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March 30,2001 |
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Lone
Briton conquers Pacific |
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Splashdown: Family and
reporters greet the oarsman |
After 274 days at sea, a
Briton who became the first person to row the Pacific unassisted
was forced to swim the last 30 metres when his boat capsized.
But the small disappointment was
surpassed by the feeling of triumph as Jim
Shekhdar waded ashore in Australia.
Mr Shekhdar, 54, from Leamington
Spa, has travelled more than 8,000 miles since leaving Peru on 29
June last year. |
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After
surviving encounters with sharks that tried to ram his vessel and
a tanker that almost sank him in its wake, his boat, Le
Shark,
flipped over in the surf.
But as the boat righted itself, he grabbed bold of a rope attached
to its stern and he was pulled by the tide towards the beach at
North Stradbroke island, off the eastern Australian port of
Brisbane.
About 30 metres from it, he let go of the rope and swam into the
arms of his wife, Jane.
"That boat is determined to get here before me," said
the drenched adventurer as he was surrounded by about 100 cheering
spectators. |
Surf break: Le Shark
tumbles to shore with Mr Shekhdar in tow
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"Now
I want a beer and a barbecue." |
Drenched Jim Shekhdar:
Where's the barbie? |
In the
past few days, his self-designed 10-metre boat has been battered
by high winds and rough seas.
But his difficulties began when he found he had forgotten his
tin-opener. Later, he ran out of cooking gas.
By the end of the
journey, his supplies of food had almost run out and he had lost
almost six stones in weight.
Mr Shekhdar planned
to set out from Chile last year, but was denied permission and
ordered to leave the country.
His boat was then
towed north to Peru from where he started his adventure. |
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Near-miss |
He said that although he had 10 encounters
with sharks, the near-miss with a tanker was the most frightening
incident.
"I was woken early in the morning by the sound of the engine and
when I looked out of the hatch, it apeared to be 50 metres away, coming
straight for me.
"When I next looked it was 10 metres away, passing me.
"I don't think he would have even felt the bump. I couldn't sleep
for a week after that."
"It was something that affected me more than anything else." |
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Jim
Shekhdar |
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Age: 54:
Height: 6ft 2in
Job:
Engineer/management consultant
Lives: Leamington
Spa
Family: Wife Jane
and daughters Sarah, 19, and Anna, 21
Rowed Atlantic
(3,013 miles) in 1997 with David Jackson
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Pacific
challenge |
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Left Peru: 29
June 2000
Distance:
Approx 8,000 miles
Boat: Le Shark
- steel keel, self-righting, fitted with wind generator
Arrived in
Australia: 30 March 2001
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Mr Shekhdar, who cancelled an
NHS hip replacement operation weeks before he left Britain,
rowed about 10 miles each day. Throughout the voyage he kept in
contact with his family and friends and the Ocean Rowing Society
via phone, faxes and e-mail, and he was continually monitored
using a tracking beacon. It
was a pleasant relief to be in human company again, he said.
"The first couple of months at sea were really good as it
was nice to have some solitude. But eventually it gets a bit
lonely out there."
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The challenge was not his first taste
of ocean voyaging - he rowed the Atlantic with fellow adventurer David
Jackson in 1997. In
addition to being the only Pacific Ocean crossing in a rowing boat
without assistance, Mr Shekhdar can also claim to be the quickest,
finishing 20 days faster than an assisted row by Englishman Peter
Bird in 1983.
Britain's record-breaking rower now plans to celebrate for a week and
says he is now planning his next adventure. |
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