Mark Agnew

Mark Agnew is an adventurer and keynote speaker. Photo: Matt Jones

Mark Agnew is a British adventurer notable for kayaking the Northwest Passage.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} He was awarded European Adventurer of the Year 2023.^[6][7][8] He is the heir apparent to the Agnew baronets, being the son of explorer Sir Crispin Agnew. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Agnew was born in 1991 in Edinburgh. He attended Fettes College. He went to Newcastle University. Agnew lived in Hong Kong from 2013 to 2021.

Agnew and three teammates kayaked the Northwest Passage.^[9] He, expedition leader West Hansen, Jeff Wueste and Eileen Visser, known as The Arctic Cowboys,^[10] were in two tandem kayaks, supported by their shore team Tom McGuire and Barbara Edington.^[11] They are the first people to kayak the entire Northwest Passage, and the first people to complete the route by human power, without the use of sails or motors, in a single season.^[12] They kayaked from Baffin Bay to the Beaufort Sea, the recognised boundaries of the Northwest Passage as defined by the International Hydrographic Organization.^[13] They experienced extreme cold and dangerous polar bear encounters.^[14] Agnew and his fellow expedition members were subsequently charged with various offences under Canadian environmental and wildlife legislation for allegedly entering a National Park without permits. All charges were withdrawn.^[15]

In 2013, a team of rowers attempted the Northwest Passage by human power;^[16] in 2019, two kayakers also attempted it.^[17] In 2023, as Agnew and the team kayaked the Northwest Passage, two^[18][19] other rowing teams were attempting the human powered world first. No one had succeeded until Agnew and his team.

Agnew has failed to row the Atlantic Ocean twice, once in 2016,^[20] and again in 2018 with a team called Atlantic Albatross.^[21] He experienced a mental health crisis as a result of the failures.^[22]

References

1. Cargill, Charlotte Alt, Paul (December 14, 2023). "Adventurer sets two world records by kayaking Northwest Passage" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
2. "Adventurer sets two world records kayaking Arctic's Northwest Passage". October 17, 2023 – via www.bbc.com.
3. Forbes, Ellie (October 17, 2023). "Edinburgh adventurer sets two world records by kayaking Northwest Passage". Scottish Field.
4. Connor, Mark; Scotland, Paul Cargill, PA (October 16, 2023). "Scots adventurer sets two world records by kayaking through deadly Arctic Ocean". Scottish Daily Express.
5. "Arctic Cowboys successfully kayak Northwest Passage". NNSL Media. October 16, 2023.
6. "Winners of the Adventurer of the year". Adventurer of the Year. Archived from the original on 2014-09-22. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
7. Loudon, Calum (November 29, 2023). "Man becomes first Scot to win European Adventurer of the Year". STV News.
8. "Scots kayaker wins European Adventurer of the Year for Arctic expedition". The Herald. December 4, 2023.
9. "Adventurer sets world records kayaking Arctic's Northwest Passage". BBC News.
10. Staff, Paddling Magazine (October 10, 2023). "Arctic Cowboys Complete Northwest Passage". Paddling Magazine.
11. "The Arctic Cowboys Team". The Arctic Cowboys.
12. Kobalenko, Jerry (October 9, 2023). "Northwest Passage Kayakers Finish Epic Journey » Explorersweb".
13. Rowboats, Angus. "Human Powered Achievements through the Northwest Passage". Angus Rowboats.
14. "ITV".
15. Web, Explorers. "Parks Canada Drops Charges Against Northwest Passage Kayakers". ExplorersWeb.
16. "Adventurers tackle the Northwest Passage". North Shore News. October 21, 2017.
17. Kayak, Canoe & (December 5, 2019). "Kayaking the Northwest Passage". Men's Journal.
18. "The North West Passage Expedition – The expedition of our time". nwpexpedition.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2021.
19. "over the top". northwest-passage.com.
20. SCMP. "The Mirror".
21. SCMP. "World's Toughest Row".
22. "Edinburgh adventurer attempts 2,000 mile Arctic kayak voyage". June 20, 2023 – via www.bbc.co.uk.