Odyssey – A four-year journey to the Yukon 1000

Craig and Scott finally got their shot at the world’s toughest paddle race earlier in 2023. This is their story.

Words: Craig Sawyer & Scott ‘Skip’ Innes 
Photos: Craig Sawyer, Scott ‘Skip’ Innes & Aldis Toome

Craig Sawyer and Scott ‘Skip’ Inness have had a journey over the last four years. Since deciding to go for the Yukon 1000 SUP race, nothing has been plain sailing (or should that be paddling). With setback after setback – not least a global pandemic to contend with – Craig and Scott finally got their shot at the world’s toughest paddle race earlier in 2023. This is their story.

When did distance/endurance SUP enter the equation?
Skip: For me, racing is not my thing; I like the adventure element to be part of what I do. I can paddle, and stretching the boundaries in other directions alongside the paddle is where I get my kicks, so the Yukon 1000 was the ultimate adventure paddle combination.

Craig: To be honest, the Yukon 1000 was the first time I had even considered distance/endurance paddling! I might as well jump in at the deep end! When we applied for the Yukon 1000, the longest I had paddled in one go was a couple of hours. 

Tell us about your paddling partner relationship, and how did that come about?
Skip: Craig and I met on a SUP Bike Run triathlon in Wales, where we discovered we had humour that worked between us and that we both lived locally to each other. Craig then joined me for freeride sessions and race training paddles down at the SHAC in the early days, and we have continued doing things together both on and off the water, since we were bound by the Yukon 1000 journey that took a little longer than expected! We took on many smaller challenges and adventures during the four-year journey to the Yukon. We ultimately learned to work together effectively on and off the water.

When did you first start training together, and how did that go?
Skip: Not long after we met, Craig joined Team SHAC as a team paddler, and we have done things together and separately ever since.

Which year did you aim for to be your Yukon1000 year?
Skip: We were initially accepted in August 2019 to participate in the July 2020 race. 

And then what happened?
Skip: 2020 was when Covid hit and prevented so many things from happening for so many people; we were casualties of that for 2020 and 2021. In 2022, we made it to Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory to participate in the race, but sadly, we got scuppered again by Covid, with Craig contracting the virus just days before the start of the race. That put paid to the challenge for another year.

What happened next? 
Skip: Following our decision to pull out in 2022, the immediate future, whilst we were still in the Yukon, was taken up with a different kind of adventure, which kept us connected to the race and the teams that we had got to know in the build-up over three years. We were fortunate enough to make friends with a First Nation couple competing in the race, and they asked us if we would drive their truck to the finish line in Alaska. We had a fantastic adventure and will forever be grateful for that opportunity. I think it would have been much harder to deal with had we simply come home. In hindsight, it was right for us on a few different levels.

At this point, how had your training altered?
Skip: Once we had decided after 2022 that we would try again for 2023, I think we had learnt a lot from being alongside the race in 22 and what it takes to take on the Yukon 1000, which certainly isn’t all physical, that’s for sure! So, I think my approach to training was to be more relaxed about it all and focus on the whole adventure.

Craig: I live in the gym and have done it since I was 18, so that didn’t change! I continued to make sure I did some’ endurance’ challenge at least every 4-6 weeks, which generally meant a 6-8 hour paddle on the River Arun or heading out and ‘adventure’ running. I would leave the house and make up a route, exploring some great trails close to home. Sometimes, I would go out for 20km, and sometimes, I would do a 42.2km marathon distance. It was never fast, but it was fun.

What about funding for the trip? Please give us some insight.
Skip: We self-funded all our travelling and entrance fees but were supported by some great businesses for the kit and equipment. We ended up using (with special thanks to) Yster Paddleboards for our brilliant adventure SUPS, Ocean Specific for our paddles, which were equally bulletproof and Mustang Survival for all our clothing and equipment bags, which again was an amazing kit to do the job in that environment. The three combined were a fantastic basis for us to take on this challenge. The rest was down to us.

