New record: crossing the North Sea in December

Billy Butler couldn’t let 2024 pass without going for one last record. After taking the solo and double kayak records for the length of the Thames River, plus records around Anglesey and Hayling islands, there was one more big one. The North Sea in December? No problem. Just before the new year, after two days of delay due to dense fog, Billy set off into the dark. He was paddling the rare Epic V8 GT surfski, the same boat that Mike Lambert used to circumnavigate the UK last year, because he “had to get the boat back home [to the Netherlands] somehow”.

Since 2021, the North Sea record belonged to Belgian sea kayaker Dimitri Vandepoele‬ who crossed the other direction, from Belgium to the UK, in 17.5 hours. As a high level marathon kayaker in a surfski, Billy would be taking a good chunk of time off that record.

Billy’s claim that he’s “not addicted to records” is looking increasingly questionable. But even his impressive Five Record 2024 will pale in comparison if he pulls off his plans for 2025. Watch Paddle Daily’s interview with Billy on YouTube to hear about his four step plan to earn the biggest record around… Plus: a play-by-play of his North Sea crossing, dealing with commercial shipping traffic, the kit he used, his learnings about the expectations of international officials, and how his crossings stack up against the small group of ambitious surfski paddlers who’ve done major European crossings.