Ocean rowing
Encyclopedia
Watercraft rowing
Watercraft rowing is the act of propelling a boat using the motion of oars in the water. The difference between paddling and rowing is that with rowing the oars have a mechanical connection with the boat whereas with paddling the paddles are hand-held with no mechanical connection.This article...
across oceans. The sport is as much a psychological as it is a physical challenge. Rowers often have to endure long periods at sea without help often many days if not weeks away. The challenge is especially acute for solo rowers who are held in especially high esteem within the sport. The history of ocean rowing is sometimes divided into two eras. The first 12 ocean rows are considered "Historic Ocean rows" as they were completed with very limited if any modern technology. The subsequent rows are described as "Modern Day rows".
Despite the now regular rowing races, fewer people have rowed an ocean as of 2006 than have climbed Everest or been into outer space
Outer space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
.
Atlantic Ocean rowing
The first ocean to be deliberately rowed was the Atlantic by Frank Samuelsen and George HarboFrank Samuelsen and George Harbo
Franky Samuelsen and George Harbo were Norwegian-born Americans who in 1896, became the first people ever to row across an ocean. Their time record for rowing the North Atlantic Ocean was not broken for 114 years, though by four rowers instead of two.-George Harbo:George Harbo was from...
, two Norwegians, in June 1896. The pair left Battery Park
Battery Park
Battery Park is a 25-acre public park located at the Battery, the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City, facing New York Harbor. The Battery is named for artillery batteries that were positioned there in the city's early years in order to protect the settlement behind them...
, Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
on 6 June 1896 arriving on the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
, 55 days and 13 hours later having covered 3250 miles (5,230.4 km). They continued to row to Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
The first deliberate solo crossing of any ocean was completed by John Fairfax
John Fairfax (rower)
John Fairfax is a British rower and adventurer who, in 1969, became the first person to row solo across an ocean.Fairfax was born in Italy to an English father and Bulgarian mother. As a child he was expelled from the Italian Boy Scouts for opening fire, with a revolver, on a hut containing other...
of Britain on 19 July 1969. He rowed from Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria is the second most populous island of the Canary Islands, with a population of 838,397 which constitutes approximately 40% of the population of the archipelago...
in the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
to Hollywood beach, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
in 180 days. In the same year Tom McClean, also of Britain, rowed from Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
arriving in Blacksod Bay
Blacksod Bay
Blacksod Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean in Erris, North County Mayo, Ireland. The bay is bounded on its western side by the Mullet Peninsula and to its eastern side by the coastline of Kiltane Parish where it extends southwards from Belmullet towards Gweesalia and Doohoma...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
on 27 July 1969. Despite having left almost four months after Fairfax he came within 8 days of beating Fairfax to the title of first solo rower of any ocean.
On 10 July 2005 the Vivaldi Atlantic four-man team (Nigel Morris, George Rock, Steve Dawson, Rob Munslow) set the record for fastest unsupported row from St John's, Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
to the longitude of Bishop Rock
Bishop Rock
Bishop Rock is a small rock at the westernmost tip of the Isles of Scilly, known for its lighthouse, and listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's smallest island with a building on it....
lighthouse, UK. They left on 31 May 2005, arriving back on 10 July 2005 in a time of 39 days 22 hours and 10 minutes. The Vivaldi Atlantic four also became the first four-man team ever to row the North Atlantic west to east. This record still stands as the fastest unsupported row across this 1850nm North Atlantic Route.
On 3 December 1999 Tori Murden
Tori Murden
Victoria Murden McClure is an explorer who was the first woman to make a solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by rowboat. She was also the first woman and first American to ski to the geographic South Pole...
of the USA became the first woman to row any ocean solo when she arrived in Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
, having set off from Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
in the Canary Islands 81 days earlier. In March 2006 Julie Wafaei
Julie Wafaei
Julie Wafaei is a Canadian Rower and cyclist.Wafaei is the first woman to row the Atlantic Ocean from mainland to mainland. Her Atlantic row was part of an expedition with her fiance Colin Angus to circumnavigate the Northern hemisphere entirely by human power...
of Canada became the first woman to row across the Atlantic from mainland to mainland.
