Log

Every journey starts with a step. Arrival at Kobbvoegen having set out from Grense Jakobselv earlier in the day. Thank you to the Norwegian army for help getting to the border.

A short post this. Tomorrow I head to the border with Russia to start the journey round Europe. There has been a slight delay, partly caused by the road to the start point being closed, partly by calm conditions, and partly by a desire to give Spring a few days longer to arrive.

But my excuses have now run out. The Norwegian army are sorting out the transport issue and there is a decent northerly breeze due.

So, tomorrow is the official start day. As of early afternoon expect to see the tracker making progress.

My journey north aboard the Hurtigruten ship MS Nordlys ends tomorrow, with departure in Kirkenes. It's a shame really as I was just settling in, and the weather has been good, and the scenery spectacular.

It's been a holiday, and a full board exceedingly comfortable one at that. I'd do it again at the drop of a hat.

But that was never the deal. Now comes the hard part: windsurfing back.

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.

Footage from a test sail at Clacton. Board and sail are as I will use. Thanks to Kevin Jay for the drone work and subsequent edit.

The gear is here and yesterday got wet for the first time having undergone the first stages of fitting out.

Excess luggage

Early trials with my old round Britain board were interesting. I increased gear carrying capacity but had glossed over the difficulties of launching and landing with such a loaded craft. So I slashed my limit and realigned myself with 'fast and light' principles. I also slashed (carefully cut) the orange spray hood which initially extended further forward. So, I am back with what I know - minimal gear.

Long Standing Ambition - nearly two years in the making - I hope you like it.

Long Standing Ambition - the Windsurf Round Britain book - is published. It is available now in paperback and Kindle editions.

The book has been written for quite a while now, but publication was slowed up by the need to include maps - and there is one for every day sailed; and some photographs - where I thought these added to the account and there was space to put them. So apologies for the delay, but the result is a book that is to my mind is now genuinely complete.

Two months to go and I head somewhere warm and sunny?! Whilst Menorca may not be very Norway-like, it does give the opportunity to link up with friend and talented inventor John Clark. The fruits of our labour will be revealed shortly! In the meantime here is a short video of the sort of flat and easy conditions that I anticipate will almost never be experienced on the actual expedition route.

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.

In May 2017 Jono Dunnett will set sail from the Norway-Russia border starting an attempt to solo windsurf the mainland coastline of Europe.

I seem to have been here before. Two years ago I announced via Facebook that I would be attempting to windsurf round Britain. I remember very clearly the moment of going public, and the trepidation I felt at that time.

The response then makes me less nervous of posting the news this time round, but there are still butterflies. The click-to-share is to all intents and purposes the click of no return.

I'll be video blogging this adventure. Please subscribe to Facebook and/or Updates and News to follow.

As a tester / taster, here is a bit of video I managed towards the end of Windsurf Round Britain: I'm a happy boy in this clip - having just turned onto the home straight (extended curve) towards the finish at Clacton-on-sea.

In the next ones I'll get the hang of talking too...

A meeting with Rob Henshall - pioneer solo expedition windsurfer

Yesterday I met Robert Henshall - the pioneer of solo expedition windsurfing - a man whose existence I first became aware of over twenty years ago. He got a too-brief mention back then, in Boards windsurfing magazine, for having solo windsurfed Ireland. That feat stuck in my teenage mind, and became the foundation of my belief that windsurfing round Britain unsupported was a reasonable and feasible proposition.

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.

The publication of a website is a concrete step towards backing yourself into a corner that is difficult to escape from. If you are reading this it means that I have taken the plunge - publicly committed to a challenge seemingly so large that I question my own sanity. It's good to ask those questions, rather than blindly stumble into this.