Ocean rowing is the sport of rowing across oceans. Some ocean rowing boats can hold as many as fourteen rowers;"List of successful ocean rows by oceans, routes and categories" . oceanrowing.com. The Ocean Rowing Society International. Retrieved 8 January 2019. however, the most common ocean rowboats are designed for singles, doubles, and fours."Some facts in figures" . oceanrowing.com. The Ocean Rowing Society International. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
The history of ocean rowing is divided into two eras by the Ocean Rowing Society International, the official adjudicator of ocean rowing records for Guinness World Records. The first fourteen ocean rows, up to and including 1981, are considered historic ocean rows as they were completed with very limited, if any, modern technology. All subsequent rows are described as modern-day rows."Completed ocean rows in chronological order" . oceanrowing.com. The Ocean Rowing Society International. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
History The first ocean to be deliberately rowed across was the Atlantic by Frank Samuelsen and George Harbo, two Norwegian-born Americans, in June 1896. The pair left Battery Park, Manhattan, on 6 June 1896, arriving on the Isles of Scilly, 55 days and 13 hours later, having covered . They continued to row to Le Havre, France. No such crossing would be officially attempted again for 70 years' time, and, in a testament to the sport's inherent danger, the first to try to repeat the feat, again a two-man crew rowing the Atlantic from west to east, were lost at sea in 1966. However, that same year, John Ridgway and Chay Blyth successfully rowed across the Atlantic in 92 days.
The first solo crossing of an ocean was completed by John Fairfax of Britain on 19 July 1969. He rowed from Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands to Hollywood Beach, Florida in 180 days. In the same year Tom McClean, also of Britain, rowed from Newfoundland, Canada arriving in Blacksod Bay, Ireland on 27 July 1969. Despite having left almost four months after Fairfax, he came within 8 days of beating Fairfax to the title of first solo rower of any ocean.
In 1974, Derek Paul King and Peter Bird rowed across the Atlantic Ocean from Gibraltar to St. Lucia in Britannia II - the boat designed by Uffa Fox and first rowed by John Fairfax and Sylvia Cook across the Pacific Ocean in 1971/72.
Kathleen and Curtis Saville were the first people born in America to row across the Atlantic Ocean from Casablanca to Antigua in 1981 and Kathleen was the first woman to row the North Atlantic Ocean.
In 2023, Finnish firefighter Jari Saario became the second human ever to row across Atlantic Ocean twice. He started his first row from Gran Canaria, Canary Islands to Antigua at 23 January 2023 and arrived at Antigua on 28 March 2023. He started his second row from St. Johns, Canada at 22 June 2023 and ended his rowing tour at Cuxhaven, Germany 10 October 2023.
Kenneth Crutchlow, the founder of ORSI, was the major contributor to popularizing ocean rowing.
Atlantic crossings Amyr Klink was the first person to row across the South Atlantic, leaving from Lüderitz, Namibia on 9 June 1984 and arriving 101 days later in Salvador, Brazil on 18 September 1984.
In September 1987, Don Allum became the first to row the Atlantic in both directions, having successfully completed a 77-day solo journey from Newfoundland, Canada to Achill Island, Ireland and having previously rowed from Gran Canaria to Barbados in 1971 with his cousin Geoff Allum, in 73 days.
One man holds the world record for both the fastest solo boat to cross the Atlantic and the fastest duo - Dutch Mark Slats crossed the Atlantic Ocean solo in only 30 days, seven hours and 49 minutes in 2017 in a Rannoch R15 ocean rowing boat called Peanuts. Mark rowed the Atlantic again in 2020 with a fellow Dutchman Kai Weedmer. The duo were first to arrive in Antigua beating all 3, 4 and 5 man crews participating in the Atlantic Challenge and broke the record for the fastest pair to row across the Atlantic Ocean taking just 32 days, 22 hours, 13 minutes. Their boat 'Maria' a D12 from The Ocean Rowing Company was built by Mark Slats himself.
The world record for the fastest four-man crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a rowing boat is held by team The Four Oarsmen. During the Talisker Whisky Atlantic challenge they rowed 4,722 km (2,554 nautical miles) from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua aboard a Rannoch R45 boat named Aegir, arriving on 12 January 2018. They rowed the Atlantic Ocean Trade Winds I route (open-class category) in 29 days and 15 hours. The four man team consisted of close friends (Stuart Watts, Peter Robinson, Richard Taylor and George Biggar – all from the United Kingdom). Aegir is the fastest rowing boat to cross any ocean, at an average speed of 3.589 knots, beating the previous record held by Sara G since 2011.
The fastest rowing record to cross the Atlantic Ocean by a female crew was created by Chinese women Cloris Chen Yuli, Amber Li Xiaobing, Tina Liang Mintian and Sarah Meng Yajie at the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge 2017, rowing a Rannoch R45 Jasmine 2. Arriving on 18 January 2018, they rowed from La Gomera to Antigua in 34 days, 13 hours, 13 minutes, shattering the previous record of 40 days, 8 hours, 26 minutes set two years ago by a British team. Their team Kung Fu Cha Cha was the first team from Asia to row across the Atlantic Ocean. With an average age of 23.5, the four students from Shantou University became the youngest team ever to row across the Atlantic. Before attending university, they had no experience in ocean rowing.
The fastest Atlantic crossing by a female crew of three was 42 days, 7 hours, 17 minutes between 12 December 2021 and 23 January 2022 over the Canaries to Antigua course, achieved by English crew Kat Cordiner, Charlotte Irving and Abby Johnston rowing Rannoch R45 Dolly Parton.
