Ocean Rowing: Roz Cancels Retirement To Row The Atlantic

I meant to post this news earlier in the week, but other things kept getting in the way. Better late than never however.

Over the past few years we've followed Roz Savage as she systematically crossed the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans solo and completely under her own power. When she wrapped up that Indian Ocean crossing last October, she also announced that she was hanging up her oars for good. Late last week we found out that retirement isn't exactly in the cards just yet. Last Friday Roz posted a story to her website announcing her intentions of rowing the Atlantic Ocean, although this time she won't be going it alone.

Rower Andrew Morris had already been planning a crossing of his own that he had dubbed the Olympic Atlantic Row (OAR) as he, along with fellow rower Mick Dawson, had hoped to paddle across the North Atlantic and arrive in the U.K. in time for the start of the Olympic games in July. Mick had a conflict of schedules however and was forced to pull out of the project. Who better to take his place than Roz?

So, the plan now is to begin the ocean crossing May. The journey will cover 2587 miles (4163 km) and take roughly 60 days to complete. Crossing at that time of year won't be an easy one, as cold weather, heavy fogs, icebergs, and other dangers will conspire to provide plenty of challenge. But we know that Andrew and Roz are up to the task and it should be another good adventure to follow this spring when they set out from St. Johns in Newfoundland, Canada and begin their journey east.

Good luck Andrew and Roz!

New Ocean Rowing Race Announced

Have you ever wanted to row across an ocean? If so, then I have good news for you, as there is a new ocean rowing race on the way in June of 2014. The Pacific Rowing Race, as it is officially known, will begin in Monterey Bay, California and end in Honolulu, Hawaii, covering more than 2100 nautical miles in the process.

Most of the details are still being filled in, including entry fees and specific starting and ending dates, but you'll find some of the preliminary info on the race's official website. Already in place is a short FAQ that answers some very basic questions about ocean rowing in general, and there are also pages dedicated to the history of the route, boats and equipment to be used, what to expect out of the weather, and more.

Obviously paddling for 2000+ miles over open sea isn't for everyone, but it is great to see a new event of this type being launched. Since it is still more than two years away from starting, it also gives plenty of interested rowers an opportunity to plan and prepare. If you happen to be one of those people who could possibly compete in this race, you can register your interest with an online form found here.

Atlantic Rowing Team Rescued After Boat Capsizes

A six-person rowing team, that included Adventurer Mark Beaumont, had to be rescued from the Atlantic Ocean yesterday when their boat was capsized by a large wave. The group had been out on the water for 27 days at the time, and were hoping to set a new speed record for rowing from Morocco to Barbados in the Caribbean.

Beaumont, whom we've followed as he rode his bike around the world and then north-to-south across the Americas, says that the "freak" wave hit the boat while the crew was in the middle of a change in shifts. Typically, ocean rowing teams row non-stop, 24-hours per day, with crew members taking two-hour shifts or so. As a result of the poor timing of the wave, the hatch on the boat was open, contributing to the accident.

The entire squad was thrown into the water wearing just t-shirts and shorts. It took them about ten minutes to locate their emergency locator beacon, but once they set it off, it was only a matter of time before a ship could come and rescue them. Eventually they were plucked from the water by the tanker Nord Taipei, which is now making way for Gibraltar. The rowing team is expected their on February 9th.

At the time of the accident, the crew was just 520 miles shy of their destination, which makes the capsizing of their boat all the more hard to take. They had completed roughly 3000 miles of their journey and while it was going to be tough to complete the voyage in just 30 days, it is still disappointing to not even get the chance to try.

Thankfully, everyone survived and without any injuries. This could have been a much more tragic story, but the crew will live to row another day.

All-Woman Rowing Team Finishes Atlantic Crossing

Way back in October of last year I told you about an all-woman rowing team that was set to take part in the Woodvale Challenge, an annual race across the Atlantic Ocean in row boats. At the time, the ladies who made up the Row For Freedom team were hoping to not only complete the crossing, but nab a few records in the process. This past weekend, they reached the finish line, and accomplished some major milestones as well.

The team, which consists of Julia Immonen, Debbie Beadle, Helen Leigh, Kate Richardson, and Katie Pattison-Hart, started their adventure in the Canary Islands on December 7th. The team rowed in shifts, 24-hours per day, covering 4205km (2613 miles) in just 45 days, 15 hours, and 26 minutes, before arriving in Barbados in the Caribbean Sea. Their time marked a record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic by an all female team and they became the first 5-woman squad to row any ocean at all.

