British Rower sets off on record-breaking solo row
Sarah Outen has set off on her latest record-breaking solo row – attempting to become the first woman to row across the North Pacific Ocean.
Setting off from Choshi, Japan, on Sunday (13th May), Sarah will row 4,500 nautical miles to Vancouver, Canada. The journey is expected to take between 150 and 200 days to complete, and has only been completed twice before by solo rowers.
Sarah’s epic row will form part of a wider, two and a half year expedition – London2London: Via the World. The challenge has already seen the 26-year-old adventurer cycle and kayak more than 11,000 miles from London to Japan, and Sarah will now row and cycle the 9,000 back to London.
“The North Pacific will be the most gruelling part of my whole London2London expedition,” Sarah, who has a deep fear of deep water, says of the row. “Physically and mentally, I expect to be exhausted most of the time – the distance, the solitude, the weather conditions and my complete isolation will make it hugely challenging. In spite of the challenges and dangers ahead, I still can’t wait to get out there.
“I am an ocean girl at heart and love being so close to the water and living to the rhythms of the wild. The energy out there is magic and the dynamics so exciting. I am hoping for some special wildlife moments and hopefully not too many storms. But I am especially looking forward to the sunsets and the stars.”
Sarah will be entirely self-sufficient for the duration of the row, and will face a daily battle against exhaustion, dehydration, hypothermia, and the constant danger of collisions with ships, capsizing and drowning.
“Out on the ocean the biggest danger is from shipping – my boat is so tiny that it is difficult for larger vessels to see me. Landing on the west coast of Canada will also be a huge challenge and probably the most dangerous part of the whole journey. At least if I roll at sea there is little chance of me crashing into anything. But perhaps the greatest challenge comes from being solo out there as I have to be everything to myself and manage every situation as best I can. Sleep deprivation and rough weather can make that incredibly tough.”
This will be Sarah’s second ocean row – in 2009 she became the first woman and youngest person to ever row solo across the Indian Ocean from Australia to Mauritius.
For more information about Sarah’s extraordinary challenge, visit www.sarahouten.com.
