By Andrea Zrimsek

His journey began before dawn on Friday, March 30. British adventurer Mark Evans ate a quick breakfast packed up his kayak and hit the cool waters of the Arabian Sea in Salwa, which is at the southwestern corner of Qatar.
Evans spent eight hours a day for 11 days paddling around the entire perimeter of Qatar before coming ashore at the Inland Sea on Tuesday, April 10. He slept in a tent along the coast each night and, with the help of a support crew, was able to get on the water early each day. With little more than a satellite phone, water, snacks and a walkie-talkie, he covered up to 40 kilometers each day.

Kayaking is very peaceful, says Evans. And since I can paddle in less than half meter of water, I can be on beaches and in water that no one else ever has.
While battling strong winds, strange looks and heavy rains, Evans witnessed dolphins jumping off the coast of Dukhan, made his ways through thousands of jellyfish in Salwa and was approached by snapping turtles near Al Khor.
But the interaction with marine life, the fresh air and outdoor adventure were not the reason Evans made the nearly 600 kilometer solo journey: He did it to raise awareness of the work performed by the Red Crescent Society.
Raising money isn't the issue, he says. It's about raising awareness and getting people to understand what they do and think about getting involved.
The Red Crescent Society is the world's largest humanitarian organization providing assistance without discrimination as to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinions. The main area of the Red Crescent Society that Evans hopes to raise awareness for is the disaster preparedness drills in which numerous volunteers are needed.

The idea to raise awareness through a kayaking adventure came about in 2004 when Evans got involved with an effort to promote adventure tourism in Oman, which is where he has been living for the past few years.
Always the explorer, he decided he would paddle his kayak 1,700 kilometers around the coast of Oman. Only he needed to find a corporate sponsor to help cover costs. AXA Insurance quickly agreed to sponsor the expedition, but only if it would raise awareness for a charity.

This trip took 55 days, so Evans, a geography teacher by profession, broke it into three legs that were completed over holiday breaks. During the trip, each town Evans paddled past hosted a cancer awareness event in which a cancer specialist spoke.
BBC Television documented Evans' trip, which succeeded in raising enough money for the National Association for Cancer Awareness in Oman to purchase the country's first mobile cancer screening unit. This meant that for the first time in Oman, people no longer had to travel to Egypt or Kuwait for cancer screening or treatment.
When AXA Insurance decided to open an office in Qatar, Evans was once again tapped to use his five-meter long, ocean-going kayak to help others. Since the only time I'd spent in Qatar was at the airport, I thought this would be a good opportunity to explore the country while raising awareness, says Evans.
His adventure was not without incident though. Strong winds made the days long and tiring, and submerged rocks along the coast threatened his safety in many places. His crew also had many unplanned obstacles.

But this is all in a day's work for Evans, who has paddled his kayak on expeditions through the Arctic where he had to have a shotgun strapped to his kayak in case he encountered polar bears.
Evans, who grew up in rural England, has been leading a life of adventure since he was 17 years old and chosen to go live in a tent in the Arctic for six weeks with 60 strangers. At that time I hadn't even been to London yet, he says. That trip gave me a taste of adventure; and I haven't stopped since.
Evans' next adventure will be paddling his kayak around Bahrain and the Hawar Islands.