The fastest unsupported row from the US to England was set in 2005 by The Ocean Fours (NL) (Gijs Groeneveld, Robert Hoeve, Jaap Koomen, Maarten Staarink) with the Vopak Victory. They left New York on 27 May and crossed the Bishops Rock longitude 60 days, 16 hours and 19 minutes later. This record was beaten by Leven Brown and his crew in 2010. Their boat 'Artemis Investments' left New York on 17th of June 2010 and arrived in St Mary's on the 31st of July 2010 in a time of 43 days 21 hours 26 mins and 48 seconds. Which remains the record to date for the longer 2850nm and original North Atlantic route. During their voyage they were capsized twice in storms.
The World Record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean from the Canary Islands to the West Indies was set in 2011 by 'Team Hallin', a crew of six aboard the trimaran 'Hallin Marine', with a crossing time of 31 days 23 hours 31 minutes. The World Record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean from Morocco to the West Indies was also set in 2011 by a six man crew aboard 'Sara G', with a crossing time of 33 days 21 hours and 46 minutes. The crew of Sara G posted the record for the most days rowed of 100 miles per day consecutively, now standing at 12 days.
La Mondiale set the original record in 1992. After much work and refurbishment this beautiful old boat was ready to go to sea again in 2008/9 and race two state the of art modern lightweight boats both of which optionally sported smaller crews but were specifically designed to beat La Mondiale. An 'informal' race took place from the Canaries to the West Indies that saw storms and tactical guile. La Mondiale, despite her age, crossed the finish line first some three days ahead of the nearest rival. She was skippered by Leven Brown. La Mondiale was subsequently lost at sea in 2009 due to the loss of her rudder, all hands were safe, but one of the sports most historic boats was 'retired' by the ocean, proudly unbeaten.
In 2010, Katie Spotz
Katie Spotz
Katie Spotz is an American adventurer who became the youngest person to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, departing from Dakar, Senegal on January 3, 2010, and landing in Guyana on March 14, 2010...
rowed solo mainland-to-mainland Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
, Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
–Georgetown
Georgetown, Guyana
Georgetown, estimated population 239,227 , is the capital and largest city of Guyana, located in the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River and it was nicknamed 'Garden City of the Caribbean.' Georgetown is located at . The city serves...
, Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
, 2817 nautical miles (5,217.1 km) in only 70 days. She is the youngest solo rower so far.
Atlantic rowing races
Rowing the Atlantic first became mainstream when the first Atlantic Rowing RaceAtlantic Rowing Race
The Atlantic Rowing Race is a challenging ocean rowing race from the Canary Islands to the West Indies, a distance of approximately 2,550 nm . The race was founded by Sir Chay Blyth and first held in 1997 with subsequent races roughly every two years since. The early races were run by Challenge...
was launched by Sir Chay Blyth
Chay Blyth
Sir Charles Blyth, CBE, BEM , known as Chay Blyth, is a Scottish yachtsman and rower. He was the first person to sail non-stop westwards around the world , on a 59-foot boat called British Steel.- Early life:...
, after reflecting on his own ocean row that propelled him to international renown. This was the Port St. Charles, Barbados Atlantic Rowing Race. Thirty double-handed teams lined up at the start line in a "one design" rowing boat just outside of Los Gigantes marina on Sunday 12 October 1997. The race was won by Kiwi Challenge, rowed by Rob Hamill
Rob Hamill
Robert Miles Hamill, MNZM, is a New Zealand rower and political candidate. His brother was a victim of the Khmer Rouge in 1978....
and Phil Stubbs after 41 days at sea. Second place went to the French crew of Atlantik Challenge, Joseph Le Guen and his partner, a double convicted murderer, Pascal Blond.
Later Atlantic rowing races:
- Ward Evans Atlantic Rowing Race 2001 - Won by Matt Goodman & Steve Westlake in Telecom Challenge 1
- Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race 2003 - Won by James Fitzgerald & Kevin Biggar in Holiday Shoppe Challenge
- Ocean Rowing Society's Atlantic Rowing Race 2004 http://www.oceanregatta.com/intro.htm - Fours event won by Queensgate (GB); Pairs event won by Christopher Morgan and Michael Perrins in Carpe Diem (GB)
- Woodvale Atlantic Rowing RaceAtlantic Rowing RaceThe Atlantic Rowing Race is a challenging ocean rowing race from the Canary Islands to the West Indies, a distance of approximately 2,550 nm . The race was founded by Sir Chay Blyth and first held in 1997 with subsequent races roughly every two years since. The early races were run by Challenge...
