In a first of its kind, former Olympian Patrick Winterton and former British kayaking champion Mick Berwick left Stornoway last weekend to try and cross 280 kilometres of a notoriously rough section of the Atlantic to the Faroe Islands, following the path of early Irish monastic saint 'The Navigator' St Brendan of Clonfert.

Speaking before their departure, Mick said: "I'm just really looking forward to getting the boat ready and paddling off – with weather like this, we're just looking forward to getting going."

And Patrick added: "The greatest pleasure is arriving somewhere you've never been to before in a kayak.

"The most exciting things you can do are those that you've never done before. I've never spent the night in the middle of an ocean, never tried to make such a long journey, never seen a Killer Whale from a kayak – which we hope to – so this trip will be full of firsts, and that's what I'm looking forward to!"

To see the full feature about Patrick and Mick's Faroes adventure see this week's Stornoway Gazette out on Thursday, July 2.