Day 29 and we have movement again at last, the first weather window for Jordan in the last 8 days meant he could get back out on the ocean. It was an early start as well, before first light after a night sleeping next to the beach to get in position and ready. Although it was only 2 hours 20 minutes, it was all kneeling which took its toll and after a deceivingly challenging small headland at Beer Head, Jordan made it to a small village of Brancombe, making 8.13KM down the coast. The tactics have changed significantly now and he must be ready to move at every weather window opportunity if he is to become the first person in the world to successfully paddleboard around Great Britain. A very positive day and you can catch him live with Captain Alex this evening on the The Great British Paddle Facebook page at 8pm.
After 2 days of small progress and back to paddling, Jordan was held by Storm Francis today in the same place he finished yesterday afternoon unfortunately. Today though was still very productive as James our expedition filmmaker and photographer helped Jordan set up a new YouTube channel which will air weekly episodes of The Great British Paddle and lots more inspiring content for you to see what happens behind the scenes. Jordan and James have once again stayed with a lovely family in the Hussar network. Charles, Caroline and Tom have looked after them with some amazing hospitality once again. Charles served in the Royal Hussars in the 80’s and reached out to help Jordan when he heard he was in the area. Jordan served in the same unit, over a decade later but it’s clear to see that the brotherhood never dies. As Jordan would say, “better by far, a King’s Royal Hussar”. Charles was also the Officer Commanding of the Devon Yeomanry and also holds the position of Honorary Colonel still today. A lovely story and once again the lads arrived as strangers and will leave as great friends. Jordan hopes to be back out on the water and heading to Exmouth and beyond tomorrow afternoon after the storm passes. Please do check out the new YouTube channel and subscribe to stay updated.
Today has been a good day for Jordan! We have no need for accommodation tonight as the sea is relatively calm right now and Jordan has taken advantage of this. Today, Jordan has done 25.7KM and aims to double this mileage tonight. Jordan hasn’t long landed in Teignmouth and will heading out into the darkness to try and make some real progress shortly. Let’s do this!
A paddle through the night for Jordan from Teignmouth to Brixham which included negotiating a headland before Torquay too. He had his glow sticks out and paddled through the darkness and solitude to add another 22KM plus to his rising total. He did also take an unexpected dip in the water after being caught out by a wave and all he could think of was the “Jaws” theme tune, he’s never got back on his board so fast he told us. The weather has been very challenging today again in Devon and tomorrow is still uncertain although there maybe a window to move around to Dartmouth (10 miles paddle) mid morning but we will continue to monitor. Jordan paddled across the “English Riviera” with a pod of 10 Dolphins at first light 
, watch out for some epic scenes in this weeks footage from James. We have now raised over £6000 and are well clear of the 600KM mark. Please donate if you can, it would mean the world to Jordan and help him achieve his goal of building a new school for children displaced by war in the Horn of Africa region. 
Another day of great progress for Jordan as he set of this morning from Brixham and made his way around several headlands, crossed the head of the Dartmouth River and even found himself on Blackpool Beach, sadly it was not his home town though, there is another Blackpool in Devon, although it doesn’t have a tower I’m afraid! Jordan only expected to paddle a couple of hours today but ended up putting in a 9 hour shift, after a tactical master class using the topography of the land to cheat the wind and tides where possible, he was able to tuck in under the cliff lines and use it as a shield from some strong winds to creep around the coastline. Over the last 24 hours it seems the infection has come back in his leg from the infamous jet ski incident so James took Jordan back to A & E this evening and he has again been treated for the cellulitis as a bacterial infection is against present. A big thank you to Ally the nurse (also ex military and an adventurer) who was aware of the challenge and fast tracked Jordan to get him on his way again ASAP, what a awesome woman. Every day brings new challenges and we are now at the end of Day 34. The lads were on Army ration packs this evening due to such a late finish, all part of the adventure. Jordan and James really need accommodation support as they head further into Devon and Cornwall so please do reach out to us if you can provide food or accommodation etc locally.