2005 - Pairs race won by Clint Evans and Chris Andrews in C² (GB)
- Shephard Ocean Fours Rowing Race 2006 - Inaugural North Atlantic Rowing Race won by team O.A.R. Northwest (Jordan Hanssen, Brad Vickers, Greg Spooner, and Dylan LeValley) rowing James Robert Hanssen
Pacific Ocean rowing
Following his successful Pacific Ocean crossing, John Fairfax set off from San Francisco in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
on 26 April 1971 with Sylvia Cook. After three stops (in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Fanning Island and the Gilbert Island of Onotoa
Onotoa
Onotoa is an atoll and district of Kiribati. It is situated in the Gilbert Islands in the Pacific Ocean, 65 km from Tamana, the smallest island in the Gilberts....
), the two arrived on Hayman Island
Hayman Island
Hayman Island is the most northerly of the Whitsunday Islands, part of the Cumberland Islands, which are located off the coast of Central Queensland, Australia at...
in Australia 361 days later on 22 April 1972. In doing so Cook became the first woman to row any Ocean.
One of her commercial sponsors was Yardley of London
Yardley of London
Yardley of London is a traditional British cosmetics brand and is one of the oldest in the world. Established in 1770, Yardley was a major producer of soap and perfumery by the beginning of the 20th century. By 1910, it moved to London's Bond Street, and in 1921 Yardley received its first Royal...
who had just introduced a new creme based moisturized make-up named "Next to Nothing". Headlines in the trade papers of the cosmetics industry touted "Woman rows the Pacific wearing 'Next to Nothing' ".
In 1976 Patrick Quesnel completed a crossing from Washington State to Hawaii, a journey of 2200 miles (3,540.5 km) which took him 114 days.
In 1977 Colin Quincey became the first to cross the Tasman Sea
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...
, the segment of the Pacific Ocean between Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. He departed Hokianga
Hokianga
Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as The Hokianga River, a long estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand....
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, on 6 February 1977 and 63 days later arrived at Marcus Beach
Marcus Beach, Queensland
Marcus Beach is a suburb in Noosa, Queensland, Australia, located south of Noosa Heads. It is named after the property developer, Marcus Burke....
, Australia on 10 April.
The first person to row the width of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
solo was Peter Bird
Peter Bird
Peter Bird was a British ocean rower who, in 1983, became the first person ever to row solo across the Pacific.Bird first became interested in ocean rowing in 1968 when he read about the Atlantic crossings by John Fairfax, Chay Blyth and John Ridgway. Then, while selling silk paintings door to...
of Britain. Bird set off from San Francisco, California and arrived at the Great Barrier Reef Australia 294 days later on 14 June 1983. Bird would later die attempting the west to east journey across the Pacific.
Controversially, Briton Jim Shekhdar
Jim Shekhdar
Jim Shekhdar is a British ocean rower and was the first person to complete a solo unassisted non-stop crossing of the Pacific Ocean.-Career:Shekhdar was born in Leamington Spa, England in 1946 and lived in India from the age of seven to twelve, where he learned Hindi. Back in England, he went to...
later made the claim to be "the first person to row across the Pacific single-handed". Shekhdar had rowed across the Pacific non-stop, solo and unassisted arriving in Australia on 30 March 2001. Some within the sport felt that Shekhdar had not given due credit to the achievement of Peter Bird and the term "unassisted" also came under some scrutiny.
Erden Eruç
Erden Eruç
Erden Eruç is a Turkish adventurer attempting a human-powered circumnavigation which is to include summitting the tallest mountains on six continents....
is currently rowing across the Pacific. He departed San Francisco, California on 11 July 2007, bound for Australia. Eruç has been plagued by unfavorable currents and is having difficulty crossing the equator (more specifically the ITCZ). Eruç previously rowed across the Atlantic ocean.
