Formerly a soldier and military diver, Pete Bray now works as a inspirational speaker, security consultant and outdoor pursuits instructor. Over the space of his 49-year life, there are few extreme challenges that he has not attempted. Pete's exploits have so far taken him from the frozen wastes of Norway to the heat of the African bush.
He has participated in ski-touring expeditions throughout Scandinavia, Europe and New Zealand, as well as excelling in long-distance cross-country skiing races and downhill competitions around the globe. As an adventure racer, he has competed in events like the Alpine Man competition, a combination of cycling, off-road mountain biking and mountain marathon running across Liechtenstein. He is also an accomplished microlight pilot and built his own aircraft from scratch. As a climber he climbs both rock and ice.
He has also successfully completed a 10-event adventure race across New Zealand, incorporating an array of disciplines including horse riding, shooting, running and mountain biking and he has twice circumnavigated by bike the Bodensee, the large expanse of water that borders Switzerland, Germany and Austria. He is also a keen runner, having completed ten marathons, including the Boston, New York, Berlin, Munich and Black Forest.
From this broad spectrum of skills it is on the water that Pete truly excels. His extraordinary accomplishments in both single and double kayaks are beyond compare and he is comfortable pushing himself to the limits of human endurance in these very testing mediums. In 1996 he circumnavigated mainland Britain in a 2-man kayak along with a partially sighted friend. The expedition took several months. The route included all four corners of the British mainland from Cape Wrath, John O'Groats, Dover and Land's End.
He has also taken part in the Arctic Canoe Race, a 450-mile endurance event between Finland and Sweden, which Pete completed with minimal experience in the highly unstable K1 racing kayaks and undeterred by having to fix his a rupture with masking tape after just a few hours of paddling. Pete has also completed the 125-mile Devizes to Westminster race, eleven times, in both single and double kayaks. On three occasions he came inside the top 10 of several hundred competitors. He has also twice taken part in the K4 Series, a competition which involves racing 4-man kayaks around Southampton, Worcester, Reading and Nottingham and on one of these occasions he and his team secured first place.
Previous Major Expeditions
1996 Circumnavigated mainland Britain in a 2-man kayak with a partially sighted friend and no external support. Raised fifty thousand pounds for charity.
1996 English channel crossing with engineers.
1996 English channel crossing in kleppers.
1996 Irish sea.
2000 First attempt to paddle the North Atlantic from St John's, Newfoundland to Ireland, in a specially designed 27-foot kayak.
2001 Second and successful unsupported crossing to Ireland in 76 days. "Atlantic 2000" patroned by Tony Bullimore, was a singular success making Pete the first person ever to kayak across the Atlantic, solo and unsupported.
2002 Gibralter to Morocco.
2003 Circumnavigated Newfoundland alone and unsupported.
The journey took 88 days to complete, through Artic waters, subzero temperatures and atrocious weather conditions. All of the kit and equipment needed was packed into a standard kayak.
2004 St. John's, Newfoundland to Falmouth - part of a four-man team to break the existing world rowing record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic. With just 370 miles of the journey remaining, the Pink Lady and her crew were hit by a force 11 storm, brought about by the tail end of Hurricane Alex, which broke the boat in half.
2005 Operation South Georgia - World Record Breaking circumnavigation of South Georgia by a four strong British/Israeli team of kayakers. Braving the South Atlantic cold the team smashed the existing record.