In 1990 John set up a world record
for the first ever recorded crew to row from London
to Paris in a whaler rowing boat. The picture of the
team of police officers training in their rowing
boat outside the Houses of Parliament during the day
the hurricane hit London became a legendary classic
picture for Life Magazine.
Atlantic Rowing Challenge
In 2004, inspired by press
reports of Atlantic rowers, John decided to
take on the hardest challenge of his life –
to row an ocean, with a fellow adventurer,
in a small two man rowing boat. He was at
sea - often rowing in fierce storms – for 67
days. During that time he relentlessly rowed
for two hours on and two hours off, never
resting for more than an hour and a half
throughout that period. They faced all that
the ocean could throw at them and it nearly
brought them to their knees.
Despite this, their determination saw them through
and they made it successfully from the Canary
Islands to Barbados – 3000 miles of rowing without
assistance. Remarkably they remained the best of
friends throughout. He still retains the record of
being the oldest Briton to row the Atlantic.
Click the play button to view footage
during the TransAtlantic Rowing Race below.
