VORTEX CROSSING
ROUTE: Suðuroy to Thurso
DISTANCE: 200+ NM
DURATION: 70–90 hours non-stop
CRAFT: Paddleboard
FORMAT: Solo, unsupported, continuous
KEY MILESTONES: Longest open-water passage by paddleboard | First recorded continuous, non-stop crossing by any human-powered vessel
SCIENTIFIC MISSION: oceanographic data
The crossing utilizes Gear Cabin V2, an evolution of the unit tested during the Shetland-to-Orkney crossing. Mounted directly to the deck, the hard-shell unit acts as the functional nerve center for the expedition.
It securely houses critical navigation systems, VHF communications, battery power, and Starlink satellite connectivity for live streaming, alongside four days of survival provisions. The unit also integrates oceanographic sensors to collect marine health data across the channel, keeping essential equipment protected, organized, and fully operational in open water.
GEAR CABIN V2
THE ROUTE
The Vortex Crossing is a solo, unsupported paddleboard journey across the Faroe-Shetland Channel, setting out from the southern tip of the Faroe Islands with the intention of making landfall on mainland Scotland.
To our knowledge, a direct crossing between the Faroes and the Scottish mainland has never been completed under human power. Previous expeditions—whether in ocean rowing boats or sea kayaks like Olly Hicks and George Bullard—were ultimately pushed off their lines by Atlantic drift and heavy weather, ending up east in Shetland or taking refuge on North Rona.
Historically, stand-up paddleboarding has followed in the wake of older maritime disciplines, retracing lines long established by oars and kayaks. Because this direct passage to the mainland remains open, it presents an unusual moment for modern paddleboarding: not following a historical route, but establishing one.
