All news

Russian Pacific rower drifted 100 km north of Australia’s Brisbane latitude

Аccording to information from Fyodor the storm has subsided late on Saturday evening

VLADIVOSTOK, May 04 /ITAR-TASS/. Famous Russian traveller Fyodor Konyukhov’s rowboat Turgoyak has been drifted 100 kilometres north of latitude of the Australian port city of Brisbane by stormy winds in the Pacific. Fyodor set this city where more than two million people live as a final destination of his solo rowing across the Pacific from South America to Australia. For the last five days Turgoyak has been sailing westwards on Brisbane’s latitude, but then a strong storm broke out and Captain Konyukhov’s efforts were not enough to keep within the latitude of the city situated on the eastern coast of Australia.

The traveller’s press service noted that according to information from Fyodor the storm has subsided late on Saturday evening. “North-eastern winds are blowing, the rowboat is sailing westwards at the set course at a speed of 6-8 knots (11-14 kph), my mood is good,” the skipper said. “How little a person needs in the ocean, I am alive and healthy, survived the last night [in the storm], saw the Moon, the rain stopped, the day tends to be sunny, the air is crystal clear, and it seems to me that I am the happiest man,” he exclaimed.

But a sad piece of news has overshadowed this joyful report. A tiny swallow has been brought on board Turgoyak by winds in the last day. “Unfortunately, the swallow has died, it lived for less than a day on-board, but there was one more living soul on my boat for this day,” the ocean-rowing pilgrim said.

Fyodor also noted that his on-board radar had detected the signal from a ship last night, but the Turgoyak captain did not notice her though he was trying hard to see her. “The winds have brought the smell of diesel fuel from the ship which was over the horizon,” the traveller said, adding that “after so many days in the ocean the scent became so acute that you feel any smell which is not typical to the ocean.”

Konyukhov is on a solo rowing trip already for 132 days. He started from the Chilean port of Concon on December 22, 2013. Turgoyak boat named after a lake in Russian Urals’ Chelyabinsk Region has passed 8,126 miles in the Pacific so far. Fyodor is left to row 1,187 miles to Brisbane.