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Sonya Gankina - March 14, 2024
Norway 75 - Commando Spirit
TThe British Royal Marines travelled 2,000 miles by bike and sea kayak along the coast of Norway to retell six brave Commando operations from the 1940s and raise awareness for mental health in support of charity.
The team completed their epic journey to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Telemark raids and the successful sabotage of the Nazi nuclear program, all while raising awareness and funds for The Royal Marines Charity.
Image Credit: Norway 75 Challenge Official Facebook Page.
TThe team of British Royal Marines followed the same routes as the Marines 80 years ago, climbing cliffs, paddling in kayaks, traversing land by bike, and carrying heavy equipment, all in hard weather conditions.
They began in June in sub-zero temperatures, endured five out of seven weeks in the rain, and survived 100kph winds in Lofoten, Norway.
The team stopped at war monuments along their journey to pay respects to those lost on heroic WW2 operations.
They connected with local guides who remembered the heroes of the war efforts.
Norway 75 took 18 months of planning.
The Norway 75 Commando Operations, 2018
The Norway 75 project recreated six impactful missions of WW2:
1) Operation Source - a mini-submarine raid on the Tirpitz, Lutzow, and Scharnhorst heavy German ships
2) Operation Martin - an epic escape and evasion of Norwegian Commando, Jans Balsruud
3) Operation Claymore - Commando raid on Lofoten Peninsula
4) Operation Musketoon - Commando raid on Glomfjord plant
5) Operation Archery - UK-Norwegian Commando raid on German positions on the island of Vaagso
6) Operation Gunnerside - Norwegian Heavy Water plant raid - aka 'Heroes of Telemark'
Why Kayaks?
The military has been using foldable kayaks for decades since WW2 because they can be folded to save space, they can fit a lot of cargo, and they are compact to avoid detection by the enemy, allowing for silent paddling.
The method to the madness: Giant UK bikes and Neris Kayaks
The Royal British Marines cycled and kayaked to traverse the entire Norwegian coast. While during the WW2 Commando Operations, the Marines relied on submarines and ships, in 2018 they chose lighter transportation.
Giant UK Bicycles: The team used Giant Toughroad bikes.
These bikes are made from the lightest grade of aluminum and a composite fork, perfect for any terrain and any weather. They have a flat-bar frame for comfort and stability, along with integrated rack mounts for cargo capacity.
Neris Kayaks
To traverse the sea, the Marines chose the Neris Alu-2 folding kayak.
The kayak consists of an aluminum frame with stainless steel stringer supports and hard-wearing marine-grade PVC fabric.
The kayak is packed into a lightweight rucksack with shoulder straps and a hip belt.
This model is 16 feet long, closely mimicking the WW2 kayaks used in other missions.
Alu-2 has a payload of 550 lbs, surpassing WW2 kayaks. It takes 25 minutes to assemble.
Neris is a Ukrainian brand of folding kayaks, established in 1999.
It offers multiple kayak products, from transformer and collapsible kayak to rigid frame kayak.
Neris Kayaks
Now, for the first time ever, Canadians can create their very own adventure with Neris kayaks because we are launching in North America!