Duo Prepare To Race Across The Pacific To Raise Awareness Of Threats To The Ocean

In June of this year, the inaugural Great Pacific Race will get underway. That event will pit ocean rowers against one another in a competition to see who can cover the 2400 mile (3862 km) between Monterey, California, and Honolulu, Hawaii. That journey is expected to take anywhere from 30 to 90 days to complete, depending on the size of the team, weather conditions, boat design and so on. The GPR promises to be quite the event, and I look forward to following it this summer. 

One team that is taking part in the race has much bigger goals than simply just completing the journey to Hawaii however. The duo of Clément Heliot and Christophe Papillon, collectively known as CC4Pacific, are looking to raise awareness of the threats to the ocean, while also raising funds to help clean it up. 

At the ages 25 and 27 respectively, Clément and Christophe are the youngest team to enter the race. They also have no ocean rowing or sailing experience to speak of. But they are passionate adventurers who enjoy a challenge and exploring the world around them under their own power. In 2010, they rode their bikes across Europe, creating a documentary film as they went, and covering more than 4000 km (2485 miles) in just two months time. It was on that journey that a bond of friendship was formed, and the two cousins hatched the idea of rowing across an ocean.

Fast forward a few years, and they are now preparing to set off on the Great Pacific Race, which is scheduled to start on June 7. As part of their efforts to take part in the race, the CC4Pacific team is attempting to raise €50,000 (about $69,000), which they will donate to efforts to clean up the ocean. As most of you probably already know, the Pacific is filled with trash, much of it ending up in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. With those efforts in mind, they have launched a crowdsourcing campaign to help reach their goals. 

With the race still more than two months off, there is lot of work to be done for all of the teams involved. But June will be here before we know it, and this new adventure will be underway. It should certainly be fun to follow CC4Pacific and the other teams in the weeks ahead. 

You can follow Clément and Christophe on their website, Facebook and Twitter.

Pacific Ocean Row: Fedor Konyukhov Returning To Chile

It has been a rough week for some of the adventurers we've been following lately. Yesterday we learned that the Dark Ice Project has been cancelled, only to find out later that Pacific rower Fedor Konyukhov is returning to land as well. You may recall, a few days back he launched his attempt row solo across the Pacific, departing from Valparaise, Chile with the intention of crossing the ocean all the way to Brisbane, Australia. But four days in, he has suffered a set back is on his way back to shore.

According to a post on his website, Fedor suffered a failure of his solar charging system on Tuesday, with both of his onboard batteries running out of juice. Those batteries power a number of systems on  his custom built rowboat, and without the solar panel to recharge them, he would never have a chance of crossing the Pacific. His GPS devices, satellite phone and other electronics all require the batteries to function properly.

After he called for assistance, his support team back on land chartered a boat to go out to tow him in. He should be back in Chile today, as he had only made it about 40 miles from shore when he ran into trouble. According to his website, he has been using a manual satellite phone to stay in contact and has several handheld GPS devices to call in his coordinates. His team was en route on Wednesday, but so far there haven't been any updates on their progress. They do say the situation is under control and that Fedor is not in any danger.

Once back on shore, the entire electrical system will need to be examined and repaired before the Russian can attempt to set out again. How long that take remains to be seen. Considering the voyage was suppose to take more than six months, it's just a good thing he wasn't further out from shore when the malfunction occurred. Hopefully he'll be back rowing soon.

Russian Adventurer Begins Solo Row Across The Pacific

At the beginning of November I posted a story about Fedor Konyukhov, a Russian adventurer who was planning a solo, unsupported, non-stop row across the Pacific Ocean. At the time, he was still in the planning stages of the journey but had hoped to set off sometime in December. This past weekend he hit the water at last and now faces 8000 nautical miles (14,816 km) of open sea as he travels under his own power from Valparaise, Chile to Brisbane, Australia.

According to this update from ExWeb, the Pacific crossing should take Fedor roughly 200 days to complete. During the first stage of journey he'll have to navigate through a maze of lightly mapped islands and atolls, while on his arrival in Australia he'll have to negotiate the Great Barrier Reef. In between, he'll have thousands of miles of open sea that he'll have to row entirely on his own in what is set to be the longest ocean row ever.