While rowing the Atlantic Ocean is a great achievement and an impressive adventure in and of itself, the girls had bigger aspirations in mind when they set out. The team partnered with two charities, ECPAT UK and The A21 Campaign, both of which are working hard to stamp out human trafficking. The Row For Freedom effort was designed to raise awareness of this issue, which continues to be a very real and scary activity in many parts of our planet.

Congratulations to the entire team on a job well done. Amazing work!

GB Row Challenge Returns In 2013

2013 may sound like a long way off at this point, but lets face it, 2011 is all but over and 2012 will come and go before we know it too. With that in mind, its never too early to start planning for a big adventure the year after next. And if your dream has always been to compete in an incredibly tough rowing race, I've got just the event for you.

The GB Row Challenge is gearing up to return in 2013, and teams will want to start planning and preparing now. The 2000-mile lone race begins and ends at the Tower Bridge in London and consists of a non-stop, unassisted circumnavigation of Great Britain. The teams of four rowers will face harsh winds, rough seas, crowded shipping lanes, and unexpected storms, as they attempt to join the very exclusive club of people who have finished this race. To date, only eight have done so.

The 2013 edition of the race will begin on June 1st and will pit teams against one another in three categories: pairs, fours, and eights. The entry fee is set at £4,000 (roughly $6250), with a prize of £15,000 ($23,466) going to the winners. Cash prizes are also awarded to the second and third place teams as well, and a special bounty of £30,000 ($46,960) will be paid out to any team that sets a new speed record in the race as well.

So just how long will it take to complete the GB Row Challenge? The current record for a men's team is 26 days, 21 hours, and 14 minutes. The ladies have taken a bit longer to row around Great Britain, covering the same distance in 51 days, 16 hours, 42 minutes. Remember, those are the record times. Be prepared for it to take longer.

So, if you're up for a little fun on the water in 2013, and have a penchant for punishment, you may want to consider entering this race. All you'll need is a little determination, some physical preparation, and a good boat!

London2London Update: Sarah Completes Stage 1

British adventurer Sarah Outen arrived in Tokyo a few days back, successfully bringing to a close the first stage of her London2London expedition. This leg of the journey was 11,000 miles in length and lasted for 227 days, but puts her only halfway to her goal.

As you probably recall, Sarah is attempting to make a completely human powered circumnavigation of the planet. She got underway in April, setting out from London, and paddled her way down the Thames River and across the English Channel. After that, she climbed aboard her bike and started pedaling east, passing through 12 different countries before arriving at her temporary stopping point. Along the way, she  has had to deal with bad weather, trucks that wouldn't share the road, dehydration in the Gobi Desert, and choppy seas on her paddle from Russia to Japan.

For now, Sarah will enjoy some down time in Japan as she rests and prepares for the next major stage of the expedition. In the spring of 2012 she'll start a 4300 mile solo crossing of the North Pacific, which will begin in Choshi, Japan and end in Vancouver, Canada. If she is successful, she'll become just the third person to make that journey.

After that, Sarah will return to the bike and ride from Vancouver to New York City, where she'll return to the water once again, and row the North Atlantic. If all goes according to schedule, she'll return to where she started – London – in late 2013.

Congrats to Sarah on reaching the end of this incredibly long first leg. Now take a break and getting ready for the next adventure.

Rowing Team Preps For Arctic Ocean Crossing

A team of American adventurers is preparing to take on the Arctic Ocean next year, and if successful in their venture, they will become the first group to row non-stop across that body of water. That aptly named Arctic Row 2012 is scheduled to get underway in July of next year, and if you're looking for something to do next summer, maybe you can join the expedition.

The team of rowers currently consists of Paul Ridley, Collin West, and Neal Mueller. All three already have some impressive credits on their adventure resumes. Ridley, for example, has already rowed solo across the Atlantic Ocean, while West is a top adventure racer, and Mueller has climbed the Seven Summits and swam the English Channel. They're hoping to add a fourth member to the squad before they embark and interested parties are encouraged to e-mail team@arcticrow.com for more information.

The row will begin in Olafsfjorour, Iceland and end in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway. The team will cover approximately 1100 miles and expect to be done in 20-30 days depending on weather conditions. To accomplish that goal, the four-man team will row non-stop, 24-hours a day, with two-man rotations spending two hours on the oars at any given time. Their specially designed boat has been built to take on the rigors of the Arctic Ocean and features two cabins – one for the crew to sleep in and one to store their gear.

While the team does plan to row the Arctic Ocean in the July, that doesn't mean that the conditions will be all that easier to endure. Even in the height of summer, temperatures will hover around freezing and the water will be colder still. High winds, choppy seas, and unexpected storms will all conspire to thwart their progress, which is why no one has ever made this journey before now.

