly looking forward to the challenge ahead

George keen to get going!!

Off they go into the distance

Off they go!

Leaving Aurora Arktika behind

Greenland in the distance

Greenland to Scotland - Update 2

Olly, George and the team are still waiting for the weather to settle near Greenland before they set off to the start at the ice edge. The delay is caused by the concern around large chunks of ice floating around in the sea. These will cause damage to the boat.

Hopefully they will be able to set off later today with the estimated launch time being tomorrow afternoon. The tracker has been cleared in anticipation to start when Olly and George start paddling.

This week of waiting hasn't been wasted. The extra time has given them a chance to have the kayak blessed by the local priest, do several interviews for the film about this project, pack and prepare the boat and move the fully packed boat onto Aurora, the yacht who will take them up to the ice. 

Transporting the kayak onto Aurora to take her up to Greenland

The kayak being blessed by the local priest

Greenland to Scotland - Update 1

Finally after 4 years of preparation Olly Hicks and fellow adventurer George Bullard have driven the boat to North West Iceland and are preparing to sail the last leg to the start line of the 'Greenland to Scotland Challenge'.

They have done the training, prepped the boat and kit and are now raring to go! To get to the start they will set sail on a yacht with the kayak on board from Isafjordur in North West Iceland up to Greenland. They are waiting for the weather to be more favourable which is currently looking like Wednesday this week.

Weather depending Olly, George and the kayak will be dropped off on the ice edge of Greenland and start their epic paddle back to Scotland. Keep your eye on the tracker to follow their progress - currently it shows their driving and sailing journey so far. Once they start their paddle, the tracker will be cleared and reset. You can then watch them move across your screens as they paddle in their kayak from Greenland to Scotland.

From Olly, George and the team, we'd like to say a huge thanks to all the sponsors especially the title sponsor Virgin and also to Newscape Capital Group for supporting this unique endeavour.