Dave Cornthwaite Launches Project Origin - Smaller, Shorter Adventures for a Good Cause

Because he doesn't already have enough things to keep him busy, British adventurer Dave Cornthwaite has launched a new adventurous endeavor designed to not only help other would-be adventurers realize their dreams, but also to raise enough funds to plant one million trees as well. This new endeavor is called Project Origin, and it will focus on smaller, shorter adventures by stand-up paddleboard (SUP) with the expressed goal of making the world a better place through adventure.

As you probably already know, over the past few years Dave has been focused on his Expedition 1000 project, during which he is attempting to complete 25 individual journeys of at least 1000 miles (1600 km) or more, without the use of any form of motorized transportation. So far, those projects have taken him across Australia on a skateboard, down the Mississippi River on a paddleboard, and by Hobie Kayak from Oslo to Helsinki. Project Origin will take a similar approach to adventure, but on a smaller scale.

This new undertaking  is expected to be a 3-5 year project that will consist of 25 smaller journeys done by SUP. The first of those journeys has just wrapped up, with Dave leading a team of four other individuals on a circumnavigation of the island of Martinique in the Caribbean. That adventure took 12 days to complete, covering a total of 146 miles (235 km) in the process, and wrapping up just this past weekend.

This first leg of Project Origin begins another fund raising effort on the part of Cornthwaite. This time out, he's attempting to raise enough money to plant more than one million trees. His efforts will aid a variety of organizations across the globe, so that the tree plantings will take place in different locations and environments. To that end, Dave has launched a Just Giving campaign, with proceeds going to the Tree Aid organization.

Project Origin isn't just about conducting smaller adventures to raise funds for the trees however, as there is a sub-component called #Begin that will be of interest to a lot of people as well. #Begin is Dave's attempt to give back to the adventure community by helping 200 other people to get to the starting line of their very first adventure. He'll offer support and advice to those would-be adventurers, and in return they'll help raise funds for the cause as well.

You can learn a lot more about Dave, Expedition 1000, Project Origin, and #Begin on his website and Facebook page. And if you'd like to get a glimpse of what the first SUP journey of Project Origin was all about, check out the video below. This looks like it will be another fantastic endeavor from someone who has a long track record of conducting great adventures, and encouraging others to find their own.

Expedition 1000 Update: Kayaking Journey to Helsinki Done!

The last time we checked in on British adventurer Dave Cornthwaite, he was just setting off on the latest leg of his Expedition 1000 project. This time out, he was attempting to travel a thousand miles from Oslo, Norway to Helsinki, Finland in a pedal-powered Kayak from Hobie. Yesterday, Dave wrapped up that adventure by arriving at his destination after 48 days out on the water, and covering 1000.5 miles (1610 km).

Dave's course took him out of Oslo south via the Oslo Fjord and along the Swedish Bohuslan Coastline to Gothenburg. From there he began paddling east, fighting the current of the Gota Alv River for a couple of days, before crossing Vanern, the largest lake in Sweden. Passing through the Gota Canal, he eventually arrived in Stockholm for a brief time, before making an open water crossing to Aland. The final stage of the trip saw our intrepid adventurer island hopping along the Finnish archipelago, before wrapping up his journey yesterday with his arrival in Helsinki.

The tale of the tape on this adventure is an impressive one. Over the course of his travels, Dave crossed through three countries (Norway, Sweden, and Finland). His total time out on the water was 303 hours and 35 minutes, traveling at an average speed of about 3.5 miles per hour. It took him approximately 1,093,900 pushes of the pedal to cover the 1000 mile distance. He also camped on 24 individual islands along the way.

This was the 11th leg of Expedition 1000, in which Dave is attempting to complete 25 individual journeys of 1000 miles or more, without the use of motorized transportation. Previous expeditions have taken him down the Mississippi River on a stand-up paddleboard, through the Atacama Desert on a wind-powered bike, and across Australia on a skateboard. Dave still has 14 more journeys to complete before the project is finished, and as always, it'll be interesting to see what he comes up with next.

The video below will give you a taste of what this adventure was like for Dave. Throughout the expedition he posted these excellent clips of his travels, and they really do give you a sense of what it was like to make this journey from Oslo to Helsinki.

Congrats to Dave on another leg of Expedition 1000 in the books. Well done my friend.