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Author kayaks the British Isles after completing late brother’s book
An author who finished writing her late brother’s book has completed another mammoth challenge set by her sibling.
Katie Carr’s brother Toby died in 2022, and after his death his sister finished writing his book called Moderate Becoming Good Later (Summersdale). After completely one big challenge, she decided to take on another—one Toby had set himself back in 2018: to kayak around the British Isles, also known as the 31 areas of BBC Radio 4’s "Shipping Forecast".
Originally intended to be a one-year journey, it instead took six and a half years to complete. “When Toby died, he left me a book to write and an adventure to finish,” Katie said. “The book was a huge project and when I handed in the final manuscript, I thought, why not learnt to sea kayak and finish the Shipping Forecast?”
Toby was born with a condition known as Fanconi anemia and died in January 2022, having kayaked in 16 of the 31 sea areas in the Shipping Forecast. Katie then paddled the 11 areas left by her brother, only skipping the four that cannot be reached by a sea kayak.
She started in March 2023, near Bristol in the Lundy sea area, before continuing through the Welsh, Irish and western Scottish sea areas. From April 2024, she continued in north east England and eastern and northern Scotland, finishing in the Shetland Islands in July.
Katie was a novice kayaker when she started the challenge, lives in Spain and is a mother of two young children—so she had to fit kayaking around parenting and working. “When I started, I knew it would be hard, but I thought, people learn in all these areas, I bet I can too,” she said. "I’ve just been on a big adventure I wouldn’t have been on without Toby. It feels like his gift to me for writing his book.
“I was lucky that Toby’s original challenge was simply to sea kayak in each sea area, not to complete a certain number of kilometers or hours on the water. In nearly all sea areas I’ve done at least two expeditions—and where I haven’t, it’s been because the weather has stopped me and that’s all part of it.”
Katie’s journey was also a way of dealing with the grief of losing her brother, something she has spoken openly about in Moderate Becoming Good Later and other forums.
She said: “The idea of ‘closure’ has become a cliché, but I’ve found it very therapeutic to complete the challenges fate didn’t allow Toby to do. At the same time, it’s reiterated to me that the important things in life aren’t about ticking off a list, but enjoying the journey. I’ve just been on a big adventure I wouldn’t have been on without Toby. It feels like his gift to me for writing his book."
The siblings’ adventure will be the focus of a BBC "The Travel Show" documentary that will be be broadcast on BBC 1 and BBC iPlayer on 21st September 2024. The author is also working on a second book. She added: "I’ve never shied away from challenging conditions in life; I’d like to get even better at dealing with them on the sea,” she says.