Konyukhov's boat has been equipped with the latest in ocean rowing technology. Solar cells will power all of the onboard electronics such as GPS and satellite communications equipment. Desalinization pumps will turn salt water into drinking water for him, while an autopilot system will help ensure that he stays on course throughout the journey. The boat arrived in Chile several weeks back, and it has undergone extensive testing on the ocean prior to Fedor's departure on Saturday morning. It passed those tests with flying colors, so hopefully it'll now be up to the task ahead.

You'll be able to follow along with Fedor's progress on his website, which does offer an English version. He also has a blog and Facebook page, both of which are in Russian. If you don't read that language, you'll need to use Google Translate or something similar to understand what is being said.

Good luck to Fedor on this epic journey. Hopefully the sea is kind to him over the next 6+ months.

Video: The Red Bull Elements - A Relay Race Unlike Any Other

Yesterday I shared a video from the Red Bull X Alps race, which is a very unique event it in its own right. Today I have a video from the Red Bull Elements relay race, during which competitors complete in one of four multi-sport legs. In the first leg the racers row across a lake and then carry their boat to the finish line. That kicks off the second leg, which is a running stage with a mountain top finish. The next athlete in the even then paraglides off the summit to try to hit a target area below, which in turn starts the fourth and final leg, which is mountain biking up a tough trail. This looks like a really fun and demanding event. It can't be easy putting together a team as it would be difficult to find others with all of these skills. Still, great stuff from Red Bull.

Russian Adventurer Announces Non-Stop, Solo Pacific Row

Rowing across an ocean is an incredibly challenging endeavor. After all, it requires the rower to spend hours each day working the oars, often for weeks at a time. Isolated and alone, it takes dedication and determination to make a solo journey across a body of water that at times seems endless. There is a reason that fewer people have rowed across one of the Earth's oceans than have been in space. Quite simply, it is really tough to actually complete such a voyage.

That isn't stopping Russian adventurer Fedor Konyukhov from trying. According to ExWeb, Konyukhov intends to make a solo row across the Pacific, non-stop from Chile to Australia. Fedor believes that it will take him roughly 200 days to complete the crossing, which will cover approximately 8000 nautical miles (14,816 km).

The Russian, who is a polar skier, mountaineer, and sailor, says he'll set out on his Pacific crossing in December. Leaving from Valparaise, Chile, he'll first have to navigate through islands and atolls off the coast of South America, before he makes his way out into the deep ocean. As he approaches Brisbane, Australia, he'll encounter more islands and the massive Great Barrier Reef. In between, Fedor believes he'll have to dodge potentially nasty storms that could potentially bring an end to his voyage at any time.

In order to successfully complete this ocean crossing in 200 days, Konyukhov will need to average 40 nautical miles (74 km) per day. That doesn't sound like a lot, but considering the challenges he'll face out on the water, particular as the grind of rowing begins to take its toll, covering those distance can get extremely difficult. High winds and turbulent seas will work against him, even in the spring of the Southern Hemisphere when things are better than other times of the year. Hopefully he is well prepared for those difficult conditions, as he will be hundreds of miles away from rescue should anything go wrong.

Expect to hear more in a few weeks as Fedor gets closer to his departure.

4-Man Team Plans To Row From California To Hawaii Next Summer

A four-man team of rowers is gearing up for an ocean going adventure in the summer of 2014 when they hope to make a crossing of a portion of the Pacific Ocean, traveling from California to Hawaii over a five-week period and covering more than 2100 nautical miles (3889 km).

The team, which consists of Fraser Hart, Sam Collins, Colin Parker and James Wight, will be taking part in the first ever New Ocean Wave Great Pacific Race in which they hope to be the fastest team to row from Monterey, CA to Honolulu, HI. Calling themselves Team Pacific Rowers, they'll hit the water next June along with all the other entrants into the event, most of whom will row in shifts for 24-hours per day as they attempt to complete the ocean crossing.

The boys are currently looking for corporate sponsorship and are even holding a contest to name their boat as they gear up for the event next summer. With eight months to go until the race, I'm sure they're also busy training, getting their gear together and prepping for five weeks at sea.

