VLADIVOSTOK, February 17. /ITAR-TASS/. World-famous Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov, who continues his solo voyage across the Pacific, has already covered 3,512 nautical miles.
On Sunday, the navigation system installed on his rowboat Turgoyak detected a fishing vessel 5 miles off his boat, but Konyukhov decided not to establish any radio contacts.
“It is better not to get in contact, as often having known that a rowboat is sailing across the ocean fishermen get closer to see. These are always tense moments for me,” he said.
The traveler also said by a satellite phone he had got burns by a jellyfish. It had been caught on a spoon lure, Fyodor took it out barehanded and got burns.
“It is not a mortal burn, but it is necessary to stay cautious. In the future I will clear the lure in gloves,” Konyukhov said, adding that there were many jellyfish around his boat, but no fish or birds.
Konyukhov said the previous day in the centre of the Pacific Ocean was ideal for him. There were wind of 10-15 knots, flat waves and the night without squalls and rain.
“I enjoy my rowing and the ocean. These very days stuck in memory and force me go into the ocean again and again,” he said, adding that he was in good spirits, but had already lost 5 kilograms. Fyodor is 178 cm tall and weighs 72-73 kilograms.
Konyukhov says at the moment his thoughts focus on how to sail between the islands in French Polynesia, the Marquesas Islands and the Tuamotus, as a corridor for maneuvering is too narrow, 150 miles. There is a risk for his rowboat to be thrown ashore by unfavourable winds.
The Russian traveler is set to cross the Pacific from continent to continent, from South America to Australia, in 200 days.
His voyage began on December 22, 2013, in Chile’s Concon. To get to Australia’s Brisbane, his final destination, Konyukhov’s Turgoyak has to cover 4,571 miles.