French kayakers finish D-Day challenge after leaving from Gosport

TWO French kayakers completed their challenge of crossing the English Channel to mark D-Day.
By The Newsroom
Published 20th Jun 2016, 05:57 BST
From left, organiser George Finch with Yoann Deschemaeker, Yannick Gerny and support mananger Guillaume Legoubey Picture Ian Hargreaves (160837-1)From left, organiser George Finch with Yoann Deschemaeker, Yannick Gerny and support mananger Guillaume Legoubey Picture Ian Hargreaves (160837-1)
From left, organiser George Finch with Yoann Deschemaeker, Yannick Gerny and support mananger Guillaume Legoubey Picture Ian Hargreaves (160837-1)

Yoann Deschemaeker and Yannick Gerny, from Normandy, set off from Gosport last week in a two-man kayak.

Yonnick is blind and used Yoann as a guide as the 37-year-old has been kayaking since he was seven.

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The pair completed the 100-mile journey on Friday at 6pm UK time.

They decided to do the challenge to mark the 76th anniversary of D-Day when Allied troops travelled to Normandy.

Experienced kayaker George Finch, from Lee-on-the-Solent, helped Yannick and Yoann plan their trip.

He said: ‘It was a fantastic achievement.’

The pair left Gosport on June 16 at 9am taking 33 hours to complete the challenge.

Related topics:Gosport