Sebastian Szubski has passed the halfway mark on his circumnavigation of Britain, and he’s neck and neck with Dougal Glaisher’s 2023 record of 40 days. He’s ticking off the kilometres like he eats them for breakfast. For any day where he faces a slowdown due to weather, he makes up for it with two 100km+ days. 12-14 hour days in the boat are standard fare for Sebastian these days, with his longest day so far clocking in at 16 hours 33 minutes on the water.Betsy managed to see Sebastian in person when he stopped in Brighton on Monday night, and he said he’s feeling strong both physically and mentally. His biggest challenge (aside from weather) has been getting enough calories. With an impressive amount of muscle mass and so many hours on the water each day, he has to eat a lot to keep on top of his energy levels, which isn’t always easy.Despite having only 9 months of experience in the surfski, Sebastian has been completing major open ocean crossings with no issues. He’s making 80-100km+ crossings look like any other day out paddling. In SUP, the rising stars from Namur’s EuroTour event were the Dutch junior racers who were mixing it up with the seniors for the 11km distance race. Benyam Bossack, Selwyn Pritchard, and Mylo van Bakel finished impressively close to the overall men’s race winner and 2025 seasonal stand-out, Donato Freens, also from the Netherlands. These boys are only 12 - 16 years old, and definitely young paddlers to watch. In the women’s race, the 14 year old Marin Hoeber had even more success in her senior race. Earning another gold for the Netherlands, the young Hoeber won the women’s race ahead of several speedy senior women. Another one to watch.Shoreham hosted a successful UK Surfski Nationals which also included outrigger canoes (OC6’s). It was the most competitive surfski race in the UK this season, with top talent in both the men’s and women’s field. In the para race, Jon White may have been the only entry but he was closing in on some quick marathon paddlers – could he be paving the way for more surfski paracanoe racing? Rosie Edwards won the women’s race by 5 minutes, despite facing a strong competitor in 2nd place, Brynde Kreft. Rosie spoke with Paddlecast about how her race went, and her upcoming plans in the lead-up to Durban Worlds.The 440 mile (700+ km) Yukon River Quest ended early due to wildfires, but racers were pleased to still be able to race 300km to Carmacks. Green Machine, in the voyageur class (C6), won the overall race but with the elite C2 crew of Mike Schlimmer / Steve Landick very close behind. Thor Harley from Team “Green Machine” told Paddlecast about how their team came together and how the race played out in his own words.In Pitesti, Romania, racing is underway for the Junior & U23 European Sprint Championships where several GB paddlers may have good chances to medal. Look out for familiar names from the recent European marathon championships (junior / U23 / senior) and European sprint championships (senior).00:51 Sebastian Szubski’s record attempt for fastest GB circumnavigation by kayak13:07 SUP race recaps for Namur (Euro Tour), Graz River Days (SUP Alps Trophy), and O2Y (Okinawa to Yoron)20:35 UK Surfski Nationals (Spiritfilled Coastal Cup Challenge in Shoreham)31:28 In her own words: women’s winner Rosie Edwards’ race recap34:13 Yukon River Quest race recap36:48 In his own words: Thor Harley from the overall winners in C6 (Voyageur), “Green Machine”48:29 Race Preview: European Junior Sprint Championships53:34 Race Preview: Under 23 European Championships in Solkan, Slovenia54:27 The Warm Down - DW opens to SUPs and surfskis; Walter Bouzan (ESP) is defying ageing; crazy waves at the Danish National Marathon Championships*Note - there are several moments in this episode where Betsy’s video goes blurry due to technical issues. This episode almost didn’t make it to air after some major technical issues, so thank you for your patience!