Dave Cornwaithe Travels Mississippi River by Stand-Up Paddleboard

Dave Cornwaithe is attempting to complete 25 separate 1,000 mile journeys without using motorized transportation, in the Expedition 1000.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on September 09 2011

In the old days, Huck Finn might have rafted down the mighty Mississippi—but Dave Cornwaithe, a 31-year-old from London, has traversed the 2,340-mile river using a more modern, yet still low-tech, form of transportation: a stand-up paddleboard.

Cornwaithe spent two-and-a-half months paddling down the river, beginning at Elk Lake, Minn., and finishing his journey at the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday evening, just before his U.S. visa was set to expire. “I was afraid I wouldn’t make it,” he told the Huffington Post. Although Hurricane Lee slowed him down a bit, he made it to the finish line just in time.

His feat will get him into the Guinness Book of Records, but it’s just one of many adventures for the British adventurer. He’s already skateboarded 2240 miles across Australia, kayaked Australia’s 1,476-mile Murray River, and rode a tandem bike with a friend from Vancouver to Los Angeles.

Although he’ll need a little time to recuperate from his latest journey, he has big plans coming up: He’ll ride a bike with a sail across the Chilean desert this December, then travel 1,000 miles in a wheelchair. In total, he hopes to complete 25 separate journeys of 1,000 miles or more, each using a different form of non-motorized transportation. He calls his plan the “Expedition 1000.”

Cornwaithe’s expeditions aren’t just for fun and fame: He’s also working to raise money for two charities: The AV foundation, which works to provide drinking water and electricity in rural East Africa; and Coppafeel, a breast cancer charity. He hopes to raise one million pounds ($1.6 million US). Make a donation here to help him reach his goal.