Great Scott’s Standup Paddle Challenge

Updates

• 30th March 2026

  Easter Monday and the Wind Had Other Plans

  

  Most people spend Easter Monday with chocolate and a roast dinner. Scott spent it fighting a north-westerly that was trying to personally escort him to France.
  
  Monday the 30th March started with good intentions --- a quick out-and-back from Sandgate to Hythe, around 7km, before heading to the gym. Simple enough. Except the English Channel had other ideas.
  
  "It's quite choppy and quite difficult --- trying to just stay pointed towards the shore. The wind was literally just blowing me off."
  
  Out on the open sea, Scott was managing just 32 strokes per minute --- compared to his usual 45-46 on the canal. The difference? Every stroke has to fight not just the water, but the waves themselves, which keep the paddle in the water far longer just to stop you going in. Even dropping to his knees to reduce his profile against the wind wasn't enough to stop the drift.
  
  "I was thinking, ah, I'm not getting any closer to shore."
  
  At one point, a pilot boat was visible in the distance --- and Scott admits he briefly considered whether waving would bring help, or whether he'd simply end up in Calais waiting for someone to collect him.
  He made it back. Of course he did.
  
  "It didn't rain, I'm back and I'm safe and I'm smiling."
  
  Seven degrees, choppy seas, a wind that had no interest in cooperating --- and Scott's still grinning on the shore. The Channel crossing gets closer every session, whatever the weather throws at him.
  Happy Easter from the whole team. If you haven't already, please take a moment to support the Evie Dove Foundation.
• 25th March 2026

  Sleet, Sun and a Sore Back

  Wednesday the 25th of March, and most people with a day off mid-week would be putting their feet up. Not Scott.
  
  With a working weekend ahead and twelve straight days behind him, a rare weekday off meant one thing --- get back on the water.
  
  The canal greeted him with everything it had. Rain hammering down at the start, full wetsuit on and ready for battle. Then the sun appeared, temperatures crept up, and suddenly the wetsuit became the enemy. And just to keep things interesting --- sleet. Then hail.
  
  "When I set off it was chucking it down with rain so I had my full wetsuit on, but then the sun came out and I've been overheating. Might need to put it back on in a second."
  
  Then there's the back. Scott woke up barely able to walk --- but he's developed his own test for whether he's fit to paddle.
  
  "My test is if I can get my wetsuit on, then I'm back out on the water and just deal with it."
  
  That's the Scott method. No fuss, no drama --- just back brace on, board under the arm, and out the door.
  
  Twelve days straight. A body that protests every morning. Weather that can't make its mind up. And still, he's back on the canal. The English Channel won't know what's hit it.
• 14th March 2026

  Around the Pier

  

  Most paddle boarders pack up when the weather turns. Scott packed up his wetsuit — literally — and kept going.
  
  On what should have been a straightforward coastal session from Sandgate, Scott found himself bizarrely overheating and peeling off his 2.5mm neoprene wetsuit mid-paddle, letting it hang around his legs rather than risk losing his paddle in a full stop.
  But before anyone gets ideas, Scott was quick to add his usual sensible word of warning:
  
  "I wouldn't want anyone seeing this and thinking — lovely, I'll take a paddleboard out on a day like this. Check the weather, check the tides, check the swell. Even today I've nearly fallen in about half a dozen times. It looks lovely and flat, but it tells a very different story once you get away from the shelter of the bay."
  
  From Sandgate, Scott set his sights on Folkestone — roughly five miles along the coast. It wasn't plain sailing.
  
  "There's that northwesterly wind behind you and then the waves are doing this. It's not great."
  
  And then came the real test: Folkestone Pier. A stretch Scott knows well from the water — just not from a paddleboard.
  
  "I've done it in a boat a few times and it's not for the faint-hearted. You get this weird wind over tide and then around the pier the water just whips up."
  
  With a choice between pride and practicality, Scott opted for smart over stubborn — ready to drop to his knees if the conditions around the harbour demanded it, where clashing tide, wind and the pier's own current make for an unpredictable mix.
  Whether he made it round standing up? We'll let him tell you that one himself.
• 4th March 2026

  Reading the Waves

  On 4th March, with spring officially arriving, Scott headed out towards Sandgate on an evening that felt almost like summer. Beautiful conditions — but don't be fooled.
  
  With swell hitting every three seconds at 0.7 metres, the return leg was a real test of everything he's been building.
  "Going into the waves is actually quite easy — going back is a different story. I almost find that if I close my eyes I can feel the rhythm of the waves and know exactly when to plant the paddle."
  
  Quiet evenings alone on the water give Scott space to reflect on why he's doing this — and for the Evie Dove Foundation, that focus means everything.
• 2nd March 2026

  Into the Wind

  On a blustery Saturday morning, Scott is out on the water in seven-degree temperatures with an easterly wind rolling off the coast — conditions he wouldn't have dared attempt when he first picked up the board last September.
  
  The stretch beyond the Imperial is no joke. The wind plays games with you out there. But that's exactly the point.
  "What's the worst that can happen? I get wet and cold, but I'll get back on the board. My muscles have developed nicely — I'm proud of that."
  
  Scott is a serving police officer who had just presented at the Barks Health Annual Safeguarding Conference — a room full of clinicians and psychiatric nurses whose stories only strengthened his resolve to take on this challenge for the Evie Dove Foundation.
  
  Something tells us seven degrees won't stop him anytime soon.
• 6th February 2026

  Cold, Muddy and Completely Worth It

  Raining, muddy and miles from home — but exactly where Scott needed to be.
  
