Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Journalist Makes First Cuba-to-Florida Kayak Croing

20/07/2016

in the wild

Jul 19, 2016

How did two guys with no ocean kayaking experience outlast seven teams of well-trained paddlers to complete the first official Cuba-to-Florida kayak crossing? Well, the answer is simple, Brent Rose and Frank Sedlar of the self-proclaimed Team Underdog persevered and took the slow, steady route of the proverbial tortoise. We have the GoPro footage to prove it.

As a tech and adventure journalist, Rose has done some pretty cool things for pubs like Gizmodo, Outside Magazine, Wired, and many more-the dude even drove around the US in a pimped-out van searching for awesome things to write about. However, crossing international borders by kayak might be the boldest move we've seen him make.

The whole voyage came about as a sign of international outreach to commemorate a new relationship with Cuba hosted outdoor-gear company Cotopaxi. The company, including CEO Davis Smith, sponsored a 113-mile kayaking expedition from Cuba to Florida. Cotopaxi hired the current world record holder in distance kayaking to coach teams and even enlisted an Olympic gold medalist as one of the paddlers. Despite zero oceanic kayaking experience, Brent was invited to document the trip and paired up with the equally unprepared Frank for the journey. Equipped with his GoPro, a balanced pre-workout meal of Cuban rum and a bright blue plastic kayak they cleverly named Fidel Fastro, Team Undergdog set off to see what would happen.

While Brent originally planned on simply documenting the experience, in a sick twist of fate, the favored teams fell victim to the rough ocean conditions within 10 hours of launch and were eliminated, leaving Brent and Frank in the lead. We were a couple of yahoos from the press in a plastic kayak. This was their trip. Despite their inexperience, Brent and Frank agreed to keep the expedition going and continued toward the Sunshine State.

Thankfully, Brent pre-arranged to strap his GoPro to the deck of the kayak to journal the entire experience. "In one of my first updates, Frank and I are laughing about being novice kayakers and being dumb enough and inexperienced enough not to be so afraid of this.

Ignorance may have been bliss, but their journey was anything but easy. Moving at an averaged 3 to 4 miles per hour, Brent and Frank battled blistering hands, the scorching Caribbean heat and some not-so-pretty indigestion problems during their 34-hour paddling expedition. Frank and I had been awake for more than 24 hours, and we'd been paddling for more than 18. Neither of us was an ultramarathoner, so we had no idea what we were in for.

With the help of some impromptu 90s hip-hop karaoke sessions, Brent and Frank jammed to Snoop Dogg and Wu-Tang as they defied the odds and made it back to the mainland. With about 20 miles to go, Davis McCay, CEO of Cotopaxi, congratulated the duo on being the the first. We were perplexed. The first what?' I asked. Davis looked exasperated. Nobody's ever done this in a kayak before,' he said.

Wait what? Yes- these two reporters became the first people to kayak from Cuba to Florida by complete accident.

You'd think that that would be a critical bit of information to impart to the journalists you'd invited along to chronicle your undertaking. That's the kind of tidbit that gets stories sold.

So there you have it-the secret to completing the impossible? Not knowing it's impossible. Kudos to Brent and Frank for pushing their limits and fearlessly paddling on.

Check out Brent's full Deadspin story here and watch the journey on video above.
LINK: https://gopro.com/news/Journalist-Makes-First-Cuba-to-Florida-Kayak-Cr...
See more stories from gopro

Most recent headlines

09/11/2025

Dalet Unveils Agentic AI Media Workflows at IBC2025

Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...

30/10/2025

SVG Students To Watch: Sam Newitt, Kansas State University

SVG Students To Watch: Sam Newitt, Kansas State UniversityThe South Dakota native thrives in many roles behind the scenes at K-StateHD.TVBy Brandon Costa, Direc...

30/10/2025

SVG Sit-Down: Swerve Sports' Christy Tanner Explores the Young FAST Channel's Early Success

SVG Sit-Down: Swerve Sports' Christy Tanner Explores the Young FAST Channel&...

30/10/2025

SVG Campus Shot Callers: Andy Liebsch, Senior Director, Video Services, Kansas State University

SVG Campus Shot Callers: Andy Liebsch, Senior Director, Video Services, Kansas S...

30/10/2025

Diversified Names Paul Lidsky CEO, Expanding Leadership Role After Serving as Board Chairman

Diversified Names Paul Lidsky CEO, Expanding Leadership Role After Serving as Bo...

