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A 23-year-old British oarsman set two transatlantic solo
rowing records - then spent just a few hours on dry land
before setting off to sea again.
Oliver Hicks became the youngest person to
attempt any solo row.
He had been at sea nearly 124 days when he crossed the
Bishop's Rock lighthouse line of longitude finish - west of
the Isles of Scilly - at 10.56am yesterday.
And Mr Hicks, who set off from New Jersey, USA, on May 27,
became the first Briton to row from the USA to England when
he landed at Porthcressa Beach on St Mary's, Isles of
Scilly, at 1.43pm yesterday.
"He metaphorically kissed the soil and said he was glad to
be back," said his father Charles from a support boat. The
oarsman had a "decent meal", then spent a couple of hours
mending the rudder on his craft before setting off for
Falmouth, with 16-year-old brother Alexander for company. A
welcome is planned in the Cornish port tomorrow.
When he set out on his Virgin North Atlantic voyage, Mr
Hicks, from Thorpeness, Suffolk, hoped to better the current
62-day west-east record - but ended up making the slowest
record bid. In 1995, Frenchman Joseph le Guen took 103 days
to row from the USA to France - the slowest completed solo
crossing from the USA.
Another Frenchman, Maud Fontenoy, took 117 days to row the
Atlantic from Canada to France in 2003 - the slowest
completed west-east crossing of all.
Mr Hicks was hit by the least-helpful weather conditions in
the Atlantic for 100 years. "But the main thing is the
achievement - how long he took does not really matter," said
his father.
During the crossing, Mr Hicks was re-supplied by passing
Royal Navy warship HMS Cumberland when food was running low.
Fewer than 150 people have rowed the Atlantic - and only ten
have completed the west-east trip from Canada or the USA.
There have been 17 incomplete attempts, and three rowers
have been lost at sea [editor's
note: 5 oceanrowers have been lost at sea on the route
Atlantic W-E, 3 - from USA and 2 - from Canada], said
the Ocean Rowing Society.
Mr Hicks's Atlantic-class rowing boat is a self-contained
vessel capable of carrying two men and has made the crossing
twice already.
Up to now, the youngest person to cross the Atlantic was
29-year-old Emmanuel Coindre*
who made the trip in 2002. Mr Hicks used his voyage to raise
money for a charity which helps children worldwide who have
nowhere to live due to war or disaster. |
