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Land ahoy after Japan to Alaska record row
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A 28-year-old British adventurer became the first woman to row solo from Japan to Alaska, arriving late on Monday at a small town in the Aleutian Islands after 150 days at sea.
“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,” Sarah Outen said in a statement. “And it has been a privilege.”
Outen celebrated with a bottle of champagne in Adak, Alaska, and greeted community members and supporters, her first human contact in nearly five months, reported the Anchorage Daily News.
She left Choshi, Japan, on April 27 and covered 6,034 kilometers. It is part of her plan for a global trek by an ocean rowing shell, kayak and bike.
“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,” she said.
On Monday afternoon, Outen came within 800 meters of the Alaska shore before winds and currents started pushing her onto rocks. Her support team decided it was safer to tow her into Adak’s small harbor.
On the row, Outen battled dangerous seas, and her boat, “Happy Socks,” capsized five times. She also fought the psychological battle of being alone. In the last few days, she almost hit a ship after her radar failed, and battled cooling temperatures and increasing darkness.
She also tweeted about whiteout fog and exhaustion-induced hallucinations.
But for Outen, who has a biology degree from Oxford University, seeing wildlife made up for uncomfortable moments. She said the highlight was a shark circling as she rowed.
Along the way, Outen also got engaged to her longtime girlfriend back home during a satellite phone call.
Next spring, she plans to return to Adak with a teammate to continue with a kayak trip to mainland Alaska. She will then bike across North America before attempting a solo row to the United Kingdom.
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