I'll follow-up on the expedition as we get closer to the launch next July and follow along with the team as they make their crossing. It should definitely be one adventure to keep our eyes on.

Australian Rower Hopes To Become Youngest Across The Pacific

While we're on the topic of ocean rowing today, here's another story of interest. Australian Ben Turner hopes to become the youngest person to row solo and non-stop across the Pacific Ocean when he sets out from Peru next year. He'll also undertake the journey to raise funds and awareness for a cure for Cystic Fibrosis as well.

Ben expects his voyage to take approximately 275 days to complete, covering 13,000 km (8077 miles) in the process. He'll start at Lima Peru and make is way towards the Marquesas Islands, before turning in a more southerly direction, traveling to Fiji, and then on to Australia, eventually rowing home to Sydney. He intends to make this a non-stop journey however, which means that while he will pass within a short distance of a number of South Pacific islands, he won't be pulling into shore on any of them.

No word on exactly when he'll set out, but this will certainly be an impressive journey. The Pacific is the largest ocean on Earth and to row across it non-stop and solo will be an amazing feat. Stay tuned for updates as Ben gets closer to his departure.

All-Woman Team Preps To Row The Atlantic

An all-woman team is preparing to row the Atlantic this December as part of the Woodvale Challenge and to help raise awareness of the horrible crime of human trafficking – something that is still all to prevalent, even in the 21st century.

The expedition has been dubbed the Row For Freedom and it will get underway in December when the crew sets out from Canary Islands in an attempt to cover the 3000 miles required to reach Barbados. They estimate it will take about 40 days to cross the Atlantic, rowing in two-hour shifts, 24-hours per day. As mentioned, they'll be rowing as part of the Woodvale, which is an annual ocean race that has earned a reputation as being amongst the most challenging in the world.

The Row For Freedom team includes Julia Immonen, Andrea Quigley, Debbie Beadle, Helen Leigh, Kate Richardson, and Katie Pattison-Hart. Each of these ladies has dedicated their efforts towards stamping out slavery and human trafficking across the globe, and as a result, they're working with ECPAT UK to call upon the U.K. Government to provide safe harbor for child victims of trafficking in particular.

You'll be able to follow the progress of these ladies on their website once they get underway in about six weeks or so. Good luck to the whole crew, who are not only embarking on an amazing adventure, but they're doing so for an incredibly important cause as well.

Want To Row Across The Caribbean In 2012?

Have you ever wanted to row across and ocean but didn't know how to go about it? Have you read about Roz Savage's experiences on her expeditions and wished you could do something similar? If you answered yes to those questions, then I've got some good news for you.

Expedition Manager Margaret Bowling is currently recruiting rowers for the first ever Caribbean Sea rowing expedition, which will take place early in 2012. The expedition will be conducted in two stages, the first running from Port St. Charles in Barbados and ending in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and the second departs Montego Bay for Cancun, Mexico. The journey is set to begin on March 10th and is expected to run until April 28th.

The crew will consist of 14 crew and 2 skippers, with the team taking shifts of two hours on, two hours off throughout the voyage. They'll be rowing a specially designed rowing catamaran called Big Blue, which I'm told is the largest  ocean rowing boat in the world. As you can imagine, a reasonable level of fitness is required, as is a basic knowledge of rowing as well. Applicants will be vetted by the skippers before they are approved to join the crew.

If you're interested in being a part of this adventure or want more details on how you can join, send an e-mail to WhereFewDare@yahoo.co.uk.

This is going to be a physically and mentally challenging expedition, but for anyone who wishes they could go on a grand ocean adventure, it sounds like it is going to be fantastic.

Another Team Preps To Row The Atlantic

A team of Slovenian and British adventurers are planning to row the Atlantic in early 2012, making the journey along the Trade Winds Route between the Canary Islands and Barbados. The crew plans to set out in January, when conditions in the Atlantic are best for such a crossing.

The four-man team consists of three Brits, Nikkie Brown, Simon Osborne, and Stephen Bowens, as well as Marin Medak, who is the lone Slovenian on the squad. They hope to complete the 2500 nautical mile journey in about 60 days, braving the vast and open ocean along the way.

You can read more about their plans on the team's official website TransAtlantic20212.com, where you'll find info about each of the men, their specially designed row boat, and more.

