Andrew McAuley
| Andrew McAuley | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 7, 1968 Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | February 9, 2007 (aged 38) Tasman Sea |
| Nationality | Australia |
| Occupation | Mountaineer, Adventurer |
| Known for | attempting to cross the Tasman Sea in a sea kayak |
Andrew McAuley (born 7 August 1968; presumed dead 9–12 February 2007) was an Australian mountaineer and sea kayaker. He is presumed to have died following his disappearance at sea while attempting to kayak 1600 km (994 mi) across the Tasman Sea in February 2007.
McAuley was born in Goulburn, New South Wales, on August 7, 1968. He attended Anglican Church Grammar School in East Brisbane and finished Year Twelve in 1984. He was awarded Adventurer of the Year in 2005 by the Australian Geographic Society.
McAuley climbed many peaks in Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Patagonia. He preferred to find new routes and make exploratory climbs.
In 2003, he made the first non-stop kayak crossing of the Bass Strait. In 2004, he kayaked across the Gulf of Carpentaria. In 2006, he led an expedition in the Australian Antarctic Territory where they paddled over 800 km within the Antarctic Circle.
In December 2006 McAuley's first attempt to cross the Tasman Sea in a standard one-man kayak was aborted after one night due to trouble keeping warm inside the cockpit.
McAuley's second attempt began on 11 January 2007 and ended on 12 February when the search for his missing body was called off following the recovery of his partly flooded kayak on 10 February approximately 30 nautical miles (56 km) short of his destination Milford Sound.
The sleeping arrangements at sea involved deploying a sea anchor, squeezing his body down into the kayak and sealing the hatch with a bulbous fibreglass capsule (dubbed "Casper") fitted with an air-only ventilator which, with its self-righting capabilities, made it possible to ride out the most severe storm conditions that are inevitable in that part of the ocean.
However, when the capsule was pivoted to its stowing position behind the cockpit, it made it impossible to kayak roll due to being filled with water like a bucket. Therefore, whenever he capsized, he had to swim out of the kayak, push it upright and perform full self-rescue.
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