Paddling Through The Ganges Solo. Rency Sets Record.

Rency Thomas G has possibly become the first to have sailed alone the full length of The River Ganges on  a human powered boat, from the source Gaumukh to the Ganga Sagar Island, mouth of  the Ganges, without any motorised assistance.

The arduous 2750 KM long, source to sea adventure across five states of  Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,  Jammu Kashmir and West Bengal included 1930 KM of kayaking alone on the river. Rency says, it began with 23 KM trekking from Gaumukh to Gangotri followed by 800 KM mountain  to Devprayag, where the confluence of the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers forms the Ganges.

 The gruelling white water kayaking from Devapriyag to Rishikesh on grade 4 waters put Rency’s skills to test.

A flight pilot aspirant and a mountaineer, Kanniyakumari born Rency made this expedition his mission after he was turned down for his dream career due to his Arthritis that limited his mobility in a couple of hand fingers and some body parts. He often  suffers excruciating pain but the spirit of adventure helps him to overcome. He also runs Live360 an adventure sports company in Mumbai.

Rency paddled a 17 foot long kayak for this record. Talking about his routine over the 95 day expedition, he told tellmystory.in “I spent 6 to 7 hours alone in the waters non stop every day. Sitting in kayak with my arthritis legs stretched  for long hours would turn them numb”. There were other challenges too. “Imagine burnt bodies floating” he added. Low visibility was often a challenge on the river and even satellite maps wouldn’t help particularly amid “fake channels”. He would carry packed lunch and energy bars and a pee bottle.“