1987

California to Hawaii - 2,200-mile Pacific solo

Ed Gillet · Ocean Crossings

Ed Gillet departed Monterey on 25 June 1987 in a Necky Tofino double with 600 pounds of food and gear. Lost radio in week two. 63 days. Ran out of food. 40 hours sleep-deprivation. Landed Maui.

Ed Gillet departed Monterey on 25 June 1987 in a Necky Tofino double with 600 pounds of food and gear, bound for Hawaii. He lost his radio in week two. After 63 days, having run out of food, hallucinating from 40 hours of sleep deprivation, he landed on Maui. The 2,200-mile Pacific journey remains unmatched - no other solo paddler has crossed that ocean. The unsupported open-ocean Pacific crossing remains, to this day, one of the unequalled feats of expedition sea kayaking.