Circumnavigate the World by Sailboat and Kayak

In March 2013, Bradt set off on perhaps his most audacious project yet: a five-year circumnavigation of the globe by sailboat. His plan is to sail between the world’s best kayaking destinations.

"The new frontier of paddling is always what I am trying to discover," Bradt says. "I have just launched my dream expedition, a sailing circumnavigation of the world seeking out new, untouched paddling destinations while visiting and revisiting old ones."

So far Bradt has traveled from Baja across the Pacific Ocean to the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. His favorite spot so far? Daniels Bay on Nuku Hiva, an islet in the Marquesas where the group spent five days exploring canyons, empty shores, and creeks spilling out of the mountains.

"We arrived at sunrise as a big rain squall hit the island," he says. "As the rain cleared, a beautiful series of rainbows appeared around the island. The smell of damp soil and waterfalls pouring off of the cliffs was an incredible sight." And this, of course, is just the beginning.

Kayaker Tyler Bradt rocketed into stardom in 2009, when he launched himself off Oregon’s 189.5-foot-high Palouse Falls, clinching the record for the highest waterfall ever run in a kayak. He has also racked up a long roster of expeditions, from kayaking the Sea of Cortez to helping distribute water purification devices in Africa. But arguably his coolest project to date is the Wizard’s Eye, a five-year circumnavigation of the globe on a sailboat outfitted with kayaks, surfboards, and plenty of friends.