I've written about the Great Pacific Race a time or two when it was first announced. Obviously it is still some time off, but I will certainly be covering it more fully next summer once the teams all gather in California and hit the water. There is a similar race held in the Atlantic each year (in fact, it begins in a little over a month) so it'll be interesting to see how this new event goes over.

London2London Via The World Update: Sarah To Make Landfall In Alaska Today

Sarah Outen's bid to complete an entirely human powered circumnavigation of the planet will reach another milestone today when she makes landfall in Alaska. For the past several days she has been rowing towards the Aleutian Islands where she will wrap up the current stage of her London2London expedition during which she has been paddling, rowing and cycling around the world.

As you may recall, Sarah has been rowing across the Northern Pacific for the past several months having set out from Japan this past spring. A few weeks back the decision was made to turn towards the Aleutians rather than to risk traveling all the way to Canada as originally planned. Bad weather, slower than expected progress and the onset of fall have all played a part in this decision and if all goes according to plan, she should reach remote Adak island sometime later today. A support team and a guide boat are already on hand to greet her and help her reach land safely.

This row across the Pacific is just the latest stage of the London2London adventure. Sarah first set out from London back on April 1, 2011 by first paddling her kayak under the Tower Bridge on the Thames River. From there she crossed the English Channel, made landfall in France and began riding her bike across Europe and Asia. In the spring of last year she set out in a rowboat from Chosi, Japan with the hopes of eventually reaching Canada. A few weeks into that stage of the journey a tropical storm hit hard, forcing Outen to abandon that attempt. This spring she returned to Japan with a new rowboat and started the crossing once again.

Once she reaches the Aleutian Islands, Sarah will take another break from her travels and wait for the calmer weather of spring to arrive. She'll then island hop in a kayak all the way to the Alaskan mainland where she'll get back on her bike and begin ridding across the U.S. and Canada. Eventually she'll return to the water however and attempt to row across the Northern Atlantic as she eventually returns to where she started back in London.

As of this writing, Sarah is still a few hours from reaching land. Everything is going according to plan however and while the weather is less than ideal, there is no reason to believe that she won't soon be safe and sound with her support team. After 150 days at sea, I'm sure she's more than ready to get off the water for awhile.

More updates as needed.

Roz Savage Launches Adventure Podcast

Just can't get enough adventure in your life? Want to learn more about what top adventurers are up to? Then you'll definitely want to checkout the new podcast from Roz Savage that just launched yesterday. Appropriately dubbed the Adventure Podcast, Roz will be producing weekly shows that will give her the opportunity to interview a host of different adventurers and give us the chance to find out what makes these men and women tick.

In the first episode, which is available on iTunes and online, Roz interviews Jason McKinley, a man who has run 55 marathons and is an Ironman Triathlete. In the interview, Jason talks about what motivates him, how he got started as an adventurer and much more. He also discusses his recent participation in the Great Britain Row during which he and a teammate rowed around the U.K. in record time. The 38-minute interview is a good one, with lots of good tips and inspiration for other aspiring adventurers.

The Adventure Podcast host brings plenty to the table in her own right. If you're not familiar with Roz's resume, she is an ocean rower and environmental activist who has crossed the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans solo and under her own power. In total, she has spent more than 500 days at sea, crossing more than 15,000 miles (24,000 km) in the process. Roz is a motivational speaker, a United Nations Climate Hero and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, as well as the Explorers Club. She has also been named a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and is listed as one of the Top 20 Great British Adventurers. On top of of all of that, she also happens to be just a very nice person.

The new podcast is off to a great start and there are plans for other adventurers to join Roz soon. Upcoming episodes will include Alastair Humphreys and Victoria Humphries. Subscribe to Roz's new show in your favorite podcast app and expect new episodes every Wednesday.

London2London Via The World: Sarah Changes Course, Heading To Alaska

It has been a couple of months since we last checked in with Sarah Outen, the British adventurer who is attempting to complete a self-powered circumnavigation of the globe. In my last update, Sarah had just returned to the water and was embarking on a row across the North Pacific from Japan to Canada. That leg of the journey was expected to cover 7500 nautical miles (13,890 km) and take months to complete. But earlier this week she announced a change in plans that will see her now make landfall ahead of schedule.