Craig: I decided a long time ago to stop keeping track of how much I’ve spent. Getting kit in, testing and so on – at least it was spread over four years! Watch online soon, though; I have a tonne of kit that never made it to the start line that’ll be up for sale.

Talk us through your feelings just before you are about to put in and begin your journey.
Skip: The immediate build-up to the race was incredibly peaceful and calm. I didn’t feel any nerves or noise in general, which was lovely when noise is a constant in so much of life. To feel like that, standing on the bank of The Yukon River about to venture 1000 miles into the unknown, was extraordinary, albeit unexpected.

Craig: It was a beautiful sunny morning; friends came down with a coffee and breakfast to wave us off. I had absolute confidence in our preparation, kit and strategy. I felt great. 

How did it feel once you were afloat and on your way?
Skip: For the first 3-400m, it was a little bit strange as you could still see and hear the noise from the start line, so my mind didn’t settle down until we were out of sight and into our stroke. Once we had found our stroke rate that was that comfortable old feeling we had trained for, the feeling changed, and it was just a case of racing our race and sticking to the plan whilst learning on the job. We were only a few miles out of Whitehorse when we were lucky enough to see a Moose on the bank close to us, and then the adventure felt real to me.

Craig: Once we were a few km in, I started to relax and appreciate that we were finally on our way! I felt confident in our training and prep, and there was never a doubt we would finish. I kept reminding myself that every paddle stroke was a stroke closer to home. 

What was the hardest part of your Yukon 1000 journey? And why?
Skip: probably the disappointment of pulling out in 2022 due to Craig getting ill. Having made it to the start line was hard. But in the following weeks, when we returned to the UK, working out in my head what and if the next thing to do was go back and try again was a tough mental battle.

Ultimately, I concluded I had no choice but to finish what we had started, with my children Ronnie and Betty being the ultimate deciding factor. I have always encouraged them to challenge themselves and finish what they started, so I had to do the same in their names.

Craig: For me, it was the gut-wrenching guilty feeling of being the reason we had to pull out in 2022 – and nothing Skip could say would console that feeling. But at the same time, stuff happens to us all; how you deal with it counts.  

As you cross the finish line, talk us through your thoughts.
Skip: I thought about the finish line a fair bit over the years. A previous SUP racer, Tony Bain, had told us, “Just get to the bridge and turn right,” that’s all you need to focus on! So I did, and when we got to it, it was a feeling of mixed emotions from relief to joy and some sadness that it was over because, at that moment, looking back, my memories of our journey were nothing but good. 

One of the first questions we were asked when we finished and still sat on our boards was, “What was the best bit?” And I instantly responded without pause, “All of it!” And I still feel that way now. Some moments were incredibly hard, and emotions or morale was low, but they were exactly that. Overall, the race was amazing, and I felt incredibly privileged to be out there in the untouched wilderness, experiencing all that we experienced. I thank the creator and the mighty River Yukon for giving me that.

Craig: To be honest, it was a bit of an anticlimax for me – not because it wasn’t special, but I didn’t know how it would feel to get to the finish after the four-year journey finally. I’d dreamt of seeing that bridge for four years. I didn’t know if I would collapse and break down into a gibbering wreck or something else. As it turns out, when asked how I felt as we pulled into the beach, I said, “Yeah, it was good,” and tucked into a lovely Yukon Gold beer! It’s now that things are starting to sink in, and the emotions are starting to show themselves, and it won’t be long before I’m a gibbering wreck.

How did it feel to realise you’d won the SUP race?
Skip: We never set out to win the Yukon 1000; we set out to participate, compete and complete. Winning didn’t come into it during the long run-up to the race, so to come out having taken the SUP top spot in 2023 is amazing and unexpected. But ultimately, it was well earned and deserved. I am incredibly proud of what Craig and I have achieved in this journey, and that’s what I felt at that moment. Pride.

Craig: We knew from day one that we were out in front, and as the canoes and kayaks started catching us from day five onwards, they would tell us that they passed the other SUP team 1-2 days ago, so we knew we had built up quite a lead. I started getting paranoid in the last day or so that they would catch us, but it all worked out in the end! To be the first SUP in was the icing on the paddling cake. 