After a lot of discussion with Captain Alex early this morning it was decided that Jordan most probably wouldn’t paddle today. Jordan and James went down to “Start Point”, a tricky notorious headlands that has caught many a sailor out over the years to do a bit of reconnaissance from the above cliff line. Although the weather systems were showing strong winds against, out on the ground (or water) it looked like there was a possible opportunity still so Jordan went to seek further advice from two local experts, an RNLI coxswain and a Watersports Club owner in the area of Slapton Sands who both advised if Jordan went in the next hour on the slack tide, them it shouldn’t be too much of an issue and if he stayed close to the bank, he should get nudged round. Jordan made the decision to go for it and successfully negotiated what could of been a very dangerous headland on another day. This was a great example of making a well informed and calculated risk based decision by the team. They gathered as much information as possible, analysed it, discussed it and agreed on a cause of action. Jordan would like to thank Andrew from Torcross Water Sports Hire who also offered a standby service on VHF with a rib incase of any issues, and also Mark from Hope Cove Lifeboat too for great local advice and knowledge. Mark has also provided a caravan and dinner for Jordan and James this evening. If anyone wishes to paddle with Jordan he will be leaving from South Sands in Salcombe around 07:30am tomorrow morning and heading towards Plymouth, most likely stopping just short. We’ve had some amazing donations in the last 24 hours, thank you to everyone who is donated.
Today saw Jordan smash the through the 700KM mark at the end of day 36. Although light winds were forecast, it was primarily against a headwind for most of the 30KM he covered. He was joined today by a world class athlete and paddle boarder in Marie Buchanan a Team GB and Starbord rider and all round legend. He was also accompanied by Kate, an RNLI lifeguard instructor and incredible prone paddler who spent 10K with Jordan and Marie. A big thanks to Pete too who came out to say hello and wish Jordan good luck. Lots of amazing people in the SUP community and Jordan again would like to say a big thank you to Mark for his support yesterday and also The Imperial Hotel Plymouth who have kindly hosted Jordan and James tonight. Tomorrow Jordan will hopefully make it into the final county on the south coast of Cornwall after sampling the delights of Devons cream teas this afternoon. Don’t forget you can watch Captain Alex Alley & Jordan on tonight’s live session at 9pm on The Great British Paddle Facebook page.
Day 37 and Jordan pumps out an incredible 61.58 personal best effort on The Great British Paddle. It was an early start across the bay at Plymouth where a warship and a port full of naval heritage was illuminated from the sunrise as Jordan racked up the kilometres, exceeding 30KM before lunch time. It was however to be a day of two halves with the second half of the day against the tide and a cheeky little side wind which took nearly double the time. There was also a lot of kneeling in the late afternoon and no exit points for about 10 mile so Jordan was forced into delivering his best paddle yet and ended up at Fawley in Cornwall. It didn’t take Jordan long though to find a Cornish pastie that’s for sure. This evening a very special thank you must go out to the Royal William Yard in Plymouth and the awesome Emily from Urban Splash who made sure Jordan and James ate like kings and will also sleep like them too in a penthouse apartment. It was also great to meet Marcus from South West SUP, please do check them out if your in Plymouth and do try their new coffee shop next door too! Jordan will be on Sky News on the new breakfast show with Kay Burley at 09:30am tomorrow, please do tune in
A great start to the day with some superb coverage on the brand new Sky News breakfast show with Kay Burley. Sky have confirmed they will be making the The Great British Paddle a regular feature as Jordan progresses around GB. After this interview it was very much a day of frustration for the big man who has some very sore knees today after 9 hours of kneeling down in some very unexpectedly choppy and windy waters which certainly weren’t in the forecast. He described it like being in a washing machine that someone forgot to put a timer on. It goes to show that things can change very quickly where the conditions at sea are concerned. Jordan paddled less than half of yesterday’s total and told us this was one of his toughest days yet. He saw very few people, very little marine traffic, no wildlife and was physically sick at one point due to exhaustion and made the decision to pull up early due to the tidal flow and side winds causing him a world of problems. Even though Jordan was kneeling he was wiped off his board at least 5 times which is a first for him. He did report though that he had a macaroni cheese ration pack courtesy of expedition foods this evening and he will be glad to put this day behind him. He’s looking forward to a good night sleep and going again tomorrow but conditions aren’t looking great at present so we will update in the morning. If anyone can help with food and accommodation in Cornwall for Jordan and James (documentary filmmaker) then please let us know, they are entering a very challenging phase of Land’s End, which will be the first major milestone of the project. For those that have been asking about joining Jordan for a paddle, everyone is always welcome but please follow the live tracker as Jordan makes decisions at short notice when weather windows arrive at this is the most up to date position we have for him.
