Sarah Outen facts for kids
Self portrait taken on the Indian Ocean voyage, 2009
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British |
| Born | 26 May 1985 England, United Kingdom |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Rowing, Cycling, Kayaking |
| College team | Stamford High School, St Hugh's College, Oxford |
Sarah Dilys Outen (born May 26, 1985) is a British athlete and adventurer. She is also a motivational speaker who shares her amazing stories. Sarah was the first woman and the youngest person to row alone across the Indian Ocean. She also rowed solo across the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Alaska. On November 3, 2015, she finished a journey around the world. She completed most of it using her own power, by rowing a boat, cycling, and kayaking.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Sarah Outen went to Stamford High School, Lincolnshire. Later, she studied Biology at St Hugh's College, Oxford. This is where she started rowing in 2004.
Amazing Adventures
Rowing the Indian Ocean Solo
Sarah Outen tried to row across the Indian Ocean once before. That first try lasted eleven days and she called it her 'Warm Up Lap'. She started her main journey from Fremantle, Western Australia, on April 1, 2009. Her 19-foot boat was named Serendipity.
Sarah rowed for 124 days, 14 hours, and 9 minutes. She arrived at Bois des Amourettes, on the island of Mauritius, on August 3, 2009. She was the first woman to try this crossing alone. She was also only the fourth person ever to complete a solo crossing. Sarah was the youngest person and the first woman to row alone across the Indian Ocean.
Her journey helped raise over £30,000 for two charities. These were Arthritis Care and Arthritis Research Campaign. She dedicated her crossing to her father, who passed away in 2006. After her trip, she became a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. She also earned three Guinness World Records for her incredible crossing.
London2London: Around the World
On April 1, 2011, Sarah Outen began a huge expedition. It was called "London2London: Via the World". This trip was mostly solo and went all the way around the planet. It included the first attempt by a woman to row across the north Pacific Ocean. She rowed, cycled, and kayaked eastward from London. She shared stories about her adventures as she went. This 20,000-mile (32,000 km) journey was planned to take about 2.5 years.
During her expedition, she cycled across Europe and Asia. Then she rowed across the north Pacific. After that, she cycled across parts of the United States and Canada to Cape Cod. Finally, she planned to row across the North Atlantic back to the UK.
In the spring of 2012, Sarah faced a big challenge. Her boat, Gulliver, was damaged in a storm during her first Pacific attempt. She had to be rescued. After several months of recovery, she started again from Japan. Her new seven-meter boat was called Happy Socks. By June 19, 2013, she had rowed 1097 nautical miles across the Pacific. She used a satellite phone to share updates from her boat.
On September 23, 2013, Sarah made history. After 150 days and 3,750 miles at sea, she became the first woman to row solo from Japan to Alaska. She was also the first woman to complete a mid-Pacific row from West to East. She arrived at Adak Island in the Aleutian Islands. She rowed very close to the rocky coast before being towed through a channel. Sarah had planned to go to Canada. However, strong currents and bad weather made her change course for Alaska.
In May 2014, she returned to Adak. She then kayaked 2500 km along the Aleutian island chain and Alaskan Peninsula. She did this with Justine Curgenven, reaching the nearest road in Homer. No one else is known to have completed this journey in modern times. It involved many long crossings in unknown waters with strong currents. This part of the trip took 101 days. From Homer, she got back on her bike. She cycled through the winter to the East coast of America.
In September 2014, she crossed into Canada. She arrived in New York on March 12, 2015. She left Cape Cod on May 14. On July 5, she reported that a wave had torn off her rowboat's rudder. On October 6, after 143 days at sea, she faced Hurricane Joaquin. She had to stop her Atlantic crossing.
Sarah completed her incredible journey at Tower Bridge in London on November 3, 2015.
Awards and Recognition
Sarah was made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in 2009. This was after her successful Indian Ocean crossing. She was also appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2011. This honor was for her contributions to rowing, conservation, and charity.
In 2016, the University of Leicester gave her an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
Books by Sarah
Her first book is called A Dip in the Ocean: Rowing Solo Across The Indian Ocean. It was published on February 7, 2011.
Her second book, Dare to Do: Taking on the planet by bike and boat, tells the story of her London2London expedition. It was published on November 1, 2016.
Personal Life
During her crossing of the North Pacific Ocean, Sarah was joined by her partner, Lucy. Lucy later joined Sarah for part of her cycle across North America. Sarah and Lucy live in Oxfordshire.
