Jono Dunnett is the first windsurfer to circumnavigate Britain unaided

September 15, 2015 | Windsurfing
Jono Dunnett: he spent three months circumnavigating Britain | Photo: Jono Dunnett/PA

Jono Dunnett has successfully completed the circumnavigation of Britain on a windsurfer.

The 41-year-old sailor is the first windsurfer to sail the 2200-mile (3540 kilometers) adventure unaided, and to carry all equipment he needed to survive. He spent 98 days sailing.

Dunnett kicked off his adventure on the 7th June, in Essex, and arrived at Clacton Pier on the 12th September. He challenged waves, had close encounters with ferries, crossed the Irish Sea, and even slept in an improvised tent made of his sail.

"Having got out to Land's End in poor visibility and making my way to where the seas meet, it was pretty rough and unpleasant," Dunnett told the BBC.

"Then having got to the north [Cornish] coast, there was a really big Atlantic swell and really light winds and no way of stopping until I got to St Ives. That was pretty sustained worry that day."

The solo windsurfer's best performance was a 100-mile run in 24 hours. He had to fish for food and find shelter to spend the night.

"It's been incredible how supportive people have been. I particularly found people were keen to help me out in some of the more remote spots like the north of Scotland," he told The Telegraph.

Jonathan Dunnett is the fourth athlete to windsurf around Britain, but he is the first to complete the journey without a support boat. He also raised funds for Ralph Bates Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund and Supporting Tanzanian Orphans and Widows.

  • Dutch environmental activist and windsurfer Merijn Tinga, also known as the "Plastic Soup Surfer," has made an audacious journey from Oslo to London, braving the North Sea's currents and winds, to call attention to the pervasive problem of plastic pollution.