Spanish Adventurer Rescued During Northwest Passage Paddleboard Attempt

Spanish adventurer Antonio de la Rosa has abandoned his attempt to paddleboard the Northwest Passage after being rescued little more than two weeks into the 3,000km journey.

The 57-year-old had covered 368km since setting out from Pond Inlet on July 18. Pond Inlet is located on Baffin Island, Canada’s largest island, which lies in the eastern Arctic between Greenland and the Canadian mainland.

De la Rosa was evacuated by the Canadian Coast Guard on August 2 from a hunting cabin at Cape Crauford, on the island’s northwestern tip, where he had taken shelter for several days.

“The rescue operation was launched after the storm on August 1,” his team wrote online. “Winds nearing 100km/h tore through the ice floes off Cape Crauford and swept away the paddleboard.”

The Northwest Passage is the storied sea route linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

A few days earlier, de La Rosa narrowly avoided a rescue after capsizing during a 60km crossing of Admiralty Inlet. After paddling just 12km, the wind shifted to the north and, with seas beginning to build, the Spaniard decided to stop and prepare some food on his board while waiting for conditions to improve.

While packing away his stove, a wave caused his paddleboard to capsize, throwing him into water at just 2°C. De La Rosa had unzipped his drysuit and rolled it down around his knees because of unseasonably warm weather.

His destination that day was Cape Crauford, still about 50km away. Rather than continue, he opted to turn back and attempt the crossing the next day.

“A large part of what goes wrong in an adventure is usually due to personal mistakes. I need to learn from my mistakes,” said de la Rosa.

Although the hunter’s cabin at Cape Crauford was large enough to store his custom paddleboard, de la Rosa left the craft on sea ice at the shoreline. Weighing 32kg and carrying a further 90-100kg of supplies, it would have understandably been difficult to move.

However, Arctic Bay lies across Admiralty Inlet from Cape Crauford, and conditions at the two locations may have differed. Whatever the cause, the loss of the paddleboard ultimately left de la Rosa unable to continue.

To date, only one team has completed the route in a single season: a kayak expedition led by American adventurer West Hansen in 2023, which covered roughly 2,500km in 83 days.

Hansen praised the Spaniard’s endurance and ambition but questioned whether a paddleboard is well suited to the demanding sea and sea ice conditions typically encountered in the Northwest Passage.

“I am unaware of anyone with experience paddling or rowing in the Northwest Passage that figured a paddleboard, with anyone at the helm, would make it very far along the route, myself included,” Hansen told At the Edge of the Map.

“It’s tough enough in kayaks or shells designed for the arctic, much less a craft designed for far less volatile conditions,” he added.

American adventurer Karl Kruger has paddled around 1,400km of the Northwest Passage, but over multiple seasons, underlining the scale of the challenge.

Having departed in mid-July, de la Rosa faced a relatively narrow weather window and needed to maintain a rapid pace to complete the crossing before the storms that often arrive in September and the onset of Arctic winter conditions.

While the loss of the paddleboard brought the journey to an abrupt end, de la Rosa has already signalled that he intends to return in 2027.

“The Northwest Passage in a paddle surf boat is a true adventure that I hope to be able to overcome,” de la Rosa said.

With a decade of experience in adventure journalism, Ash Routen delivers insightful, evidence-based reporting on adventure, expeditions, and exploration. A paid subscription directly supports this independent reporting.