An early start battling the elements once again at first light for Jordan today. Lots of frustrations again as there was a lot of kneeling due to a strong expected side/head wind which made progress difficult. After 7 hours paddling he decided to save his energy after only making 17.86KM, as Jordan said though, every little counts and keeps him moving forward a little step closer to Lands End. Tomorrow looks like another unfavourable day but he will head out to test the water (literally) and see what (if anything) can be done. Jordan said his body is starting to feel the effects of over 800KM of consecutive paddling now but he remain determined to stay in the game. His hands are starting to blister, his knees are red raw and he is getting lots of cramps in his lower legs and he still hasn’t shaken of the cellulitis infection yet, he’s on his second round of antibiotics. Jordan describes the south west of Cornwall coastline as one of the more challenging areas he has paddled due to the jagged and rugged features which creates a lot of unpredictable under currents which pull and push him when he try’s to get out of the headwinds along the cliffs which he has been able to do in other areas of the British coastline. It’s becoming a daily battle now but one he is ready to fight
Well, initially it looked like there was no weather windows for a paddle for Jordan yesterday as he sat patiently at the beach to the East of Falmouth waiting to cross the harbour and start making more progress to Lizard Point, the most southerly tip of Great Britain. At around 22:45 a small window of opportunity opened where the wind dropped for 3-4 hours and he was ready to go with a night paddle with 2 local adventurers (the lovely Verity & Fay) who were keen to join him, both also local sailors who knew the waters well so were very useful navigating the tricky and rocky coastline. The little team made it past Falmouth to Maenporth Beach and Jordan also got a midnight tour of a tragic ship wreck of MV Ben Asdale. In December 1979 the freezer trawler Ben Asdale was off loading fish in Falmouth Bay in a force eight gale, with heavy snow turning to blizzards. The ship drifted towards Maenporth beach where she ran aground. Two of her crew lost their lives and the only redeeming feature of that dreadfull night was the bravery shown by just about everybody involved. The wreck still sits in the bay today and Jordan has a close up tour in the darkness of the night, the ladies and Jordan paid their respects to those tragically lost.
Yesterday was another tough battle for Jordan with a long time out at sea for only 13.09KM. There were a few nervy “moments” against a strong head wind and a forceful tide. Jordan tried to use a tactic he has been utilising quite often recently by tucking in close to the cliffs and rocks which often break the current down but yesterday as he moved closer to Lizard Point the power of the Atlantic swells could be felt and the approach to Lizard was very exposed. He eventually came ashore at Kennack Sands and called it a day.
An early start once again for Jordan to tackle the famous Lizard Point. The Lizard Peninsula is Great Britain’s most southerly point on the mainland. Contrary to popular belief, the Lizard is not named after some mythical dragon, one suggestion is that the name comes from the Cornish “lezou”, or headland. Whatever it was, it was choppy all the way, it was a real test of endurance and focus. Jordan said it was like being “pushed into the devils cauldron” – it wasn’t a pleasant experience at all and the real challenge came after the headland as it was nearly 8 miles until he could exit the water at the small fishing village of Mullian. Jordan will take a rest for the day now and recover before heading back out into the darkness tonight where he hopes to get within touching distance of Lands End which he hopes to be at within the next 24 hours at some stage. Fingers crossed the weather gods are watching over him tonight.
Day 44 was an extraordinary night move covering nearly 40KM and Jordan is now within touching distance of Lands End (…well around 13KM actually). He spent pretty much all of last night on his knees due to the first hour of choppy sea and and a headwind which was frustrating as the wind dropped drastically later into the 9 hour paddle but his body had seized up by this stage. He made his way up the coast, a well planned and executed route from Mullion > Porthleven > Cudden Point > Mousehaul and finally arriving at a small fishing cove called Penberth Cove. Jordan wanted to push on to Lands End but learning his lessons from previous days, he knew that the dropping temperatures, a lack of water onboard and fatigue from over 70KM over paddling in the last 24 hours had taken its toll and he needed to do what was right and not what he wanted. Jordan would like to thank Ian and Shaun from Vertical Blue in Porthleven who kindly Kayaked the route with him as their local professional guiding knowledge at night was invaluable, please do check them out if you find yourself in Cornwall and looking for adventure: https://www.verticalblue.co.uk – Jordan is now waiting for the next weather window for the final leg to complete the whole of the south coast which would be mission 1 (of 3) accomplished. Last night took Jordan through the 900KM mark in terms of distance paddled, an incredible achievement but still with a very long way to go!
