Shemmet, the holder of China’s marine canoeing exploration record, returned to Zhuhai’s Jiuzhou Port from Hong Kong on the evening of the 27th. This time, he carried a 5-meter folding kayak to explore the Taiwan Strait, spending 7 days paddling 260 kilometers.
Shemmet takes a commemorative photo with Taiwanese fellow paddlers
“This trip to Taiwan gave me a preliminary understanding of the coastal conditions here, and also allowed me to gather essential data for next August’s Taiwan Strait crossing,” Shemmet said as he chatted with reporters upon arrival, too eager to even put down his backpack.
Shemmet’s real name is Li Huacan, 40 years old. He has been involved in canoeing for seven years and has previously crossed the Qiongzhou Strait and Bohai Bay Strait by human-powered canoe, circumnavigated Hainan Island, and completed a traverse from Thailand to Cambodia. In the first half of this year, he spent 64 days completing a 2,400-kilometer Pearl River drifting expedition.
During this trip, Shemmet stayed in Taiwan for 11 days, including 7 days at sea paddling. He told reporters: “The waves in the Taiwan Strait are very strong, the currents are extremely fast, and in some rough patches, it’s not easy to control the balance and direction of the kayak.”
Shemmet once formulated a plan to complete a 15,000-kilometer circumnavigation of the Western Pacific Ocean over ten years. The upcoming challenge of crossing the Taiwan Strait, which he plans to tackle next year, is part of that plan. So far, Shemmet has completed 3,000 kilometers of that journey.
Speaking about his next steps, he said: “Over the next year, I will undergo intensive training to improve my endurance in long-distance canoeing. My current record is 27 hours of continuous paddling. To cross the Taiwan Strait, I’ll need to reach at least 48 hours of continuous paddling ability.”
When talking about his exchanges with Taiwanese fellow paddlers, Shemmet said: “After interacting with them, I found that Taiwan’s canoeing safety system is very mature, the training mechanisms are comprehensive, and the overall level of the sport is higher than that on the mainland.”
Visiting Taiwan for the first time, Shemmet shared his impressions of the Taiwanese people: “They have the same tradition of hospitality. Along the way, some local fishermen invited me to meals and tea, let me camp in their rooms, and they also expressed plans to visit the mainland for tourism in the near future.”