30/10/2025

NBA, Cosm Enter Long-Term Partnership for Shared Reality Production, Distribution

NBA, Cosm Enter Long-Term Partnership for Shared Reality Production, Distributio...

30/10/2025

FanDuel Sports Network to Deliver Select Live NBA, NHL Games to Major Streaming Services for In-Market Viewers

FanDuel Sports Network to Deliver Select Live NBA, NHL Games to Major Streaming ...

30/10/2025

If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You, East of Wall, and More Sundance Institute-Supported Films Nominated for 35th Gotham Awards

As the year comes to a close, we can feel the invigorating wind sweeping in for ...

30/10/2025

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Max Walker-Silverman, the Writer-Director of Rebuilding

By Bailey Pennick One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...

30/10/2025

Excellent training at SGL Carbon's Bonn site

The SGL Carbon site in Bonn has a long tradition of training. For many years, young talent has been successfully trained here, regularly achieving excellent exa...

30/10/2025

SBS, NITV and Screen Australia announce 2025 Digital Originals Shortlist

SBS, NITV and Screen Australia announce 2025 Digital Originals Shortlist 29 October, 2025 Media releases SBS, NITV and Screen Australia are excited to unve...

30/10/2025

Remarks for the 2025 APEC CEO Roundtable

Jon Rambeau, President of Integrated Mission Systems at L3Harris Technologies, speaks about industrial collaboration at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (A...

30/10/2025

L3Harris Technologies Reports Strong Third Quarter 2025 Results, Increases 2025 Guidance

MELBOURNE, Fla., October 30, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) reports th...

30/10/2025

FCC's Brendan Carr Issues Draft Proposal for More C-Band Spectrum Sales

WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr said he has circulated a proposal for the agency to auction additional midband spectrum in the U...

30/10/2025

Diversified Names Paul Lidsky as CEO

PLANO, Texas Technology solutions provider Diversified has named Paul Lidsky as CEO, tasked with guiding the company's next stage of growth, driving market ...

30/10/2025

Interra Adds Stream Recording, BATON Integration to ORION

CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems today unveiled ORION stream recording support and seamless integration with BATON Media Player, a combination that lets broadc...

30/10/2025

InterDigital Buys AI-Driven Video Codec Startup Deep Render

WILMINGTON, Del. InterDigital today announced the acquisition of Deep Render, an artificial intelligence startup with a team of AI experts focused on video code...

30/10/2025

TAG Video Systems Earns Two ESG Recognitions

NEW YORK TAG Video Systems has earned a higher-rated Digital Product Passport (DPP) Committed to Sustainability badge and the Aclymate Climate Wise Silver Tier ...

30/10/2025

Nexstar Extends Employment Agreement with Perry Sook Through 2029

IRVING, Texas As station groups move into an era that promises rapid tech, regulatory and economic changes, the Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has announced that its...

30/10/2025

Samba TV: 60% Of TV Time Spent Viewing Streaming Content

Television viewers are spending more time watching streaming content than linear TV, but sports continues to be a bright spot for broadcasters, according to the...

30/10/2025

Operative Media Names Mike Napadano as CEO

NEW YORK Advertising technology company Operative Media has named Mike Napadano as its new CEO....

30/10/2025

Walmart Selects Marshall Cameras to Power New Campus Broa...

Walmart Inc. has chosen Marshall Electronics cameras for use across its brand-new corporate campus studios and event center. The installation includes Marshall ...

30/10/2025

NETGEAR Academy Expands Into Industry-Wide IP Training Pl...

NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTGR), a global leader in intelligent networking solutions designed to power extraordinary experiences, today announced the launch of its...

30/10/2025

Clear-Com Gen-IC Virtual Intercom Connects Students World...

Clear-Com recently contributed its award-winning Gen-IC virtual intercom solution to power real-time communications for On-Air Student TV, a 24-hour global st...

30/10/2025

Maxon Strengthens Growth Strategy with Appointment of Kse...

Maxon, maker of powerful, approachable software solutions for creators working in 2D and 3D design, motion graphics, visual effects, and more, today announced t...

30/10/2025

Studio Technologies Dante Enabled Model 394 GPI Interface...

Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, announces that its new Model 394 GPI Interface and Model 39...

30/10/2025

Astro selects Broadpeak for high performance streaming an...

Broadpeak , a leader in streaming and monetization at scale, has been selected by leading Malaysian content and entertainment company Astro to enable two major ...

30/10/2025

Riedel Communications Appoints Ulrich Voigt as Director L...