A brilliant day for Jordan as he tackled Lands End with a roaring crowd cheering him on from the cliff tops. It’s been a very tough 45 days for him with lots of high and lows, a few trips to A & E, some long lonely nights on the water in the cold and darkness but he came out of today smiling and assured me he was having a “cheeky beer” this afternoon before getting back on the water at first light. He commented that we have to celebrate the little wins in life whatever they may be as before we know it they are gone and forgotten. He is also on Sky News again tomorrow at 09:30 on the breakfast show with Kay Burley. Expedition sponsors, Angel Call Handling sent their founders along Sarah & Angela who are even cooking up Jordan’s favourite meal tonight to celebrate, a Sunday Roast with all the trimmings on a Tuesday! This marks the end of phase one of The Great British Paddle
Day 46 and it was back to reality after the Lands End celebrations the day before. Low visibility of less than 100m where the coastline was difficult to see and large swells made progress too dangerous for Jordan and meant only 7.23KM was achieved today. However lots of donations came in from some super kind people and Jordan was also invited back on Sky News where he announced a new partnership with the Royal Logistics Corps (thanks to RLC legend Neil Cufley for making it happened) where Jordan will hve a support boat to cross the Bristol Channel and also across to Ireland in the coming weeks. There are some seriously big paddles in tough conditions ahead and we are not even into the Scottish winter yet! A huge thanks to Team GB and SIC Maui team rider Ginnie Betts for hosting Jordan and James this evening at the last minute, another lovely woman with a big heart.
Day 48 and Jordan has had a lot going on today as always. Lots to tell you all but firstly a huge thank you to Life Fit Cornwall and Chloe for a complimentary sports massage this morning and her advice and guidance on the inflammation Jordan has on both of his knees, Chloe provided some professional well needed treatment as well as kindly hosting Jordan and James for the evening too, Chloe’s husband is also a former King’s Royal Hussar! Jordan then spent a whole day paddling over 30KM with Ginnie Betts, a Team GB and SIC Maui Athlete, a highly respected paddler who shared lots of valuable insights with Jordan about the North Cornish and North Devon Coast, they had a great time in extremely challenging conditions that were not really conducive for SUP to say the least! Jordan even had to Surf (well hang on to his board for his life in his words) on to the beach at their final destination at Perinporth. This evening Jordan & James has a wonderful surprise from Dr Risto and Lindsay Talas as they have been treated to a hotel, dinner and a pint of Cornish beer, what an amazing gesture. Jordan had another trip to A&E to try and get some more antibiotics for his leg in the incident many weeks ago in Littlehampton with the jet skier as he still can’t shake off that infection fully, arrrghh! Today as you can see though, amazingly Jordan passed through the 1000KM mark and whilst this was happening, the support team – headed up by Captain Alex started to sail the new support boat from Southampton, the boat which has been provided by the British Army’s Royal Logistics Corps will be with Jordan in a weeks time ready to cross the Bristol Channel and move into South Wales! The expedition is literally changing lives for young people overseas and inspiring young adventurers in the U.K. too, if you want to help make a difference then why not congratulate Jordan on his 1000KM milestone and drop a donation here 
https://givepenny.com/the-great-british-paddle-2020
Day 49 and the total distance covered is 1026.12 KM and today Jordan was introduced to the challenges of leaving a surf beach on a paddle board! After 2 hours of trying to get “out back” behind the surf and failing miserably, it was time to call in the expert, a surf and prone paddling instructor, firefighter and senior RNLI lifeguard with 20 years plus experience of surfing Perranporth Beach. Jordan described this life saver as the “David Hasslehoff of Cornwall” – good looking, physical fit and a 6 pack that wouldn’t look out of place at a Greek Gods convention! A big thank you must go to Matt Thomas (sorry ladies, Ginnie Betts has secured him already) whose experience, professionalism and spirit guided Jordan through the best route of choppy big waves to get Jordan on his way! Jordan this evening arrived in another surfers paradise of Newquay where he met Sam Starkie of Newquay Watersports Centre who gave Jordan a lesson in paddlebord repairs, as you can imagine, after 1000+ KM in all conditions day and night, there have been a few scrapes along the way. A big thank you again to Dr Risto & Lindsay who have gone above and beyond so many times with their selfless commitment to The Great British Paddle expedition and also a thank you to Lanhydrock Hotel & Trehellas Country House for providing accommodation discounts and some lovely refuelling food for Jordan and James. Jordan also visited the minor injury clinic today for a check up on his leg and has been prescribed another 14 days of penicillin antibiotics which “hopefully” will shake off that cellulitis that doesn’t want to go away! It’s been another full on day for The Great British Paddle team and the new support boat passed Plymouth today and is making good headway to be with Jordan mid next week for a Bristol Channel crossing via Lunday Island. Jordan also wanted to give a shoutout to “The Blue Tits” Ladies open water swim club for their support and sense of humour this morning, what a lovely bunch!