If you've been following Sarah's Pacific crossing you know that bad weather has hampered progress and in recent day she's had a difficult time covering any significant ground. Her slower than expected pace left her with the real possibility of being stuck in the North Pacific as the seasons begin to shift. Autumn and winter will bring all kind of challenges including more frequent storms and much colder temperatures. With that in mind, Sarah and her team have made the decision for her to turn north and head toward the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska. The plan now is to go ashore on one of those remote islands and than eventually island hop via kayak all the way to the mainland. Once there, she'll climb back aboard her trust bike and start cycling across North America before attempting to row the North Atlantic sometime down the line.

Sarah's circumnavigation attempt is called London2London via the World because she set out from that city on April 1, 2011 and it will eventually be her finish line as well. The journey began with a paddle down the Thames River and a crossing of the English Channel. After that it was onto the bike, with a ride covering some 11,000 miles (17,702 km) across Europe and Asia that eventually ended in Choshi, Japan. From there, Sarah returned to the ocean and began her row across the Pacific, but a tropical storm put a halt to the expedition, forcing her to temporarily abandon the attempt. That took place in the summer of 2012 and in the spring of this year she set off once again with the intention of finally reaching Canada. That doesn't seem likely now, which is why she has changed direction, but this slightly altered plan will still allow her to complete her goal of traveling around the globe completely under her own power.

As of today, Sarah still has 330 miles (611 km) to go before she reaches the Aleutian Islands. That means she could be out on the water for several weeks yet depending on the weather conditions. Once she actually arrives at the islands she'll need to find a safe place to land, which can be a bit tricky for any boat. After that, it seems likely she'll wait for spring to begin the kayaking portion of the Pacific crossing. By the time she wraps that up, I'm sure she'll be ready to get back on her bike.

Yukon River Row: From Whitehorse To Dawson City In A Rowboat

The Yukon River Quest is an annual canoe and kayaking endurance race that runs 440 miles (708 km)  from Whitehorse to Dawson City in the Yukon Province of Canada. Over the years the race has evolved into one of the better known endurance paddling events and for good reason. It is a difficult, demanding competition that pulls in paddlers from all over the world.

This year the race took place from June 26-30 with 49 teams completing the course during that period. But the fastest time for completing the course doesn't appear on the official leader board. That's because a two man rowing team took to the water a few hours before the official start of the race to see if they could cover the distance faster than the teams in their canoes and kayaks. You see, rowboats aren't officially allowed in the race and in order to test their speed, the team of Steve Price and Colin Angus had to unofficially enter the competition.

Rowing in a 16-foot long boat designed by Colin himself, the two men set out just after 2 AM on June 26. The hope was to set a new speed record for covering the distance between Whitehorse and Dawson City but that attempt came up just short. The two rowers completed their journey in 50 hours, 50 minutes, which is just shy of the 49 hours, 32 minute record set in 2008 by a six-man canoe. Strong headwinds on the infamous Lake Laberge probably kept them from officially setting a new mark, although they did put up some impressive stats none the less. For instance, Steve and Colin's time was the fourth fastest ever recorded and the second fastest for a two-person team. It was also the fastest time recorded the past five years and nearly five hours faster than the best time in this year's official Yukon Quest race. Unlike the teams officially entered into the race, they also finished without any type of support and did so without ever stepping ashore, something that has never been done before either.

Part of the reason that Steve and Colin made this journey down the Yukon River was to show what a good rowboat is capable of. These types of boats can be incredibly efficient out on the water and the two men feel that they are often overlooked as a mode of river transportation. Their efforts were certainly eye-opening at the YRQ where they clearly performed far better than anyone else in the event.

To read a full report of their adventure checkout this blogpost that has more details on what it was like to row the Yukon.

Two Teams Still Navigating The Northwest Passage

Yesterday I posted an update on the Last First expedition in which it was revealed that the team was pulling the plug on their attempt to row the Northwest Passage this summer. The four-man crew is en route to Cambridge Bay, which is a long way from their intended stopping point at Pond Inlet. Poor weather and an inefficient boat design resulted in slower than expected progress conspired against them to keep them from reaching their goal and within a few days, they should be off the water altogether. But it turns out that the Last First team isn't the only one paddling through the Passage this summer and while their journey may be coming to an end, there are two other teams who are pressing forward with their adventures even as the summer starts to wane.

