1. Man Traveling the Width of Scotland in a ‘Bicycle Canoe’ Entirely Made by Hand
A man is preparing to travel the width of Scotland and back again in a bicycle canoe built by hand according to the time-honored British tradition of performing adventurous feats for charity.
The 36-year-old spent two months building his unique contraption, which has been dubbed Pedal Paddle, and will see him take on over 150 miles of land and sea.
Starting from Fort William, Ben Kilner will paddle to Inverness along the Caledonian Canal before turning around and cycling back on land along the Great Glen Way.
He aims to raise £2,500 for the charity A Leg To Stand On, which provides prosthetic limbs for children in developing countries across the world. He also hopes to inspire people to go outside and explore the world.
The idea was born after Kilner, who previously paddled down the River Thames in a hand-built canoe, was left unable to walk for several days after a camping trip.
“It was deeply upsetting and highlighted how much I rely on my mobility and how much we take it for granted,” said Kilner, from England’s East Sussex.
“The canoe is a skin-on-frame canoe made from Douglas fir and steam-bent green oak with a ballistic nylon skin stretched over it,” said Kilner in a TikTok video announcing his voyage by paddling the strange machine right into a lake. “The reason for going with that design was because it is super lightweight and also something I can build myself relatively easily.”
2. Man Builds an Electricity-Generating Windmill in His Own Garden
Often called windmills out of habit, wind turbines generate electricity kinetically from the force of the wind.
However an Englishman has further complicated things by building both—a windmill based on a 12th-century example that also doubles as a wind turbine. Sitting in his garden, he believes it can power his whole house.
Gareth Ross Buddell built the structure in his home garden in Swindon. He is next looking to test its capabilities on a windy hillside, where he explains more than 10,000 of the structures would once have been visible across the UK.
“I think they would look fantastic,” he told English media outlet SWNS, gesturing to the hillside. “You could use them to pump up water for the farms at the top, or for heating, or you could run a line down to the school and get the school free electricity.”
To ensure his plans were based on historic originals, Gareth purchased over 1,700 survey drawings of the Bourn Windmill in Cambridgeshire, approximated the measurements, and then reconstructed a quarter-size copy in his garden.
Gareth relied on his skills and education as a classical boat builder at the Falmouth Marine School, which also serves him at his day job repairing furniture. The windmill is built mainly of green oak and can rotate to be directed at the wind. He sewed the sails himself from a curtain he bought in a thrift store.
The mill’s generator produces 100 amps at 12 volts when spinning at its optimum speed.
3. Best Friends Battle 40ft Waves in Fastest Row Across the Pacific by a Duo–Beating Men’s Record by 2 Days
Two best friends have become the fastest duo ever to row across the Pacific Ocean, battling 40-foot waves to break the previous record set by two men.
Jessica Oliver and Charlotte Harris completed the epic row in 37 days, 11 hours, and 43 minutes, breaking the record in the 2024 World’s Toughest Row Pacific Challenge.
The 33-year-olds set out from Monterey Bay, California for the 2,800 mile journey on June 8th, and when they arrived in Hawaii on July 16th they had beaten the existing women’s record by an astonishing 9 days.
The achievement comes after the pair, known as Wild Waves, set a world record in 2021 as the fastest female pair to row the Atlantic Ocean.
“It was absolutely grueling both from a mental and physical perspective – the hardest thing we have ever done,” said Jess, while standing at the winner’s podium with a Hawaiian garland draped around her neck.
There were ecstatic hugs and tears waiting for the dynamic duo on Hanalei Bay beach as they fell into the arms of family and friends.
“We gave it everything and are completely broken, but it was worth it,” said Charlotte.
Apart from sheer grit and determination, it was teamwork and solid friendship that got them through.
“We can read each other so well,” said Charlotte.
The pair took a southerly route and were pursued by bitterly cold northerly winds from Canada producing giant waves, and their boat Cosimo almost capsized.
