A former national sailing champion plans to grow his record-breaking portfolio by paddle boarding solo across Loch Ness to raise money for the Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST).
David Haze, 36, from Bournemouth, became known as the “Nomadic Paddler” after gaining six world records for paddle boarding across four of the UK’s longest lakes in four days.
Fortunately, David is no stranger to a challenge and in 2021 took on Scotland’s 25-mile Lake Awe, 12 miles of England’s Lake Windermere, 19-mile-long Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland and finally Wales’ 4 miles of Llyn Tegid. Later that year, he then paddle-boarded across the River Thames in London, achieving his first Guinness World Record, and Lough Corrib in Southern Ireland, bringing his total record-breaking accolades to 6.
His 7th challenge, taking place on 7 March 2022, will see David attempt his second Guinness World Record for paddle boarding across one of the UKs most famous lakes, Loch Ness in Scotland, which spans 23 miles from Fort Augustus to Inverness.
Crowned fastest in the world by stand up paddleboard, David has always loved being on the water and at age 18 achieved national sailing champion status while at University. But it was later in life that he caught the bug for “extreme” challenges after spending time in prison.
David said: “I reached a low point in my life and made poor choices, but the good thing to come out of it was realising I had the power to change things and I made a decision to turn my life around there and then.
“My first port of call was to refocus my passion back into water sports and adventure. I was back out in Poole Harbour at 6am training once again and it felt good to be back, I’m ready to take on this latest challenge and give something back to a valuable cause.”
Teaming up with David is new paddleboard brand Water Rascal, the world’s first paddleboard brand to offer fully custom inflatable paddleboards.
Following the attempt, Water Rascal will be auctioning David’s signature Loch Ness iRacer with all donations raised going to the JST – a global charity that provides sailing experiences for disabled and mixed ability crews on board its tall ship Tenacious.
Paul Rayner, Founding Owner of Water Rascal Comments: “David is leading the way on making stand-up paddleboarding an adventure sport here in the UK. David’s values of community spirit and passion for adventure echo what we stand for here at Water Rascal. We first met David during the infancy of our business to gain some industry insight when developing our inflatable paddleboards. We are extremely proud to support David on his Loch Ness challenge and admire his triumphant growth from hardship to where his journey places him today. My team have developed a signature one of a kind iRacer with David for maximum performance during his attempt.”
Chief Executive Patrick Fleming, said: “David is clearly extremely passionate and to raise funds through his talent for water sports is extremely commendable – and we are thrilled to be named as his charity of choice. We wish him all the very best and look forward to cheering him on all the way!”