First up, we have the team of Cam Webb and Matt McFadyen who have dubbed their journey the Beyond The Circle expedition. The two men set out in July from Inuvik in a small 17.5-foot (5.3 meter) rowboat that also happens to be equipped with a sail. This gives them the ability to harness the power of the wind when the can, allowing them to make better time in the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean. It hasn't exactly been a pleasure cruise for Cam and Matt so far but they seem to be enjoying their time out on the water and are making solid distances most days. They still have about half of their 2000-mile (3218 km) voyage to go, but they seem determined to see it through to the end. Watch for regular updates to their blog with more news and information on their progress.

The other Northwest Passage crossing attempt is by the Reve de Glace ("Ice Dreams") team, who are attempting to navigate the entire journey in a tandem sea kayak. If successful, they'll be the first to accomplish that feat in a single season. They set off from the village of Tuktoyaktuk in northern Canada and are paddling some 3500 km (2175 miles) to reach the tiny hamlet of Igloolik, which falls on one of the many waterways which gives entry into the Passage itself. The two men on this NW Passage attempt include Sébastien Lapierre and Olivier Giasson who hope to complete their journey in just 80 days. Find out more on their website, which is French but can be easily translated to get updates.

What is interesting is that all three of the teams, Last First, Beyond The Circle and Reve de Glace, are all roughly within the same area at the moment. The difference is that the Last First team is ready to go home, while the others will continue ahead. Hopefully the two teams that will continue on will stay safe and reach their destination as intended.

Many thanks to reader Steve Price for sharing these expeditions with me.

Rowing The Northewest Passage: The Last First Expedition Nears End

One of the adventures that we've been following this summer has been the Last First expedition, which is the attempt by four men to row the Northwest Passage from Inuvik to Pond Inlet. The team got underway back in July and had hoped to cover some 3000 km (1865 miles) along their route. Now, 70 days into the journey they're just hoping to hold on and make their way to an abbreviated finish line in Cambridge Bay. That end is in sight, but like all things have been with this expedition, the final few days won't be easy.

The team is made up of experienced adventurers who all have previous experience on difficult expeditions. The crew consists of Kevin Vallely, Paul Gleeson, Frank Wolf and Denis Barnett. They've been rowing a specially built 25-foot rowboat through the Arctic with the hope of reaching Pond Inlet for days, but they simply haven't been able to travel as fast and often as they would like. This summer has seen more ice in the Passage than was previously anticipated and frequent storms have often hindered their progress as well. As a result, there is no possible way for them to reach their intended destination before the season comes to an end.

With that in mind, they've pointed their rowboat towards Cambridge Bay and hope to reach it sometime in the next few days. But before they can row back to land they must first address another problem. The  team's fresh water supply has become contaminated with sea water and they must replenish it with some fresh water first. Today they will stay close to the shoreline while they search for a stream with which they can refill their water tank. If that can be quickly and easily taken care of, they will then proceed towards the end.

Judging from their latest blog entries I'd say the boys are ready to be done with their time in the Northwest Passage, even if it means they won't be completing their original objectives. It has been a difficult and demanding journey that has tested them in ways that they didn't expect. Progress has been painstakingly slow or nonexistent at times, which has been a constant source of frustration. If the weather holds and the seas cooperate, they should reach Cambridge Bay within the next 3-4 days, bringing an end to their row.

Rowing The Northwest Passage: Last First Team Struggle To Make Progress

It has been a few weeks since we checked in with the Last First crew. You may recall, they're the group of four rowers (Kevin Vallely, Paul Gleeson, Frank Wolf and Denis Barnett) who are attempting to cross through the Northwest Passage this summer. They set out from Inuvik in Canada a few weeks back and are now hoping to row more than 3000 km (1865 miles) through freezing waters choked with ice bergs and other obstacles to reach Pond Inlet. If successful, they'll be the first to row this route in a single season.

