Audrey Sutherland

Audrey was the Grande Dame of kayak exploration and a huge inspiration to future adventurers.

Audrey Sutherland was a solo adventurer, kayaker, teacher, and author. She has been described as a “pioneer” among women doing solo adventure travel.

In 1980, she made a plan to set out in an inflatable kayak, alone, and paddle 850 miles from Ketchikan to Skagway in Alaska. When she accomplished this feat, there were several factors making it extraordinary. Factors that were considered out of the ordinary back then. She was a woman. She was 60 years old. And most of her paddling experience had been in Hawaii, where the waters were warmer, calmer and more inviting. She made the paddle in 85 days, split over two summers. In “Paddling North,” she estimated that she had covered 8,075 solo miles in Alaska and British Columbia over nearly 25 years.

Audrey authored several books where she documented her adventures. These became guides for generations of solo travelers. She encouraged readers never to wait for the right opportunity or the right person to travel with — just go. Her mantra was “Go simple, go solo, go now.”

Her first book, Paddling My Own Canoe, 1978, describes several of her solo adventure experiences, including swimming, paddling, and hiking and camping on the north shore of Molokai. Her second book, Paddling Hawaii, 1988, and is an instructional text of how to island paddle and forage food. Audrey’s third and final book, Paddling North, 2012, describes her paddling trips to islands in Southeast Alaska, including encounters with wildlife such as whales, wolves, and bears. It is based on her personal journals from adventures in Alaska, most of which were made alone.

Audrey passed away of February 23, 2015, at age 94.