  Getting to the tidal canal near Appledore from Hythe is no simple task. Cross a dam, descend a muddy bank in the wet, and try not to slip. Scott didn't quite manage that last part — but he made it to the water, board under his arm and ready to go.
  
  "It could only get better than this — but I guess this is all part of the training. Train in bad conditions and when you come to do your discipline it will be in much better conditions and you'll absolutely smash it."
  
  The plan was a steady 20-25 kilometre session, keeping things in what Scott calls "zone two" — focused on technique and building mileage rather than pushing hard. Practical, purposeful and very wet.
  
  But out on the water, something shifts. After a tough week policing two busy London boroughs, the canal becomes something else entirely.
  
  "Coming here is almost like therapy. Staring at the water, listening to great tunes, reflecting on why I'm here — a kingfisher even jumped on the end of my board, which was just beautiful."
  
  And the reason he's here? At 52, having lost loved ones to cancer, Scott was deeply moved by the story of Evie Dove — a 13 year old who lost her battle with cancer, and whose foundation has since raised over half a million pounds training the next generation of paediatric nurses.
  
  "It feels like I'm raising an insignificant amount — but all of those insignificant amounts have added up to over half a million pounds."
  
  Some sessions are muddy. Some are tough. But every paddle stroke counts.
  
• 24th January 2026

  Taking it up a Notch at Bewl Water

  One week later, Scott swapped the canal for Bewl Water — and things got a little more intense.
  Joining the Epic Life Company for a session of interval training and coaching, Scott found himself surrounded by equally dedicated paddleboarders who pushed him well outside his comfort zone.
  
  "Sprints, intervals, coaching tips — they had me moving my feet on the board which I've never dared do before. But in those conditions you end up actually surfing the waves, which is really enjoyable."
  
  The session brought something just as valuable as the training — a room full of people who genuinely connected with the Evie Dove Foundation story.
  
  "Everyone seems really taken back and inspired."
  
  Some days the water teaches you. Some days the people around you do. This one delivered both.
• 17th January 2026

  5,000 Strokes and Counting

  If January is supposed to be a month of rest and recovery, nobody told Scott.
  
  On Saturday 17th January, Scott was up and out on Hythe Canal for a three-hour session — around 15-18km and close to 5,000 paddle strokes. With a brand new Garmin watch tracking every stroke and the brilliant Andy Lucy overhead with a drone, it was as close to a professional training setup as canal training gets.
  
  "The water is full of nasty things — a couple of bottles of vodka, dog tennis balls and the usual stuff that gets caught on the fin."
  
  Only Scott could make canal debris sound entertaining. A perfect January morning, all things considered.
• 23rd December 2026

  Not even Christmas could keep Scott off the water

  On a crisp festive morning on the Hythe Canal, with temperatures hovering around five degrees and an easterly breeze making it feel even colder, Scott took to his board — dressed as Santa — spreading Christmas cheer and shouting about the Evie Dove Foundation to every bemused dog walker and canal-goer who stopped to stare.
  And there were plenty of them.
  
  "It's always great to be motivated seeing people on the canal thinking — who is this crazy Santa on a paddleboard?"
  
  It was also a timely reminder of just how unforgiving this board is. Narrow, fast and utterly unforgiving the moment you stop moving — as Scott was quick to demonstrate with a brief tour of his "noble steed" before the laws of physics made him cut things short.
  
  Cold, festive and completely committed — Scott wished everyone a Happy Christmas and New Year from the water, before heading off to avoid an inevitable soaking.
  
  Some people open presents on Christmas morning. Scott paddles in a Santa hat for charity. We think that says everything you need to know.
  
• 16th December 2025

  A board like no other!

  

  So what sort of paddle board is suitable for a record breaking channel crossing? After extensive research Scott chose a Starboard Blue Carbon, which is a 14 foot racing board. It seems race boards are completely different to leisure paddle boards and this one is just over 2 feet wide. The narrower it is, the faster it goes but this makes it very unstable too. There is a sweet spot that will achieve maximum speed without wasting energy trying to balance.
  
  We asked Scott how he's getting on with his trusty new companion... "I’m learning this the hard way but getting better every time. When I collected the board in early September, I also foolishly entered a race "Round Hayling Island", my first ever time on a race board! The conditions were pretty awful with winds gusting 34mph, and so only 12 out of 48 riders completed a shortened course of just under 16kms. I spent the majority of the time on my knees and falling off but never gave up. I couldn’t walk properly for a few days due to the bruising but was back out on the local Hythe Canal 4 days later.
  
  For me winter training is about taming the beast and bonding with the board so we work as one. I know that sounds weird but you find how she responds to waves, to swell and how best to paddle in all conditions".
  
  I am sure you want to know if this magnificent board has a name yet, we'll ask Scott and come back to you on that one!
• 13th December 2025

  Scott tests himself in Ocean training challenge

  

  After many months of arduous winter training, today Scott set off to really test himself in the open ocean. Paddling right across the bay from Hythe to Dungeness, completing the challenge in 2 hours, 42 minutes. At an average pace of 7km an hour this was just above the speed he needs to sustain to make it across the English Channel and set a new world record! We saw Scott off and again afterwards, he was both tired and elated to have properly tested himself, knowing he is right on track for his big challenge next summer. The sea looked calm from the shore but Scott assured us that strong tides and choppy waters made it an epic adventure, which did include a brief fall off the board! More to follow as Scott continues to train and starts to prepare the detailed logistics for his incredible and official attempt at making the Guinness Book of World Records, all in honour of The Evie Dove Foundation. Talk about paddle power!