A WEST Dorset adventurer has finally completed an extreme kayaking challenge – more than a year after setting out.

Royal Navy veteran and former ambulance worker Steve Chard, 61, from Bridport, is putting his feet – and his paddle –up after finishing a 5,700-mile journey to raise money for good causes.

The 14-month solo paddle which he planned to 'celebrate retirement' saw him explore North America’s coastal and inland waterways, starting at Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia.

His route – an extended version of what sailors call ‘The Great Loop’ – took him to the St Lawrence River, through Ottawa, along the Mississippi River to Florida, and up the Atlantic coast, before finishing the 'back at Halifax.

He packed all his kit in his sea kayak and stopped to camp each night.

Mr Chard returns home in September and plans to give talks about this adventure.

He said: "I'm feeling both ecstatic and relieved to have achieved such a feat.

"I lived by the weather forecast but couldn’t just paddle in fair weather so there were some bouncy scary moments, particularly paddling the Atlantic coastline of Nova Scotia.

"The biggest highlight was the people I met and their ever willingness to help and host me. I was so often offered a bed for the night by people who I just met when I came ashore each evening but usually, due to social media, I was passed from kayak club to kayak club, marina to marina.

"I did rough camp too, the strangest place being on a permanent sandbank in the Mississippi."

Mr Chard added: "The paddling highlights were New York Harbour, Boston Harbour and the Maine Islands Trail. The sightseeing highlights were Washington DC, a personal guided tour of the US Naval Academy in Annapolis and New York City."

Bridport-born Mr Chard grew up in the town and is a former Colfox School student who now lives in Piddletrenthide.

He served 13 years in the Royal Navy, then worked at the Admiralty Research Establishment on Portland.

He later took up a health care assistant job in the renal unit at Dorset County Hospital, before joining South Western Ambulance Service, working at Bridport and Dorchester.

Mr Chard retired from his job as an emergency care assistant with South Western Ambulance in late 2017.

After months of training – he is an amateur kayaker who only took up the pursuit in 2013 – he set out on his American adventure on June 1 last year and completed the trip last week on August 16.

Mr Chard hopes his efforts will raise £10,000. He is supporting nine charities, including 4 in the UK – Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance, Weldmar Hospicecare Trust, Kidney Research UK and Walking with the Wounded. He is taking donations up until the end of the year.

To make a donation, go to facebook.com/paddlewithsteve where you will be able to find links to his fundraising pages.