Riedel Communications is pleased to announce that Ulrich Voigt has joined the company as Director Live Production Solutions, taking over the SimplyLive business...

30/10/2025

LiveU and Kinetiq Launch Cloud Native Watermarking Integr...

LiveU, the global leader in live IP-video contribution, production, and distribution, today announced a new partnership with Kinetiq, the AI-powered platform un...

30/10/2025

FCC Plans Nov. 20 Open Meeting, Provides Shutdown Update

WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has called for an end to the government shutdown while providing some updates on the agency'...

30/10/2025

Carr Issues Draft Proposal for More C-Band Spectrum Sales

WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has announced that he has circulated a proposal for the FCC to auction additional mid-band spect...

30/10/2025

U&GOLD LAUNCHES ITS ANNUAL SEARCH FOR THE UK'S BEST CHRISTMAS CRACKER' JOKES

TIS THE SEASON TO GET PUNNY! U&GOLD LAUNCHES ITS ANNUAL SEARCH FOR THE UK'S...

30/10/2025

Rohde & Schwarz enables MediaTeks 6G waveform verification with CMP180 radio communication tester

Rohde & Schwarz enables MediaTeks 6G waveform verification with CMP180 radio com...

30/10/2025

Fox Corporation Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Results

Fox Corporation Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Results NEW YORK, NY, October 30, 2025 - Fox Corporation (Nasdaq: FOXA, FOX; FOX or the Company...

30/10/2025

Tubi Media Group and Audiochuck Announce Exclusive Partnership

Tubi Media Group and Audiochuck Announce Exclusive Partnership Tubi Media Group Enters into a Multi-Year Ad Partnership Deal with Ashley Flowers' Award-Wi...

30/10/2025

Comscore Appoints a new Country Manager for APAC

Comscore Appoints a new Country Manager for APACNEW DELHI, INDIA, October 30, 2025 Comscore (Nasdaq: SCOR), a global leader in measuring and analysing consum...

30/10/2025

October 29, 2025

Scripps Research professor awarded $3.2 million to advance type 1 diabetes research Support from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Dis...

30/10/2025

RT Concert Orchestra November/December 2025

RT Concert Orchestra in November and December Collaborations with RT Radio 1's Sunday Miscellany (2 December) and RT 2FM's Late Breakfast (9 Decembe...

30/10/2025

MUIREANN O' CONNELL, NEIL DELAMERE AND MICHAEL CONLON JOIN THE LADS FOR THE 2 JOHNNIES LATE NIGHT LOCK IN

Johnny B and Johnny Smacks are back tonight for the second episode of the new se...

30/10/2025

Jon Bon Jovi, Miriam O'Callaghan, Davy Fitzgerald and Donncha O'Callaghan join the Late Late Show Halloween Line-Up

First look of Jon Bon Jovi's interview with Patrick Kielty Jon Bon Jovi is ...

30/10/2025

AI-Powered Mobile Clinics Deliver Breast Cancer Screening to India's Rural Communities

An unassuming van driving around rural India uses powerful AI technology that...

30/10/2025

Join the Resistance: ARC Raiders' Launches in the Cloud

Get ready, raiders - the wait is over. ARC Raiders is dropping onto GeForce NOW and bringing the fight from orbit to the screen. To celebrate the launch, gamer...

29/10/2025

MLS, EDGE Sound Research To Debut Immersive Embodied Sound' at LAFC vs. Austin FC Playoff Match

MLS, EDGE Sound Research To Debut Immersive Embodied Sound' at LAFC vs. Aus...

29/10/2025

SVG Remote Production Forum 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY

SVG Remote Production Forum 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLA...

29/10/2025

World Series 2025: How Audio Is Transported Around the Sites and Beyond

World Series 2025: How Audio Is Transported Around the Sites and BeyondThe signals also move not just between two countries but around the globeBy Dan Daley, Au...

29/10/2025

Inside the Archives: Celebrating Archives Month Through Sundance Film Festival Films

A still from 306 Hollywood, a film by sibling filmmakers Jonathan Bogar n and El...

29/10/2025

New research shows sense of belonging is growing stronger among multilingual Australians

New research shows sense of belonging is growing stronger among multilingual Aus...

29/10/2025

SBS, NITV and Screen Australia announce2025 Digital Originals Shortlist

SBS, NITV and Screen Australia announce2025 Digital Originals Shortlist 29 October, 2025 Media releases SBS, NITV and Screen Australia are excited to unvei...