1865

Rob Roy - Thames, English Channel, European rivers

John MacGregor · Europe

The British 'sport' of expedition kayaking begins. MacGregor paddled the Thames, ferried the English Channel, and continued through European rivers and lakes in his Rob Roy.

The British can probably legitimately claim to have invented the sport of expedition kayaking in the Victorian era with the journeying of John MacGregor in his beloved Rob Roy, a craft far removed in design from the Eskimo kayak. In 1865 he began by paddling down the Thames, ferrying across the English Channel, and then paddling the rivers and lakes of Europe. In 1868 one of his most famous expeditions took him through the Middle East. The Rob Roy: 15 feet long, 28 inches wide, nine inches deep, and 80 pounds in weight. The starting point for the modern expedition kayak tradition.