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A daredevil who attempted a solo kayaking expedition across the dangerous waters between his native Australia and New Zealand took one final haunting photo of himself before issuing a sudden distress call and vanishing in the choppy South Pacific Ocean.
Andrew McAuley, 39, disappeared in February 2007 after he set out on a month-long endeavor to become the first person to paddle a kayak along the treacherous Tasman Sea.
A few days shy of fulfilling his dream and making landfall at Milford Sound, the thrill-seeker’s kayak was discovered capsized and abandoned about 50 miles offshore — but his body was never found, according to Australian outlets.
A memory card from his camera was also recovered, capturing what is believed to be his final image.
The eerie photo showed an exhausted McAuley with what appears to be thick sunblock covering portions of his face staring directly into the camera as a vast wave rises behind him.
His chilling last words on camera were: “I may have bitten off more than I can chew,” according to local outlets.
“You’ll go down in history, too, Ant,” his wife, Vicki said at his memorial in February 2007, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
“And will always be remembered.”
McAuley was lauded as a fearless adventurist after becoming the first person to successfully kayak 136 miles across the notoriously menacing Bass Strait in 2003 — a feat he completed in 25 hours.
He later announced plans to embark on a perilous journey across the Tasman Sea, looking to overcome those before him who were unsuccessful.
McAuley’s first attempt in December 2006 was scrapped after one day when he developed hypothermia from the freezing temperatures. He was back in his kayak a month later to begin his harrowing month-long journey, according to Australian outlets.
The seemingly successful trip took a turn for the worse just days before making landfall, when he issued a garbled distress call to the New Zealand Coast Guard, with rescuers only making out the words “help” and “sinking.”
His call for help launched a two-day search that ended when rescuers recovered only his kayak and belongings.
A memorial service was later held by his friends and family as officials believe he drowned while asleep in his kayak.
“I chose this lighthouse for you today not only because it looks over the Tasman but because it symbolizes what you’ve always been, and what you continue to be for me, my beacon of light,” she said at the service, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I also chose it for its historical significance, it is Australia’s first lighthouse and you, my very brave man, have just achieved an historical first, paddling a kayak across the Tasman.”
English (US)