If there’s one lesson you’d pass on to others, what would it be?
Skip: If I answer this directly relating to the Yukon 1000 race, I would say that having the right teammate is the most important thing. I couldn’t have done this with anyone other than Mr. Sawyer, and I will always be grateful that he is nuts enough to have done this adventure with me, amongst many other attributes. If I answer this more broadly regarding life lessons, I think I would say dream big, don’t give up and finish the job however hard, as the reward of completing something you never knew you could do is life-changing.

Craig: You are physically and mentally more capable than ever imagined. Keep pushing, learn a new skill, take on a challenge beyond your comfort zone and keep levelling up.  

When you’ve completed something like this, how do you process it? Do you feel you have to?
Skip: I’m not sure I have processed it, and I think it will take time, but I already know it has changed me and how I look at my world. My insignificance in the greater spectrum of our world is humbling, and doing something like this has helped me see the important things in my life more clearly, and I hope that will continue to develop and resonate.

Craig: It’s a strange feeling; it was such a big part of our lives over the last four years, and what a crazy four years it’s been in the world in general. So now it’s done; it feels like I’ve closed a chapter. And that feels strangely unnerving because a hole has been left that
needs filling.

What’s next in general for your paddle boarding?
Skip: For me, I’m looking at a few projects, but ultimately, I think assisting others in exploring their boundaries through adventure is where my heart has always been, and I feel I now have a platform of experience to do that. I want to speak about our journey over the last four years in the hope that it may inspire others to challenge themselves and see through whatever complications are thrown at them. I think there is an important teaching in that journey.

In addition, Craig and I have also been developing an idea around adventure paddling for others, and now we have completed one of the world’s toughest paddling races. I think we are in a position to move forward with that; keep an eye out for SUP Trek coming soon!

Craig: I have the 11 Cities non-stop in September and the Last Paddler Standing in Florida in December. Now I’m back from the Yukon. I also want to build up my SUP coaching more, specifically helping other paddlers looking to take on a big challenge like the Yukon 1000 and organising small group expeditions with Skip. 

Any final thoughts on SUP, the Yukon1000 and general challenge/goal setting/completion?
Skip: SUP will always be a part of my life as it has changed in so many ways since I first put a paddle in the water. It’s an amazingly accessible sport that offers so much to so many, and long may that continue. The Yukon 1000 is currently the ultimate adventure paddle race that is run incredibly well, and if you are thinking of taking it on, don’t underestimate the enormity of the challenge, but the rewards of the journey are worth it. Chase your dreams and follow them through; don’t give up, as the rewards are greater than you realise. 

Craig: Having a BHAG (big hairy audacious goal!) is so important – we are far more resilient than we think.  

Thanks and praise?
Skip: Thanks to our amazing sponsors for supporting us and believing in us over the whole journey. 
Enzo at Ocean Specific for believing in us from day one and staying alongside us until the end. Per at Yster Paddleboarding for creating the ultimate adventure SUP and showing his faith in backing and supporting us. The Pelagic and Mustang Survival team is again taking a leap of faith in two middle-aged dads from the Home Counties and supplying us with the excellent equipment they produce.
Our fellow racers and competitors from this year and years past are a very small but special breed of people, and only they know what this adventure is all about.

Jon, Petra, and the Yukon 1000 team for ultimately allowing Craig and me to participate and become part of this fantastic group of paddlers.

And a special mention for Glenn and Maureen, our great friends and supporters (Team Got Me at Paddle 2022), Jannake and Ella, our inspiration to go forth and complete (The Dutch Girls 2022 team), and Martin and Kim from the Renegade Moose Hunters 2023 team, the only other UK paddlers ever to take on and complete this challenge.

Craig: Yster Paddleboards, Mustang Survival, Ocean Specific, fellow Yukon 1000 racers, friends, family and anyone that ‘dot watched’ our progress on the online tracker!