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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

Have you ever wanted to row across an ocean? If so, you'll definitely want to read this post. 

Earlier today, adventurer Alastair Humphreys, who rowed across the Atlantic last year,  posted a call for a crew to row across the Pacific next year. Alastair, who says rowing one ocean was enough for him, has shared a message from Philip Cavanagh who is looking to put together a team to compete in the Pacific Ocean Rowing Race that is scheduled to take place between California and Hawaii in 2014.

The note reads as follows:

Philip will be participating in the first Pacific Ocean row in June 2014, and is looking for crewmates. The race is a 2,100 nautical mile row from California to Hawaii, and the boat will be powered by human strength alone. Everything needed for the row will be onboard, and the crew will receive no assistance during the race. 

To join the crew, you do not need rowing experience! All we want is a sense of adventure, a desire to succeed and the will to do something extraordinary! 

The shift pattern will be a demanding 2 hours on 2 hours off for the duration of the race. (Which means you’ll be able to sleep 50% of the time… glass half full!)
If you’d like to express an interest, or would like more information, contact Philip at Philip.cavanagh3@gmail.com

 So there you go. If you're looking for a big adventure next year and rowing across a giant body of water sounds like something you'd like to try, then drop Phillip a note and find out more of the details. This could be a fantastic opportunity for the right person.

In April of 2011, British adventurer Sarah Outen set out to circle the globe using only her own power. The plan was to row, bike and paddle her way around the planet. Sarah, who had already rowed solo across the Indian Ocean, had intended for the journey to take approximately 2.5 years to complete and she was well on track to achieve that goal, having paddled across the English Channel and ridden her bike across Europe and Asia. But last year she was hit by a hurricane while attempting to cross the North Pacific and the expedition has been stalled out since. In April of this year, she'll head back to Japan and start the Pacific crossing once again.

Yesterday Sarah released this excellent video to remind us of her journey so far. She is far from done, but Chapter 1 sure looks like it was an amazing experience.

Earlier in the year I ran a series of videos that were told the story of a team of rowers who navigated the length of the Mississippi River in a 32-foot, handmade York boat. That project was led by Brett Rogers, who had previously spent 100 days on Canada's Yukon River as well. Now, Brett is off on yet another river adventure, this time exploring the mystical and legendary Ganges River in India.

At 2525 km (1569 miles) in length, the Ganges is the longest river in India and the most densely populated in the world. Starting in the Himalaya and flowing southward to the Bay of Bengal, the Ganges is second only to the Amazon in terms of water output. It is listed amongst the most polluted waterways in the world as well, which is startling considering the number of people that live along its banks. Perhaps most importantly of all however is its significance to the Hindu religion, which sees the river as the embodiment of the goddess Ganga, providing them with their daily needs.

Brett and his three man crew, which consists of Matt Telford, Cliff Quinn and Doug Copping, arrived in India a few days back and they have been preparing to embark on their ten-day journey ever since. The team has been posting updates, including some fantastic photos, to Brett's blog over the past few days and are now getting close to launching their boat. They anticipate getting underway on Friday and documenting the expedition as they go. Follow Brett on Twitter to get news of their progress.

Judging from his past work, the real treat will likely come when Brett produces videos of this journey. His "Old Man River" series about the Mississippi were fantastic, with beautiful imagery and a compelling story. I suspect we'll eventually see something similar about the Ganges, but we'll just have to wait for the post-expedition updates to arrive. For now though, it should be fun to follow along with the journey and learn more about this amazing part of the world.

A four-woman rowing team is gearing up to take on the Pacific Ocean next summer. The crew, which consists of Annabel Hancock, Laura Penhaul, Becky Scott and Wendy Hilton, intend to set out on their three-stage crossing next June, departing from San Francisco on what is expected to be a six month long, 8500+ mile (13,680 km) journey.

The Coxless Rowers will spend their first 50 days out on the water by rowing from their launching point to the Hawaiian Islands, covering more than 3000 miles (4828 km) in the process. Following the completion of that stage, they'll move on to the second, 2600+ mile (4185 km), 60 day row that begins in Hawaii and ends in Samoa. Finally, they'll wrap things up with a third leg that well cover some 2810 miles (4522 km) between Samoa and Cairns, Australia.

The ladies are hoping to become the first all female team of four to row across the Pacific. As we all know, Roz Savage did it solo a few years back, but in her case she rowed one stage per year over the course of three years. The Coxless Rowers are hoping to push straight on through, manning the oars in two-hour shifts, 24-hours per day while out on the ocean.

At the moment, the team is focused on their training and getting their new boat read for the sea. They hope to take possession of that boat sometime in December and begin testing it out on the water in January after it has been completely outfitted. That should give them plenty of time to be ready for their June 2013 launch.

Follow their progress on their website, Facebook page and Twitter feed.