1/5/2025

Post Caspian swim, on the 10th of November 2024, Karl left Baku Azerbaijan for Turkey and the famous Bosphorus bridge. Arriving 5 months later, after 2,204kms, crossing Azerbaijan, Georgia and the majority of Turkey. Arriving in Istanbul on the 25/4/2025, a week later Karl had secured permission from the local government to use the famous ‘15th of July Martyrs bridge’, to cross to the European side of Istanbul. With just over 3,000kms left to the UK, and based on the pace of the last 5 months, thats approximately 10 - 12months from the UK, when we take into account the Schengen visa restrictions.

17/9/2024

31 days, 288kms and over 132hrs of swimming, the team arrives on the coast of Azerbaijan to a warm welcome. Supported by the Azeri Coastguard and Azerbaijan government, the team successfully navigated challenging conditions at sea, overcame time and distance to achieve an historic first. The first recorded swim across the Caspian, and the end of a three year focused plan to reach the west coast of the Caspian and back on the road for Europe.

1/6/2024

June 1st We moved back to Baku to work with the Azerbaijan government who agreed to support the Caspian crossing and supplied two Azeri swimmers to join the team. Our Azerbaijani national swim team champions Anastasiya Boborikna and Abdurrahman Rustamov. However, as sports athletes, they have never done anything like this kind of distance and time. The team will be supported by the Azeri Coast Guard and a 64-meter ship. The start date is now set for August 10th from the coast of Kazakhstan. 

7/04/2024

April 14th -28th The team was joined by Erik Scheeres for the last push from Shetpe to the start point of the swim. Roughly 300 km, in an approximate 10-day walk. 

31 / 08 / 2023

Unfortunately we were unable to satisfy all the safety boat requirements in the allotted time frame meaning we have had to delay the crossing until August next year. We would not have had time to reorganise without pushing back the timings by a few months. This led us to question water temperatures and how that might negatively impact our swim. We are not equipped for cold weather swimming. My sponsors take safety very seriously, especially when there are seven lives at stake at sea for 30 days. Now we have time to focus on the safety boat requirements. Targeting August 2024. Meanwhile checkout the new video we added in the video section of the 1,000 mile section through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

18/07/2023

A hard fought, yet interesting, few weeks. Arrive in Shetpe after 309kms. From here we need to renew the 30 day Kazakh visa so require another visa bounce. We also need to link up with the Baku team, now located in Kazakhstan, working on the permissions permits etc. The support boat is on the way across the Caspian to Aktau Kazakhstan.

26/06/2023

We cross into Kazakhstan and cover the next 87kms arriving in Beyneu on the 28th. A small dusty town rocked by both thunder storms and dust storms during our stay. We resupply, rest, clean and fix equipment before hitting the road on the 7/07/2023.

1/06/2023

Back to Nukus and back on the road for the Kazakh border. Between us and the border is a long and very remote stretch of desert that requires a lot of careful thought. The temperatures are reaching 45C (113F) and the pressure is on. We advance methodically and carefully. We bury and cache water along a 260km stretch getting us past the Arial Sea and to the border with Kazakhstan. 441kms

8/04/2023

After a long and trying haul we reach the first major waypoint Nukus. We got broke in, suffered heavy blistering that finally started to heal only a few days before arriving in Nukus. Incredible to be back on the road with the Beast after a long troubling delay.  543kms 

From Nukus we have to leave Uzbekistan to renew our visa. This provides the perfect opportunity to visit Baku Azerbaijan and link up with the team working on our support boat for the Caspian water crossing. Its an expensive endeavor with a lot of bureaucracy to overcome to secure the permits and permissions to cross the Caspian between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Not to mention the Boat, crew, medical coverage and film crew required to make all this work. And of cause never enough time. Its all business now, the world is getting surreal. 

12/03/2023

Everything arrives in Bukhara and we spend a few days organizing and packing for the road gathering final supplies. Hitting the road 14/03/2023. 

27/03/2023

We fly out of Mexico and arrive in Tashkent Uzbekistan. So begins a few weeks of frantic organizing and consolidation. We are relived to finally reunite with the Beast and all, (well almost all), my equipment that was left in Turkmenistan three years earlier. We buy supplies, ship swimming equipment to Aktau Kazakhstan, pack and ship the Beast and Athathen (Angela’s cart) to Bukhara, the starting point and my last major waypoint in Uzbekistan before we entered Turkmenistan. A hectic time that saw Karl have to deal with his first bout of shingles covering the left side of his face and eye. Not the best timing. We take a train and head for Bukhara.

23/02/22

With Russias invasion of Ukraine and the heightened tension with the west, specifically the UK, Russia is officially off the table. Not only, tension with Iran is on the negative down slide with no promising future. The prospects of obtaining an Iranian visa for a four month walk across the country looks less likely each day. As the geopolitical trap shuts tight, it’s definitely time to look closely at PLAN-C the “escape route” the Caspian Sea.

This would require a 259km swim from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan, not really something i signed on for at the beginning of this endeavour, but hey, whatever it takes right? The other big question is logistics. A support boat plays a significant role in this concept, and at this point it’s far from clear how credible or realistic this plan might be.