John Beeden Canadian rower born in Britain Country: Great Britain

Content:

1. John Beeden: A Record-Breaking Trans-Pacific Rower
2. A Grueling Adventure
3. Predecessors and Rival Attempts
4. A Family's Pride

John Beeden: A Record-Breaking Trans-Pacific Rower

A British-Born Canadian's Historic Row

John Beeden, a Canadian rower originally from Britain, made history by becoming the fastest person to row solo across the Pacific Ocean. At the age of 53, Beeden embarked on his journey from San Francisco on June 1, 2015, averaging 15 hours of rowing per day. He expected to reach Cairns, Queensland, Australia, within a few weeks, but severe weather conditions slowed his progress.

A Grueling Adventure

Beeden, who had previously rowed across the Atlantic Ocean in 2011, admitted to facing times during his latest adventure where he considered giving up. "To be the first person to achieve something this magnitude is incredible really. I still haven't processed it," said Beeden, who now lives in Canada but hails from the northern English city of Sheffield. He also expressed gratitude to the people of Cairns for their "brilliant reception" after his 209 days at sea.

Predecessors and Rival Attempts

The first person to complete a solo trans-Pacific rowing expedition was Peter Bird. In 1983, Bird, like Beeden, departed from San Francisco. He beached himself on the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef, before being rescued by the Australian Navy. Bird had rowed 9,000 miles in 294 days.

There have been approximately nine other successful trans-Pacific rowing attempts to date. Some adventurers rowed in stages, while others departed from South America rather than North America, as Beeden did. John Fairfax and Sylvia Cook conquered the Pacific Ocean in 1971-72, setting off from San Francisco and reaching Hayman Island, Australia. Fairfax and Cook were the first people to row across the Atlantic Ocean together, while Cook became the first woman to row across any ocean.

A Family's Pride

Beeden's wife, Cheryl, said: "My husband is an amazing human being. He's not like anyone else I've known. He's willing to go the extra mile when everyone else would have an off day... Rowing is his thing."

"I never doubted for a minute that he would do it. It's taken a lot longer than we expected, but I'm just glad to have John home safe."

Cheryl added: "Right now, he's saying he doesn't want to do any more expeditions for a long time. But I'm sure in a couple of weeks he'll come up with some grand idea, and I'll have to talk him down."

Record holders (unusual records)

Gil Azevedo	Verdun Hayes	Joy Trussler
Salustiano (Shorty) Sanchez-Blazquez	Fu Suqing	Carson Huey-You