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28 Jan, 15:04

Russian adventurer Konyukhov crosses into Eastern Hemisphere on solo rowboat

According to Konyukhov’s wife, her husband faced harsh conditions during the night, when winds reached 40-50 knots

NIZHNY NOVGOROD, January 28. /TASS/. Famous Russian adventurer Fyodor Konyukhov has made it into the Eastern Hemisphere after crossing the zero meridian during his solo rowboat voyage from the Drake Passage to Cape Leeuwin in Australia, his wife Irina told TASS.

"He has crossed the zero meridian. I was waiting for word from him; he warned me that he would cross it soon. He is happy to be in the Eastern Hemisphere, closer to Russia, closer to the hemisphere he knows best and loves," she said.

According to Konyukhov’s wife, her husband faced harsh conditions during the night, when winds reached 40-50 knots. "Now I have received a message from him that he is all right. We were praying for him all through the night. The waves were five meters high, very big," she added.

According to Irina, she stays in touch with her husband and now and then even speaks to him via video links. "He called to greet us on Christmas," she noted.

She recalled that Fyodor is to cover 8,000 nautical miles, with 3,000 miles already passed. "It looks like the journey will take less than 200 days - about 135 days," she added.

Konyukhov set out on a solo non-stop rowboat journey from an area off southern Argentina, 56 degrees south latitude. He is the first man ever to take a rowboat out in this area. The voyage to Australia will be the second phase of his round-the-globe journey across the Southern Ocean. Stage one took place in 2018-2019 when Konyukhov covered a distance of 11,000 kilometers in 153 days.

On his current voyage, he is using the same boat, the Akros, as he did during his previous expedition. The boat has been modernized, equipped with water-proof compartments for storing food and instruments, as well as for resting.