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!