United Kingdom
Pioneer of British sea kayaking. First successful North Sea kayak crossing (1976) after a famous failed first attempt in 1975. Aleutians 1978. Author of The Complete Book of Sea Kayaking.
Derek Hutchinson was a pioneer of modern British sea kayaking. His first attempt at the North Sea crossing in 1975 with John Ramwell ended in failure - they got lost off Dunkirk, France, tied themselves together, and finally lit a signal flare to a passing ferry. The next year, in 1976, he completed the crossing successfully from Felixstowe to Ostend in 31 hours.
In 1978 he kayaked 250 miles in the Aleutian Islands from Dutch Harbor on Unalaska to Nikolski on Umnak.
His book The Complete Book of Sea Kayaking remains a touchstone of modern sea kayaking literature. His description of the sport's appeal - quoted on this website's homepage - is one of the most-cited passages in expedition kayaking: "Sea kayaking gives a person the opportunity to venture on to a wild, unpredictable expanse in a craft that moves solely by the strength of their arm, directed by their experience and knowledge. Facing the challenge of the sea in this way causes a paddler to journey into the genuine unknown – the unknown and untried areas of his own soul."