British adventurer, Sarah Outen, arrived in Adak in the Aleutian Islands on Sept. 23, 2013, becoming the first person to ever row solo, west to east, from Japan to Alaska — a voyage of 3,750 nautical miles. The row marks the halfway mark of her wider goal. She is engaged on a worldwide circumnavigation called London2London that includes rowing, cycling, hiking, and kayaking.
Outen departed Choshi, Japan, on April 27, 2013, and made landfall on Adak Island 150 days later.
On arriving in Adak. Outen said, “I have had some of the most intense and memorable months of my life out on the Pacific — it has been brilliant and brutal at the same time. And it has been a privilege. But I have pushed myself to my absolute limits both physically and mentally to make land here in Alaska, and body and mind are now exhausted.”
Outen’s 150-day voyage has been a difficult one. As a result of storms she was confined to her cabin for days at a time and her boat capsized five times. As she moved north, cold weather, swift currents, and poor visibility became added challenges.
 |
|
Outen’s London2London expedition is a circumnavigation that includes cycling, rowing, hiking, and kayaking. |
|
Outen rowed west to east covering 3,750 nm from Japan to Alaska. |
Hardly a newcomer to ocean rowing, Outen rowed solo across the Indian Ocean from Australia to Mauritius in 2009. In total she has spent more than 310 days rowing alone on ocean crossings.
Before crossing the Pacific, Outen kayaked and cycled 11,000 miles from London to Japan.
The next leg of Outen’s journey will commence in the Spring of 2014. She will return to the Aleutian Islands and kayak to mainland Alaska. From Alaska she will cycle across North America and finish with a solo row across the Atlantic finishing in the U.K. in 2015.
