Peter Bray

Peter Bray was in 2001, the third person known to cross the Atlantic Ocean alone in a kayak (Franz Romer in 1928 and Hannes Lindemann in 1956 preceded him) but the first one to paddle west to east (i.e.: not riding favorable currents) and also the first one not using sails to help his paddling. He documented his expedition in the book Kayak Across the Atlantic in 2004.

Bray is a Cornishman born in 1957. He was an outdoor pursuits instructor from Pencoed College in Bridgend.

He set out to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a kayak on June 23, 2001, from Newfoundland, Canada. After a 3,000-mile (4,800 km) 76-day journey, he arrived on the West Coast of Ireland on Wednesday, September 5, 2001. The former member of the British Army's Special Air Service Boat Troop was aiming to raise £100,000 for two children's hospices. Bray's first attempt to cross the Atlantic in a kayak ended in failure in 2000 after he capsized and he spent more than 30 hours adrift in waters of the North Atlantic. Jason Rice designed the special kayak which made the historic crossing.

In 2004, Bray was part of the four-man team on the Pink Lady, who together attempted the fastest crossing from St. John's, NF, Canada to Falmouth, England. Just 370 miles short of their destination, he again failed when the boat was broken in two by Hurricane Alex after 39 days at sea.

In June 2005, Bray was awarded a bronze medal by the Royal Humane Society in recognition for his bravery in an Atlantic row.

Bray is considered to have saved the life of crewmate Jonathan Gornall after the row boat was hit a Force 11 storm and split in two during the 1,800-mile row from Newfoundland, Canada, to Falmouth.

Gornall said: ”We knew that bad weather was coming and we had battened down and made ourselves as ready as possible. This included putting on our survival suits. It was so hot, however, in the rear cabin that I unzipped my suit and pulled the rubber neck seal over my head. Very, very stupid. After a wave struck I fought my way out of the wreckage only to realise that instead of floating I was sinking. Just then Pete appeared, ordered me not to panic and supported me in the water as I did my best to get the sea out of my suit. I have no doubt Pete saved my life. He then went on to retrieve our liferaft, in the extremely difficult circumstances, which at the very least contributed to, if not ensured, our survival.”

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