Mission accomplished: sea kayaking the Shipping Forecast

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A year ago, Sorted magazine published an extract from Moderate Becoming Good Later, a book detailing the efforts of one man – Toby Carr – to visit every area of the Shipping Forecast in a sea kayak.

Sadly, Toby died before he was able to complete his mission. But his sister Katie, a complete novice at kayaking, took on the task of fulfilling Toby’s dream.

Last month in Shetland, Katie Carr finished the challenge her brother Toby set himself in 2018. Originally intended to be a project lasting one year, it has taken the siblings six and a half to complete.  

“When Toby died, he left me a book to write and an adventure to finish,” comments Katie, who authored the book her brother intended to write, published by Summersdale in June 2023. “The book was a huge project and when I handed in the final manuscript, I thought, why not learnt to sea kayak and finish the Shipping Forecast?” 

Toby Carr was born with Fanconi Anaemia, a life-limiting condition, and died in January 2022 having paddled in 16 of the 31 sea areas in the Shipping Forecast. Four areas have no land and cannot reasonably be reached by sea kayak, which left 11 for his sister Katie. Unlike Toby, who was an experienced paddler, Katie had never been in a sea kayak before taking on the challenge.  

“When I started, I knew it would be hard, but I thought, people learn in all these areas, I bet I can too!”  Katie, a mum of two young boys, also had to fit kayaking around parenting and working, something which was further complicated by living in Spain. “We all face limitations of one form or another; the real challenge is doing what is possible from where we are,” comments Katie.   

Katie seeing Toby off at Gatwick at the beginning of his challenge

While Toby’s journey took him from Southeast Iceland down the seaboard of Western Europe to Trafalgar, including some parts of England, Katie’s has taken place in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. “Until now I’ve generally avoided the cold and wet,” says Katie, “But it’s been a great way to visit places I wouldn’t otherwise have gone to.” 

Katie started her part of the challenge in March 2023 near Bristol in the Lundy sea area, the last one Toby paddled, before continuing through the Welsh, Irish and Western Scottish sea areas later that year. From April 2024, she continued her journey in northeast England and eastern and northern Scotland, before finishing in the Shetland Islands in late July.  

“I was lucky that Toby’s original challenge was simply to sea kayak in each sea area, not to complete a certain number of kilometers or hours on the water.” Katie says, “In nearly all sea areas I’ve done at least two expeditions and where I haven’t, it’s been because the weather has stopped me, and that’s all part of it.”  

Toby Carr at sea during his odyssey

As a novice kayaker, Katie has had to rely on support from kayak coaches and leaders in different places. “I knew the sea kayaking community was strong, thanks to all my research for the book, but it was a different thing to be on the receiving end of that kindness firsthand.”

Katie’s journey was also a way of dealing with the grief of losing her family of origin, something she has spoken openly about in Moderate Becoming Good Later and other forums. “The idea of ‘closure’ has become a cliché, but I’ve found it very therapeutic to complete the challenges fate didn’t allow Toby to do. At the same time, it’s reiterated to me that the important things in life aren’t about ticking off a list, but enjoying the journey. I’ve just been on a big adventure I wouldn’t have been on without Toby. It feels like his gift to me for writing his book,” says Katie. 

Katie and Toby’s adventure will be the focus of a BBC The Travel Show documentary to be broadcast on BBC1 and BBC iPlayer on September 21st 2024. Katie is also currently working on telling her story in a second book, as well as further improving her sea kayaking skills. “I’ve never shied away from challenging conditions in life; I’d like to get even better at dealing with them on the sea,” she says.  

Moderate Becoming Good Later by Toby & Katie Carr, is available from Summersdale

Candy O'Donovan

Candy is an editor and proofreader and has been helping produce Sorted since 2021. She’s also a part-time gardener/fence-builder/decorator. When not working, she’s usually ringing church bells, paddleboarding or thinking up quiz questions.
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