So far it has been anything but easy for the crew. Despite the fact that it is summer, the only time of the year that the Northwest Passage is open at all, the weather conditions have been poor with high winds making it difficult to make substantial progress. In fact, some of the days have been so rough that the team has manned the oars for hours just so they don't lose any ground. Throw in the constant threat of icebergs, which could trap their boat or even break its hull, and you begin to understand just how difficult this undertaking has been.

With the wind at their backs, the boys can make excellent time however, as evidenced just a few days ago. While rowing near Franklin Bay they managed to cover 120 km (74.5 miles) in a 24 hour period. That was more than double what they had done on their best day previously. They paid for it yesterday however when headwinds and shifting ice kept them pinned down for most of the day, seeking refuge from the weather as best they could. After scrambling for most of the day just to avoid being dashed against the shoreline, the crew learned that it is best if they wait out the poor weather rather than expending a lot of energy to go nowhere. How well that plan will work remains to be seen as they still have the bulk of their journey ahead of them and the summer is passing quickly.

You can follow their progress on the expedition's official website and Facebook page as it unfolds in the weeks ahead.

GB Row 2013 Update: New Records Set!

I'm still catching up on all of the news that went down in the world of adventure while I was off chasing dingos and wrestling crocodiles. (Okay, maybe I made that up!) One of the events that wrapped up while the blog was on hiatus was the amazing GB Row Challenge, which pits rowing teams against one another on a race around Great Britain. Thats a 2000-mile (3218 km) journey through some of the toughest, most demanding waters imaginable, making it one of the most challenging rowing events on the planet.

Back in early June, when the race actually began, there were six teams who set out to compete in the GB Row. Within a few days the field was whittled down to just two however with the four-man team of the Islanders and the two-man team of Savoir Faire soldiering on in some very difficult conditions. But both teams were able to complete the race and set individual records for their classifications in the process.

The Islanders managed to finish the entire row in an impressive 26 days, 9 hours and 9 minutes, which breaks the previous fastest time by 12 hours and and earned them a bonus of £100,000 (roughly $152,000). Not a bad payday although they certainly worked hard to get it. Team Savoir Faire, which is made up of rowers Jason McKinlay and Josh Tarr, also set a record for the two-man category, crossing the finish line in 41 days, 4 hours, 38 minutes. While that won't earn them a massive bonus like their compatriots, it has certainly won them a great deal of respect and admiration from the rowing community, especially when you consider that they spent a couple of days pinned down by the notoriously bad weather that is common in the British Isles this time of year.

Congratulations to both teams for not only completing the race but for setting new records in the process. Excellent work in a race that doesn't receive a lot of attention but is about as demanding as anything an athlete can undertake. Well done!

Thanks to Sylvia for sharing the update on the race and for cheering her friends Jason and Josh on all the way to the end! Check out their finish at London's Tower Bridge in the video below.

Rowing The Northwest Passage: The Last First Expedition Set To Get Underway

Way back in August of last year I wrote about a potential expedition that as set to take place this summer. The plan was for four adventurers to row across the Northwest Passage in a single season, something that has never been accomplished before. At the time, the expedition was still in the early planning stages with just a few details to be shared. Now, the team is en route to their starting position and will soon hit the water for a 3000 km (1865 mile) journey through some of the most challenging waters on the planet.

Dubbed the Last First Expedition, the plan is to set off from Inuvik in northernwest Canada and row to Pond Inlet in the northeastern part of that country. Along the way they team of rowers will make their way through incredibly cold waters strewn with icebergs and other hazards as they hope to complete their journey while also helping to raise awareness of the impact of climate change. It wasn't all that long ago that the Northwest Passage was accessible only by steel-hulled ships designed to slice through the ice. Now, it is freely navigable for several months of the year and while that window remains a narrow one, the fact that it is possible at all is a dramatic departure from what we've known in the past.

The four men making the journey include an experienced team of adventurers. They are led by Kevin Vallely who has skied to the South Pole, covered the length of the Iditarod trail on skis and raced in some of the toughest adventure races on the planet. He is joined by Paul Gleeson, who has rowed across the Atlantic and ridden his bike across Australia. Frank Wolf is an award-winning filmmaker who has traveled more than 2400 km (1491 miles) on foot, bike and pack raft through some of Canada's most remote wildernesses. Denis Barnett is the final member of the team and he has a background that involves rugby and sailing, but this will be his first major expedition.

