Briton finishes first-ever solo row across the Pacific Ocean
Ontario-based John Beeden became the first person to complete a non-stop solo row across the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, finishing his journey from San Francisco to Cairns, Australia, in 209 days. To complete the 7,021-mile journey, Beeden, 53, had to average 15 hours of rowing a day; he set out on June 1, and was delayed by several weeks at sea due to bad weather.
Luckily, Beeden had experience in the open ocean: He rowed across the Atlantic just four years ago. His wife, Cheryl, commented to the BBC that, "I kind of think it's like childbirth because he says he's not going to get in another boat for a while — but I am sure in a couple of weeks he'll be having some other adventure, and I will have to restrain him a little bit."
Peter Bird attempted the same record in the Pacific in 1983, but had to be rescued by the Australian navy 294 days later.
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Speaking to The Globe and Mail, Beeden said the trip was "10, 15, 100 times harder than I thought it would be."
“Here at last!" he wrote in a blog post after arriving. "Just got back to the hotel and going to have a shower and a rest […] It will be great to not have to get up and row for 15 hours."
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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