Roz Savage Becomes the First Woman to Row Solo Across the Pacific
Roz Savage (42), environmental campaigner and solo ocean rower, today became the first woman to row solo across the Pacific. She arrived in Madang, Papua New Guinea, at 8am local time, June 4.
The former Governor of Madang Province, Sir Peter Barter, said she was escorted in by a flotilla of 100 traditional canoes from all the villages around: “They had leis and flowers and guided her into the harbour.”
More than 5000 men, women and children, many in traditional dress, lined the entrance of Dallman Passage and Kalibobo Village waving as she moved slowly into the dock at the Madang Resort. On arrival she was met by Governor Sir Arnold Amet.
Roz’s 8000 mile journey started from under San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and has taken 245 days, three million oar strokes, and three squid on deck.
She set out in 2008, and completed the journey in three separate stages, stopping at Hawaii and Kiribati.
Sir Richard Branson hailed her journey as “Heroic, epic, inspiring, historic.”
Roz gave up a high flying management consultancy job in 2004, to row around the world, and has now completed the Atlantic and Pacific. She made the decision after writing two versions of her own obituary – one based on her former life, and the second based on a dream.
Roz has asked people to take action on the top environmental issues facing the world. She urged her followers to reduce their use of plastic simply by switching to reusable grocery bags, coffee mugs and water bottles.
Leading by example, she said: “My Pacific row shows how everyone can make a difference. Each of the three legs of my journey has taken a million oar strokes, adding up to something truly significant.”
Roz saw for herself the damage to the environment when she rowed through the North Pacific Garbage Patch – plastic pollution covering an area of ocean roughly twice the size of Texas.
In this, the third and final stage across the Pacific, Savage has rallied her followers to become Eco Heroes themselves, by launching EcoHeroes – www.ecoheroes.me – a social game and an environmental challenge to do at least one “Green Deed” each day.
