VLADIVOSTOK, January 02, 22:40 /ITAR-TASS/. Russian traveller Fyodor Konyukhov, who is crossing the Pacific Ocean solo in a row boat, has covered the first 500 miles on the way from Chile to Australia despite headwind and stormy seas.

The boat has caught fair trade winds and made more than 100 miles every 24 hours over the past five days, Konyukhov’s press service said on Thursday, January 2.

There is still more than 6,000 miles and at least eight months to go to Australia.

Recalling his New Year celebration, Konyukhov said, “I wanted to drink some wine, but just ten minutes before the midnight the navigation system detected a tanker straight ahead. So I had to put off my celebration and negotiate my way to avoid the vessel that eventually passed three miles away.”

“I row a couple of hours and then rest for half an hour or an hour with an alarm clock. So I get five to six hours of sleep a day, but I recover faster than in Moscow: there is more oxygen in the ocean air,” the traveller said.

He sailed off from Chile on December 22, 2013. The London-based Ocean Rowing Society International said that if successful Konyukhov would be the ninth person in the world to row the Pacific solo and the second person to row the South Pacific solo.

Konyukhov hopes to get from Chile to Australia in 200 days.