Roz Savage
Roz Savage
Rosalind Savage is a British ocean rower and amateur runner, now pursuing a career as an environmental advocate, writer and motivational speaker.-Background:Savage was born in Cheshire...
rowed from San Francisco to Hawaii in 2008, the first woman to do so solo, and from Hawaii to Tuvalu in 2009. She completed the third leg her trip (from Tuvalu to PNG) in 2010 and so became the first woman to row across the Pacific Ocean unassisted.
Chris Martin
Chris Martin (rower)
-Early Rowing Career:Martin started rowing at 14 at Hampton School. At the end of his third year of rowing he raced as part of the British team and remained part of the British rowing team at six World Rowing Championships returning with a medal from each....
and Mick Dawson rowed a 2 man boat from Choshi, Japan to San Francisco Harbour in 2011. Their journey took 189 days and in doing so they achieved the Guinness World Record for the first team to row across the North Pacific Ocean.
Indian Ocean rowing
The Indian OceanIndian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
was first crossed by Anders Svedlund of Sweden in 1971. He set off from Kalbarri in Western Australia on 29 April 1971 and arrived near Diego Suarez, Madagascar, 64 days later on 23 June.
Sarah Outen, a 24 year old Briton, left Fremantle, Western Australia on April 1, 2009. Rowing her 19 ft (5.8 m) boat Serendipity, she arrived at Bois des Amourettes, Mauritius, 124 days later on August 3. She became the first woman soloist to attempt and successfully complete the crossing. She is also the world's youngest solo female ocean rower.
The current speed record for rowing the Indian Ocean is held by the 8 person crew of Audeamus ('Let Us Dare'), who took a little over 58 days to set the new record in 2009. The crew consisted of Bernard Fisset (Belgium); Doug Tuminello, Brian Flick and Angela Madsen (USA); and Helen Taylor, Ian Couch, Simon Chalk and Paul Cannon (UK).
Audeamus is the first boat ever to row unassisted, land to land cross the Indian Ocean, landing just a few weeks ahead of "Team MSS". It is also the first, multi-person boat and the first mixed boat to row the Indian Ocean and the first 8 person boat to row any Ocean. All are Guinness World Records.
Helen Taylor and Angela Madsen are the first women to row across the Indian Ocean, landing just a few weeks ahead of Sarah Outen. There are several other Guinness world records associated with the boat.
On 19th April 2009 Andrew Delaney and Guy Watts began their unsupported ocean row from Geraldton, Western Australia across the Indian Ocean to Mauritius as 'Team MSS'. They successfully managed to break five world records and two race speed records. The highlights of their achievements being that they were the first pair to row unassisted land to land across the Indian Ocean and they were winners of the ‘pair’s class’ in the inaugural Indian Ocean Race.
The pair was supported back in the UK throughout the race with wind, tactics and psychological support from Tim Howard and Jeremy Christey (of Talking-Therapies Ltd*).
Rowing in three hour blocks, one on one off, for the 3780 nautical miles (7,000.6 km) in particularly hostile conditions, Guy and Andy battled through 12 meter swells, violent storms and winds exceeding 40 knots (78.4 km/h), in their ocean rowing boat ‘Flying Ferkins’.
It was one of the world’s toughest nautical challenges and a world first for Ocean rowing crossings. See [www.indianoceanrace.com] for further details.
Ocean rowing in popular culture
The British rock band MarillionMarillion
Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, England in 1979. Their recorded studio output comprises sixteen albums generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original vocalist & frontman Fish in late 1988, and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve...
released an eighteen minute song called "Ocean Cloud" on its 2004 album Marbles
Marbles (album)
Marbles is the 13th studio album from rock band Marillion, released in 2004. Unlike their previous studio album, Anoraknophobia , which was financed largely by a preorder campaign, it was the publicity campaign that fans financed for the album...
based on Donald Allum's almost fatal third crossing of the Atlantic from Newfoundland to Ireland in 1987.
External links
- Ocean Row Events
- Worldoceanrowing.com
- The World Rowing Network
- The Association of Ocean Rowers
- Woodvale Events
- Ocean Rowing Handbook
- The Ocean Rowing Society
-
- http://www.oceanrowing.com/logs/don_allum.htm Don Allum's log at the above.