In 1987, Piotr Chmielinski and Joe Kane set off from the icy headwaters of the Amazon, determined to cover its 4,200‑mile stretch to the Atlantic—a feat no one had attempted before—turning legend into fact.
The original party of eleven included South Africans, Britons, Poles and Americans; they battled altitude sickness in the Andes, and on days when the river ran sluggish, they slogged 500 yards in a single dawn.
Rapids roared, armed groups lurked: Maoist guerrillas at a bend, Peruvian soldiers downstream, and later, cocaine traffickers—while internal disputes erupted, culminating in an open mutiny that left only four of the original eleven to reach the sea.
In Belem, Brazil, the duo tasted salty Atlantic waves, called a morning news programme, and were soon flown to the United States—confirming their historic first‑completer status.
British doctor Kate Durrant and Polish photographer Zbyszek Bzdak also completed the journey, but largely on land, towing their kayaks across treacherous terrain.
The expedition now sits as the world’s first full‑length Amazon paddling, recognised by Guinness World Records and inspiring a new generation of river‑adventurers.