French born, now American citizen, Cyril Derreumaux considers himself a citizen of the world. Fluent speaker of 6 languages (and counting!) Cyril is attracted to learning and discovering new cultures and places all the time.
This natural curiosity of people and places led Cyril to backpack around the world at 25 for one year. With $7,000 and a can-do attitude Cyril embarked on this life changing experience that permanently changed his outlook on life and how he wanted to live it.
A move to California following his profession in the wine business led Cyril to begin exploring the world of outrigger canoeing and kayaking and reignited a childhood passion for windsurfing and all things water related. He soon began pushing his limits further and further in ultra-endurance water events. A serendipitous find of the Great Pacific Race which advertised “you don’t need to be a rower to row an ocean” led Cyril to embark on his biggest challenge at the time, rowing in a team of 4 men from California to Hawaii which resulted in in a Guinness Record for the fastest ocean rowing crossing of a team in 39 days and again changing Cyril’s perspective on what was possible.
Always a dreamer, Cyril soon found himself thinking about his next expedition. Inspired by the stories of maverick ocean explorers, Cyril began to plan his biggest expedition to date, crossing the mid pacific on a kayak with solely human power from California to Hawaii.
Despite delays and a failed attempt, Cyril accomplished this goal in September 2022 reaching Hawaii to become the first 100% human powered kayaker to accomplish such a feat.
As a member of the famed Explorers Club Cyril continues to dream big, thinking of his next big adventure and encouraging others to do the same. Advocating to “live life to the fullest,” Cyril hopes his adventures inspire others to find their own dream and go after it.
Cyril is currently working on a book and a documentary chronicling his kayak crossing.
Outrigger Paddling:
- Participated 4 times in the World Championship 43-mile “Moloka’i Hoe” – 6-man Outrigger Canoe (2010/11/14/15)
- Participated 4 times in the Catalina Crossing Challenge (a 5-hour, 32-mile outrigger canoe race from Catalina to Newport Beach)
Canoeing:
- The Cal100: a 12-hour, 100-mile Canoe down the Sacramento river
- Yukon River Quest 444-mile Canoe Race – Yukon, Canada
- 2012 – 2nd overall in Voyageur (6-man canoe) in 42h45’
- 2018 – 1st in C4 canoe in 52 hours
- 2019 – 5th in C2 canoe in 56 hours
Ocean Rowing:
- First place in the Great Pacific Race 2016, a 2,400 nautical miles Ocean Rowing race from Monterey, California to Oahu, Hawaii. Skipper of the boat “Team Uniting Nations”, a four-man team of four different nationalities. No support nor assistance was received during the full successful crossing leading to the world record.
- Guinness World Record holder for the fastest crossing in 39 days, 9 hours, 56 minutes
Kayaking:
- May 2020: Paddled solo the whole length of the Sacramento river, Lake Shasta to the Golden Gate Bridge in 9 days, 340 miles.
- May 25th, 2020: 10-island challenge in San Francisco Bay: 37.5 miles in 8h34, surrounding the 10 islands of SF Bay.
- June 27th, 2020: 7 bridges of the Bay Area in one go. 62 miles in 10h15, course record. Article in French on Merci SF: https://mercisf.com/fr/2020/06/25/1-kayak-1-journee-7-ponts-avec-cyril-derreumaux/
- July 5-6, 2020: Lake Tahoe + Monterey Bay Crossings: 20 + 26 miles in 2 days.
Ocean Kayaking:
- June 21st, 2022- Sept 20th, 2022: Solo Kayak to Hawaii Expedition, May 2021, California to Hawaii. Solo, unsupported, 100% human powered. Guinness World Record holder.