Solo Rowing Mission Around the World

Oliver Hicks, 27 year old British adventure, pushes off this week from Wellington, New Zealand in an attempt to complete the first ever solo circumnavigation of the world by row boat. The journey will cover a distance of over 15,000 miles with Oliver expecting a return to New Zealand sometime in the next 12 – 18 months. The creator of the row boat, Global Boat Works, tells us the craft “has to be able to carry sufficient supplies for 10 months duration, as well as being able to withstand some of the world’s worst weather and yet remain light enough to be rowed by one man.”

Alone at sea, Oliver Hicks will have plenty of time to contemplate an old mariner’s saying as he attempts to become the first person ever to row around the world. “Below 40 degrees latitude there is no law; below 50 degrees there is no God.”

That means, whatever misfortune might befall the solo rower and his 24ft-long boat, there is no one to come to his aid. Not even prayer will help. On his journey across the Pacific and the Southern Ocean, the 27-year-old adventurer can expect, as a minimum, piercing cold, hurricane-force winds, 30ft-high swells and plenty of growlers – icebergs too small to show up on his tiny radar set. timesonline.co.uk

Official Website: www.virginglobalrow.com

Facebook Page: facebook.com/pages/Virgin-Global-Row

Sound familiar?  Check out our article on Roz Savage and her voyage from San Francisco to Australia HERE

Updated: January 13, 2011 (Originally published December 24, 2008)

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