As I write this, the team is now driving to Inuvik and should be there sometime in the next couple of days. Once there, they'll get their boat ready for the Passage and will set out in a matter of days. You'll be able to track their progress on the expedition's website as well as on Twitter and Facebook.


Introduction from Mainstream Last First on Vimeo.

GB Row Update: Then There Were Two

Remember last week when I wrote about the GB Row Challenge, a 2000-mile (3218 km) race around Great Britain in a rowboat? At the time I pondered the question of whether or not it could be the toughest rowing race in the world as the six teams that entered were just fully getting underway. Ahead of them were some considerable challenges, including swift and ever changing currents, unpredictable weather and incredibly rough seas. Add in the fact that these waters see some of the highest shipping traffic in the world, and you begin to understand what they rowers faced as they moved out of the Thames and into the ocean proper.

Fast forward a week and clearly those challenges have taken a toll. Four teams have now dropped from the race, leaving two teams to battle it out for the win, or to merely continue on to see if they can actually finish. Neither of those teams is on a record pace at the moment, but they are continuing to row as best they can under the current conditions.

The two teams that are still rowing include the four-man squad of the Islanders, who are currently out front and the two-man team of Savoir Faire. While obviously a two person team won't be able to keep up with a four-man boat that is capable of rowing 24-hours a day, each of them are just hoping to make it to the finish line and collect the winning check for their category. That would be worth £15,000 ($22,944) if they can manage to do it, but they still have a long way to go. As of this writing, the Islanders still have 835 nautical miles to go until they are done, while their competitors are facing 975 nautical miles before they can stop.

It remains to be seen whether or not these two remaining boats can continue to press forward. The majority of the teams that enter this race never finish as is evident by the high attrition rate once again this year. With miles of rough, open water to go, these rowers have a lot of physical and mental challenges yet to overcome and the second half of the race will be more of a grind than the first.

Thanks to Steve Price for sharing an update on this amazing and grueling event.

The GB Row Challenge: The Toughest Rowing Race On The Planet?

This past weekend one of the toughest rowing events on the planet, the GB Row Challenge, got underway at the Tower Bridge in London. It was from that point that seven teams set off on a 2000-mile long journey to circumnavigate the British Isles while rowing non-stop and unassisted. If history is any judge, most of them won't complete this journey, which is incredibly demanding both physically and psychologically.

The teams who have entered the race vary in size from as small as two crew members up to teams of six. Most are in traditional row boats designed for the challenges of open water, although one three man team is actually attempting to pedal a pedalo around the course. Some of the challenges they'll face will include rough seas, fast moving and ever-changing currents and unpredictable weather. They'll also have to navigate through some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, while fending off the fatigue that comes with rowing a boat day in and day out for an extended period of time. All the while they'll be in sight of land, which presents a strong lure to quit when things get particularly difficult.

Just how long it will take to complete the race remains to be seen. The current record for completing the circumnavigation of the islands is 26 days, 21 hours and 14 minutes. That record was set by a crew of four men back in 2005. The women's record was set in 2010 and currently stands at 51 days, 16 hours and 42 minutes.

The GB Row does offer a substantial prize package for the winners. First place in any category goes home with £15,000 ($22,944), while second place wins £6,000 ($9177) and third place gets £4,000 ($6118). Additionally, any team that breaks the world record for the course will also receive an additional £100,000 ($152,960).

Each of the boats is carrying a Yellowbrick tracker that updates their position every hour on the hour. You can follow their progress on the race tracker page. Considering they've only been out on the water a few days, there is still a long, long way to go until someone reaches the finish line back at the Tower Bridge.

Thanks to Sylvia for sharing news of this race with me. It is much appreciated! Sylvia's friends Jason McKinlay and Josh Tarr are competing in the event as Team Savoir Faire. Good luck guys!

Sarah Outen Re-Launches Pacific Crossing

Another milestone in the world of adventure that went relatively unnoticed on Sunday was Sarah Outen's return to the Pacific Ocean.  The British adventurer was finally able to relaunch her London2London Via the World expedition after having it halted due to storms last spring and delayed this year due to weather as well.