An eleven-man French crew aboard La Mondiale set the record for the fastest row from Santa Cruz de La Palma to Martinique, in 1992 at 35 days, 8 hours, and 30 minutes.
On 3 December 1999, Tori Murden of the United States became the first woman to row any ocean solo when she arrived in Guadeloupe, having set off from Tenerife in the Canary Islands 81 days earlier. In March 2006, Julie Wafaei of Canada became the first woman to row across the Atlantic from mainland to mainland.Ocean Rowing Angus Adventures
On 10 July 2005, the Vivaldi Atlantic four-man team (Nigel Morris, George Rock, Steve Dawson, Rob Munslow) set the record for fastest unsupported row from St John's, Newfoundland to the longitude of Bishop Rock lighthouse, United Kingdom. They left on 31 May 2005, arriving back on 10 July 2005 in a time of 39 days 22 hours and 10 minutes setting a Guinness World Record. The Vivaldi Atlantic four also became the first four-man team ever to row the North Atlantic west to east.
The fastest unsupported row from the United States to England was set in 2005 by The Ocean Fours (NL) (Gijs Groeneveld, Robert Hoeve, Jaap Koomen, Maarten Staarink) with the Vopak Victory. They left New York on 27 May and crossed the Bishops Rock longitude 60 days, 16 hours, and 19 minutes later. This record was beaten by Leven Brown and his crew in 2010. Their boat Artemis Investments left New York on 17 June 2010 and arrived in St Mary's on 31 July 2010 in a time of 43 days 21 hours 26 mins and 48 seconds. This has remained the record to date for the longer and original North Atlantic route. During their voyage they were capsized twice in storms.
Frenchman Charles Hedrich set the record for the fastest solo Atlantic crossing in 2007, from Dakar to Brazil in 36 days and 6 hours. Charles Hedrich is also the first man to complete a double Atlantic crossing nonstop, rowing solo and unassisted. Leaving from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, his path took him eastward across the North Atlantic to the Canary Islands, and then westward back to Martinique. The expedition lasted 145 days and 22 hours, ending on 1 December 2012.
On 14 June 2007, Bhavik Gandhi became the first Asian to row the Atlantic solo, nonstop and unsupported from Spain to Antigua. The trip, lasting 106 days, also set the record for the longest solo row across the Atlantic Ocean.Ocean Rowing statistics Accessed: 4 April 2012
A fourteen-man British and Irish crew skippered by Leven Brown aboard La Mondiale set a new world record crossing the mid-Atlantic from east-to-west, Gran Canaria to Barbados, of 33 days, 7 hours, and 30 minutes from 15 December 2007, to 17 January 2008.
In 2010, Katie Spotz of the United States rowed solo mainland-to-mainland Dakar, Senegal–Georgetown, Guyana, in 70 days. At 22 years and 260 days old, she held the record as the youngest person to row solo across an ocean until 2018 when American Oliver Crane crossed the Atlantic solo at 19 years and 148 days old.
The record for the fastest crossing from Africa to the West Indies was set in 2011 by a six-man crew aboard Sara G (Matt Craughwell, Fiann Paul, Tomas Cremona, Adam Burke, Rob Byrne and Graham Carlin), with a crossing time of 33 days 21 hours and 46 minutes from Morocco to the West Indies. Sara G travelled at an average speed of 3.386 knots and the highest total number of days rowed above 100 miles per day (16 days). The Atlantic speed record was the first of four speed records earning Fiann Paul the Guinness World Record of "The first person to hold current speed records on four oceans" in 2017.
From 10 October 2011 to 11 March 2012, Erden Eruç set the record for the longest distance rowed across the Atlantic, solo and nonstop, crossing from Lüderitz, Namibia to Güiria, Venezuela along a route of in days.
Gerard Marie of France set the record as the oldest solo ocean rower in 2015 at 66 years 323 days old, while Diana Hoff of the United Kingdom set the record as the oldest female solo ocean rower in 2000 at 55 years 135 days old. Dianne Carrington and Peter Smith, both of the United Kingdom, hold the records for the oldest female and male ocean rowers among rowing teams at 61 years 349 days (2018) and 74 years 217 days (2016), respectively.
In 2018, Bryce Carlson of the United States set the record for the fastest solo crossing of the North Atlantic Ocean in a Rannoch R10 boat from St John's, Newfoundland, Canada to St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, England, the first American to complete a North Atlantic crossing, aboard the custom built boat Lucille. The journey of set a record crossing time of 38 days, 6 hours and 49 minutes from 27 June to 4 August 2018, at an average speed of .
In 2020, Anna and Cameron Mclean became the world's first brother and sister team to row any ocean. They achieved this by rowing across the Atlantic Ocean in 43 days, 15 hours and 22 minutes.
In February 2021, 21-year-old Jasmine Harrison of Thirsk, North Yorkshire became the youngest woman ever to row across the Atlantic Ocean. Harrison rowed from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua in the West Indies in 70 days, three hours and 48 minutes.
The fastest team of eight to row across the Atlantic on the Trade Winds 1 route was achieved by Simon Chalk, Paul Williams, Matthew Inglesby, Matthew Mason, James Prior, Oliver Waite, Gavin Emmerson (all UK) and Yaacov Mutnikas (Lithuania) who rowed a distance of (4808 km) 2569 nautical miles from Puerto Mogan, Gran Canaria to Port St. Charles, Barbados at an average speed of 3.29 knots between 10 February and 15 March 2014.
The oldest male pair to row any ocean is David Murray and Guy Rigby from The UK. They left La Gomera and on 12 December 2021 and arrived in Antigua 53 days 3 hours and 42 minutes. With a combined age of 124 Years and 301 days.