Rowing The Indian Ocean: 75 Days Out for Sarah!

solo row
It’s been awhile since I checked in on Sarah Outen the 24-year old U.K. woman who is attempting to become the youngest, and possibly the fastest, person to ever row solo across the Indian Ocean. Sarah has now spent more than 75 days out on the water, and continues chugging along like a machine.

The latest entries into Sarah’s blog keep us up to date with what’s been happening in her world, which mainly consists of long days at the oars, surrounded by nothing more than a big sky over head and ocean water as far as the eyes can see. Yesterday, that unbroken horizon of waves actually brought Sarah her first signs of life in many weeks, as for the first time since about a week after she set out, she encountered another boat in the form a large cargo ship heading in the opposite direction. Our intrepid rower stopped to wave hello and acknowledge the larger vessel, which was kind enough to stay out her way, but there was no indication that anyone on board saw her and they did not acknowledge her on the radio either.

It hasn’t been all sun and fun for Sarah however. She had spent the better part of the past week rowing to not lose ground, but still managed to have negative drift push her eastward for several days. Big storms in the Indian Ocean were causing issues all over the place, and the winds and surf were not working in Sarah’s favor. Happily, those poor conditions seem to be behind her now, and she is once again making forward progress.

When she set out, Sarah estimated that it would take roughly 100 days to cross the ocean from Australia to Mauritius, covering 3100 miles in the process. However, checking her progress on her tracker it seems that she still has a very long way to go, and it seems unlikely that she’ll reach her destination in the next 25 days. Still, I know she’s going to keep plugging away, and she’ll give it everything she’s got.

Kraig Becker

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