London2London is Sarah's attempt to circumnavigate the globe completely under her own power. The expedition began on April 1, 2011 when she set out down the River Thames in London, paddling a kayak into the English Channel and across that body of water to France. Once there, she hopped on her bike and started riding east, crossing Europe and Asia in the process. Last April she set out from Japan to row across the Northern Pacific, but a tropical storm rolled in, damaging her boat and forcing her to abandon the attempt. It has taken her a year to recover from that incident as she needed to find a new boat and launch her next Pacific crossing at the most opportune time.

Sarah returned to Japan in March but had to wait until weather conditions improved once again. She is now a few days into the journey and making solid progress thus far. The Pacific crossing is expected to take six months to complete.

Once she has reached Canada, Sarah will then return to her bike and cycle across parts of that country and the U.S. Once she completes that coast-to-coast journey, she'll return to her rowboat once again to cross the North Atlantic, returning to where she started back in London. That probably won't happen until sometime next year.

It's good to see that Sarah is back out on the ocean at last. We've always known that she is a tough and focused individual but her resiliency and dedication in the wake of the challenges that have come her way is certainly inspiring.

London2London Via The World: Sarah Outen Preparing To Resume Round-The-World Journey

Sarah Outen is preparing to resume her human powered attempt to circumnavigate the blog and is now simply waiting for a weather window to depart on the next leg of her journey. That leg will be a 7500-nautical mile (13,890 km) solo crossing of the Pacific Ocean that begins in Japan and ends in Canada.

As you may recall, Sarah began her journey on April 1 of 2011, embarking on an expedition that she called London2London via the World. After kayaking down the River Thames and paddling across the English Channel, she then proceeded to ride her bike across Europe and Asia, before making a short kayaking journey into Japan. She originally expected the L2L to take about 2.5 years to complete and upon arriving in Japan, it appeared that she was actually a bit ahead of schedule. That all changed when she started her Pacific Row last summer.

While out on the water, just a few days after departing, a tropical storm hit Sarah's position, damaging her boat and requiring the Japanese Coast Guard to come to her assistance. That incident was a setback that required Outen to regroup and find a new boat. It has taken until now for that to happen, and at long last she's ready to begin again.

Unfortunately the weather hasn't been all that cooperative thus far and it may be a few days before she can finally depart. Storms have been hitting the Japanese coast, making it impossible to launch right now. But Sarah is very patient and she'll wait for the right time to get underway. The forecasts indicate it could be the end of the week before she gets a few consecutively good days that will allow for the re-launch.

The Pacific crossing is expected to take about six months to complete and upon her arrival in Canada, Sarah will once again return to her bike for a scenic ride across North America. When she finishes that leg of the journey, she'll return to her boat once again and row across the Northern Atlantic, return home to London where the entire adventure began.

Good luck and godspeed Sarah. I hope you can get to pulling those rows again soon.

Solo Ocean Rower Sets New Atlantic Speed Record

Ocean rower Charlie Pitcher completed his solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean yesterday and achieved his goal of setting a new world record in the process. Pitcher set out from La Gomera, an island off the coast of Africa, last month and he arrived in Barbados in the Caribbean on Wednesday. Total time for the 2900-mile (4667 km) crossin? Just 35 days, 33 minutes. That shatters the old record by more than five days.

Pitcher attributes his great success to perfect timing for his start, great weather and the best possible equipment. His boat was custom built just for this voyage with a carbon fiber hull and a 100% green energy footprint. The 6.5-meter (21-foot) vessel featured state of the art desalinization systems and the ability to self-right following a capsizing. That happened twice during the crossing. The boat was also knocked down on four occasions as well.

Over the course of his 4+ weeks at sea, Pitcher actually managed to average more than 82 miles per day. That's a pretty impressive number for a solo rower. His goal was to become the first person to cross in under 40 days, and he managed to smash the old record, which was 40 days, 9 hours, 44 minutes.

Charlie used his Atlantic crossing to raise awareness and funds for two of his favorite charities, the Great Ormond Street Hospital and The C Group which is dedicated to helping British marines in need. Certainly two very worthy causes.

Congrats to Charlie on an amazing performance. Well done!