Hero who battled the elements

For almost 24 hours solo canoeist John Bouteloup battled the waves and, above all, tidal currents to paddle 105 miles non-stop around the islands. And during the final stage from Guernsey to Jersey he was heading into the ebbing tide, so although he was paddling through darkness at 4.5 knots he was making progress at only two knots.

At the age of 53, Mr Bouteloup is an extremely experienced canoeist, but he is clearly not in the first flower of youth. This makes his achievement even more outstanding and it is hardly surprising that when he came ashore at Le Braye at 4 am he was utterly exhausted.

But his welcome could hardly have been better, even though there was no large crowd on the beach. He was greeted by his wife, Hilly, his daughter, Nadine, and a handful of friends.

Until he gave an account of his truly epic circumnavigation of the Islands, they will not have known that the tide between the islands and the final 25-mile paddle in the dark were not his only problems. He barely made it through the most challenging stretch of water off Alderney before the tide turned against him and he injured his wrist as he stepped up his stroke rate to increase speed.

Although the round-Channel Island voyage has been described by Mr Bouteloup as ‘excruciating’, and although he has intimated that it was the hardest thing he had ever done, he is anything but a stranger to endurance paddling. He has, in fact, successfully completed many other challenges which would be completely beyond the capabilities of anyone who had not devoted a tremendous amount of time, energy and commitment to training and preparation.

In terms of personal satisfaction, Mr Bouteloup, exhausted as he must now be, will be riding high. However, he can also take pride in the fact that his efforts have produced another winner – Jersey Hospice Care, the worthy organisation which will receive the money he has raised in sponsorship.