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Rowing the Pacific: 7,000 Miles from Japan to San Francisco
Storms, fatigue, equipment failure, intense hunger, and lack of water are just a few of the challenges that ocean rower Mick Dawson endured whilst attempting to complete one of the World's 'Last Great Firsts'.
In this nail-biting true story of man versus nature, former Royal Marine commando Dawson, a Guinness World Record-holder for ocean-rowing and high-seas adventurer takes on the Atlantic and ultimately the North Pacific.
It took Dawson three attempts and a back-breaking voyage of over six months to finally cross the mighty North Pacific for the first time. Dawson and his rowing partner Chris Martin spent 189 days, 10 hours and 55 minutes rowing around the clock, facing the destruction of their small boat and near-certain death every mile of the way, before finally reaching the iconic span of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.
Dawson's thrilling account of his epic adventure details how he and Chris propelled their fragile craft, stroke by stroke for thousands of miles across some of the most dangerous expanses of ocean, overcoming failure, personal tragedy and everything that nature could throw at him along the way.
In this nail-biting true story of man versus nature, former Royal Marine commando Dawson, a Guinness World Record-holder for ocean-rowing and high-seas adventurer takes on the Atlantic and ultimately the North Pacific.
It took Dawson three attempts and a back-breaking voyage of over six months to finally cross the mighty North Pacific for the first time. Dawson and his rowing partner Chris Martin spent 189 days, 10 hours and 55 minutes rowing around the clock, facing the destruction of their small boat and near-certain death every mile of the way, before finally reaching the iconic span of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.
Dawson's thrilling account of his epic adventure details how he and Chris propelled their fragile craft, stroke by stroke for thousands of miles across some of the most dangerous expanses of ocean, overcoming failure, personal tragedy and everything that nature could throw at him along the way.
289 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 21, 2017
6 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 4, 2022
The author sounded like one of the typical English fans sitting behind the net in the premier league. Yet, he managed to put a very good story here with some good lessons.
Crossing the ocean from Japan to San Francisco in more than 6 months is surely something hard to do. But this guy, a former navy member, had the will and the skills to do it. This is a modern way of crossing the oceans and traveling. I still think that old sailors and explorers had better stories to tell than modern explorers and adventurers. All the modern GPS, radios, and satellite phones take out a lot of the fun from the story. However, this was still an interesting tale of hardship and endurance.
Few passages from the book:
As I’d found out to my cost in the past, the right decisions are often the hardest ones to make.
In three years of living and working in Lagos, I can’t recall meeting one Nigerian who didn’t think tomorrow would be a better day. The Nigerians, many living in abject poverty, still faced the world with a smile and a positive attitude. It’s a lesson I’ve never forgotten.
The whole episode was a great lesson to me. It taught me that the energy surrounding any problem always comes from within. The dynamics of the problem never change, but your reaction to the problem dictates whether there’s positive or negative energy surrounding it.
I learned many things on the North Pacific, but no lesson was as clear and profound. Defeat or victory comes from within, from a mental approach. With our approach once more positive, victory was again possible.
Not a bad read
Crossing the ocean from Japan to San Francisco in more than 6 months is surely something hard to do. But this guy, a former navy member, had the will and the skills to do it. This is a modern way of crossing the oceans and traveling. I still think that old sailors and explorers had better stories to tell than modern explorers and adventurers. All the modern GPS, radios, and satellite phones take out a lot of the fun from the story. However, this was still an interesting tale of hardship and endurance.
Few passages from the book:
As I’d found out to my cost in the past, the right decisions are often the hardest ones to make.
In three years of living and working in Lagos, I can’t recall meeting one Nigerian who didn’t think tomorrow would be a better day. The Nigerians, many living in abject poverty, still faced the world with a smile and a positive attitude. It’s a lesson I’ve never forgotten.
The whole episode was a great lesson to me. It taught me that the energy surrounding any problem always comes from within. The dynamics of the problem never change, but your reaction to the problem dictates whether there’s positive or negative energy surrounding it.
I learned many things on the North Pacific, but no lesson was as clear and profound. Defeat or victory comes from within, from a mental approach. With our approach once more positive, victory was again possible.
Not a bad read
May 28, 2019
A great read for the armchair adventurer. From the safety of your comfy chair read about the perils of crossing the Pacific (and Atlantic) on a wooden rowing seat. I am certainly no armchair traveller as I am currently living and working in China, but I am an armchair adventurer. This was a great read and kudos to the men and women who get off their arses to do this sort of stuff. The world would be a boring enough place without them. A Good Read.
January 6, 2021
Such an incredible story, so hard to fathom the enormity of his experiences. I would love love love to see the documentary but I can't find it anywhere online :(
December 21, 2023
I love real life adventure stories and this is a good one. 5 stars for the achievement.
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May 25, 2018Was a very interesting and entertaining book to read!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews