When Sebastian Szubski started his attempt to break the record for fastest circumnavigation of Britain by kayak, many Brits were sceptical. Szubski had an impressive CV — he’s an Olympic athlete, he holds one of the Thames records, and after multiple attempts he also took the 24 hour flatwater paddling record when he paddled 251.71 kilometres (156.41 miles) on a lake in Poland. He’s held that record he’s successfully since 2019.

But Sebastian had never paddled a surfski on the sea, let alone along Britain’s notoriously dangerous and technical coastline.

Knowing he needed practice paddling on the sea and insider knowledge of Britain’s tidal races, whirlpools, prevailing winds, and more… Szubski came up with a secret weapon.

In October 2024, Sebastian came out to the South Coast of the UK for a practice session with Mike Lambert, who had completed his 58 day GB circumnavigation just a few months prior. Mike has played a crucial role in advising Sebastian on how to approach his circumnavigation, which major crossings to do to cut down on the total mileage, how to approach the tides and some of the more dangerous parts of the coastline… Now as Sebastian has reached the home stretch with the record in sight, it looks like Mike’s knowledge and Sebastian’s grit makes a lethal combination (lethal for records, that is).

Sebastian started his circumnavigation near Mallaig, in western Scotland, and has been neck and neck with Dougal Glaisher’s 40 day record virtually every day. Dougal, who is diabetic, set the record in 2023 with no land support crew and the added challenge of keeping his blood sugars in a safe range. Dougal took a full 27 days off the previous record of 67 days set by Joe Leach in a sea kayak. Having a support crew following him around in a van, feeding him, and carrying his kit has made a huge difference for Sebastian. But even so, Dougal’s record was incredibly impressive, and beating it has proved challenging.

The home stretch

As Sebastian Szubski rounded Land’s End, Paddlecast co-host Billy Butler finally became convinced that the 40 day record was going to fall. It’s been as tight as anything between Sebastian’s progress and Dougal’s 40 day record up to this point, but there shouldn’t be much left that can stop him now.

The biggest moment of Sebastian’s progress last week was his 100km+ crossing of Lyme Bay. Billy and Betsy were dot-watching (along with many others) when Sebastian went out of GPS range moving only 2mph. Thankfully, he came back online a short while later, but with a mysterious zig-zag to his track… In this week’s episode of Paddlecast, Billy talks about the moment he saw Sebastian disappear on the tracker. And Betsy shares Sebastian’s account of exactly what happened in that moment, and how he still managed to complete the crossing even though it took more than 16 hours.

More weekly news

Paddlers around the world were busy last weekend with racing in South Africa, Romania, Korea, and Spain.

The action was tight at the Berg River Marathon, with legend Hank McGregor winning his 14th title, but Hank wasn’t the only legend on the course… And in the women’s race, an unfortunate spill early on Day 2 turned into a shock 8 minute lead – this lucky mistake seems to have determined the outcome of 1st and 2nd between Jenna Nisbett / Nix Birkett at the epic 4 day ultra marathon race in South Africa.

At the Junior & U23 European Sprint Canoe Championships in Romania, it was Hungary who came away with the most medals (unsurprisingly). But there were a few surprising results. Young GB athletes Freddie Heard / Ollie Mazur talk about the event and their K4 race in their own words on Paddlecast.

The winner of the Korea APP SUP race was also no surprise (the reigning king himself, Shuri “Shrimpy” Araki) but the course had some unusual twists that gave this speed demon more of a challenge.

In Spain, more than thirty K4s from local clubs and top European national teams gathered to race amongst beautiful scenery. And a particularly strong GB men’s crew made it onto the podium in Valladolid. Joe Petersen, from that podium crew (and a very familiar name to those who followed Paddle Daily’s coverage of the Devizes to Westminster 2025), shares more about the event and his team’s racing in his own words.

Looking ahead

On Thursday, the only race to make the Yukon River Quest look short has just started: The Yukon 1000. A hybrid between classic ultra paddling racing and ‘do you know how to bear-bag and staunch a wound in the wilderness’ type adventure race, the event has attracted a wide variety of entrants this year including a pro MMA fighter, a surfer, a rower, a mountaineer, a paracanoe athlete, and more.

Follow Sebastian Szubski’s progress on his tracker and Instagram page.

Watch / listen to this week’s news episode of Paddlecast on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you’ve missed the last few episodes, be sure to go back and listen to hear the full story of Sebastian’s circumnavigation attempt right from the beginning.