London2London Update: Sarah Reaches Japan

Sarah Outen has reached a major milestone on her attempt to circumnavigate the globe under her own power. You may recall that Sarah set out in April on her round-the-world adventure, by paddling down the River Thames and across the English Channel. From there, she climbed on her bike and has spent months peddling across Europe and Asia. Now, she's made it to Japan, where she plans to take a break before attempting to row across the North Pacific in the spring.

Sarah, and her companion Justine Curgeven, were not allowed to paddle out of Russia, but were instead put aboard a boat that would take them out to sea where they could drop into their kayaks for the crossing to Japan. Once that happened however, the ladies actually paddled back to the Russian coast, where they tagged Sarah's last waypoint, before turning towards their eventual destination. This added an additional  24 miles to the trip, but ensured that Sarah stayed true to her goals to cover all the miles under her own power.

Now, she's safely in Japan where she'll travel some parts of the country by bike, before taking a much deserved rest. In the spring, she intends to climb aboard her row boat (Sarah once rowed across the Indian Ocean) and row across the Northern Pacific to Vancouver, where she'll once again take to the bike and begin a long ride across the U.S. and Canada, before the rows across the Atlantic, and back up the Thames, to end the expedition where it started, back in London.

Congrats to Sarah for closing off this leg of her journey and good luck in the spring. Hopefully for now, she's enjoying a warm bed, good food, and plenty of rest.

Epoch Expedition: 10,000-Mile Human Powered Adventure

A few days ago I received a note from Chris Crane, a member of Team Epoch, which is about to launch new expedition that will send the four person team on a 10,000-mile long odyssey completely under their own power. Chris, and his teammates, will mix in some of our favorite activities along the way, including rowing, cycling, paddling, and hiking.

The journey will begin with a row across the Atlantic Ocean as part of the Woodvale Challenge, which gets underway in early December. That race begins in the Canary Islands and ends in Barbados, roughly 2933 miles.

That would be enough of an adventure for most folks, but at that point, Team Epoch will be just warming up. From there, they'll get on their bikes and ride to Alaska, which they'll follow up by kayaking the Inside Passage. Finally, they'll cap the entire expedition with a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, which is considered one of the true classics of long distance trekking. The PCT is more than 2600 miles in length and can take months to complete on its own.

All and all, a very ambitious adventure to say the least. Be sure to stop by the Team Epoch website to read about their preparations leading up to their departure and following their progress along the way.

Good luck!

Ocean Rowing: Roz Is Done!

As predicted last week, Roz Savage has completed her solo row across the Indian Ocean, arriving in Mauritius earlier today. By completing her 5000+ mile, 5 month long journey, she has become the first woman to row solo across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.

Reaching this finish line will be particularly bittersweet for Roz, as she announced that she is hanging up her oars after this trip. She had very tentatively planned on rowing the Atlantic again, this time from New York to London, in 2012, but those plans have now been shelved in favor of other pursuits.

While Roz may have rowed her last ocean, something tells me we haven't heard the last of her. She is a tireless advocate of protecting the Earth's environments, especially the oceans, and I'm sure she'll continue to spread that message where ever she goes.

For now, I just want to extend a hearty congratulations to Roz on another amazing accomplishment. You have been an inspiration to us all and  I hope you are enjoying some relaxation back on land, good times with friends and family, and plenty of fresh food as well!

Ocean Rowing: Roz Nears The Finish Line

Today marks the 150th day on the Indian Ocean for Roz Savage, who set out from Australia in April and at long last is closing in on Mauritius, her finish line for yet another epic ocean row. She is expected to make landfall on Tuesday, October 4th, and when she does, she'll become the first woman to have rowed solo across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.


While each of the three ocean rows has had its share of challenges, the Indian Ocean presented one that Roz hadn't dealt with before, namely pirates. Pirate activity in the region has increased greatly in the past few years, and for that reason alone she kept her course and location a well guarded secret. Those of us who have been following Roz's adventures over the past few years have been use to following her progress on the "Roz Tracker," but on this expedition that was disabled on her website, leaving us wondering where exactly she was out on all those miles of open water. That question was answered today with a press release posted to her website.

As of this morning, she has just 104 nautical miles to go until she's done. If conditions stay favorable, she should have no problems completing the row early next week as scheduled, and my guess is that its no coincidence that she's arriving in Mauritius, a place that is greatly threatened by climate change.

After spending all of those days out on the world's oceans, Roz has become a dedicated environmentalist, and has even launched an Eco-Heroes program to create grassroots efforts to take care of the planet. One of the places that could feel the effects of climate change the most is Mauritius, where rising sea levels will have an impact on the island nation.

Watch for an official announcement on Roz's arrival on land early next week and wish her well on the final leg of our journey.