Norway

From my cabin, on the Hurtigruten ship MS Nordlys. Sailing north towards expedition start...

The final days of my old life were hectic. I barely had time to sleep in the final push to be ready. Board and rig had to be boxed and the original 45kg combined weight reduced to an airport acceptable 32kg. This required that literally every last screw be stripped from from the gear and the cardboard box trimmed to within an inch of its margins. Amazingly, it made the weight.

Making expeditions happen is a lot of work. There are multiple puzzles to resolve and - initially at least - uncertainties on every front.

Website development and writing takes many hours. Presenting a simple concept is anything but simple. Selecting a charity is complex - particularly with multiple languages and nationalities to consider.

The first 1000 kilometres of the expedition will be inside the arctic circle. Settlements are few and far between. The cold wilderness will be a real challenge. I need to carry more and warmer layers, a thicker sleeping bag, and food to get me to civilisation and see out periods of bad weather. On my last expedition I had a barrel on the back of the board and a small rucksac. That worked well, but I had no spare capacity.