Day 50 saw Jordan paddle from Newquay to Padstow and paddle across the the infamous “Doom Bar”, not the well known Cornish beer but the sandbar it is named after at the mouth of the estuary of the River Camel which Jordan paddled into to get out of a strong wind and changing tide last night. Like two other permanent sandbanks further up the estuary, the Doom Bar is composed mainly of marine sand that is continually being carried up from the seabed. More than 60 percent of the sand is derived from marine shells, making it an important source of agricultural lime, which has been collected for hundreds of years; an estimated 10 million tons of sand or more has been removed from the estuary since the early nineteenth century, mainly by dredging. The Estuary mouth is one of the most powerful in Europe and a big thanks to Dr Risto for advising on the best way and time to tackle it as he is a man that knows it very well. The estuary mouth, exposed to the Atlantic Ocean, is a highly dynamic environment, and the sands have been prone to dramatic shifts during storms and it can be very unpredictable to say the least. Jordan and James last night stayed with local talented artist Brian and his wife Annie and were treated to a bottle of local “Doom Bar” on arrival which was quite fitting and they were delighted there wasn’t a ration pack in sight as Annie cooked up a treat of a Sunday Roast for the lads, sadly for them this will be the last though as it will be back to boat life and freeze dried food soon. A big thank you to Annie and Brian for looking after the boys, once again Jordan and James arrived as strangers but will leave with some great new friends.
Day 53 and Jordan pulls the paddle of his life out of the bag which was needed to cross the Bristol Channel. Putting in a personal best in near perfect conditions he managed 64.23 KM which makes that well over 100KM in the last 24-36 hours from Bude on the Devon/Cornwall border to just outside Milford Haven, South Wales. Jordan said this was one of his favourite paddles due to the amount of dolphins he had the privilege of paddling alongside, literally pod after pod all day. The support boat was also in full flow with Captain Alex playing classics from the 90’s and Paula Reid “The Adventure Psychologist” was providing expert insights and analysis as always. The team had the great pleasure of an extra crew mate too in Kate from the RNLI and Coast to Coast Water Safety.
Day 54 and sadly no paddling today, looks like it could be the same all weekend as some strong Atlantic gusting winds will dominate the south west of Wales area for most of the weekend. This is a great chance for Jordan to reflect, re-set and prepare to tackle another huge challenge in the coming weeks as he and the team have decided Jordan should paddle the Irish Sea and cross to Ireland to make best use of the coastal shelter and potential prevailing winds of East Ireland and Northern Ireland instead of being severely exposed down the West of England. This was a tough decision as Jordan was very keen to paddle past his original home town Blackpool and the Tower in Lancashire later in the expedition but sadly this will not happen now although it will allow Jordan to move quicker (hopefully). Please do donate as every paddle stroke is making history now in so many ways as we enter more uncharted territory.
No move today sadly for The Great British Paddle team as we wait for a window of opportunity to come, it looks like we have another big storm heading towards the U.K. which is not good news for Jordan at all. We do though have some very exciting news and would like to welcome the awesome Tori Wells to the onboard support team. Tori is an adult volunteer with the Army Cadet Force, an experienced adventure instructor and will provide direct support to Jordan from the new support boat. We will get to know more about Tori in the coming weeks along with some other new cool team members arriving over the next 24 hours.
No paddling today again for Jordan due to excessive winds, going the wrong way, but looks like a small window for a few hours tomorrow evening may arise, he will be ready when the time comes. Jordan was visited by Ben and his lovely wife Sarah from Water Skills Academy who provided expert advice as always and brought some goodies for crew morale too. Gareth from Get on the Water UK delivered a new Blackfish Paddle and side fins to help Jordan move more efficiently through the water, he also helped with some board repairs. Jordan said he had the best day EVER though because he got to chill on the support boat with his beautiful daughter Evie who he calls, his best friend and greatest achievement in life. He hadn’t seen Evie for 56 days which he said is always the toughest part of any of his challenges. Jordan’s dad (David) and the support team arranged for this surprise and they even brought some delicious special Great British Paddle cakes. New crew mate Tori cooked up a lovely dinner onboard for the team too. No paddling but some great team building which also included a visit from expedition media lead James May and his awesome family, a big thanks to James’s son Elliot for helping Jordan Hunt for pirates at lunch time too, apparently you have to keep a look out in this part of the world for those baddies!
