Completely Mad: Tom McClean, John Fairfax, and the Epic Race to Row Solo Across the Atlantic

by James R. Hansen

From the New York Times bestselling author of First Man comes a sweeping saga involving two extraordinary—and extraordinarily different—adventurers who have only one thing in the ambition to cross the Atlantic in a rowboat . . . alone.

In this bracing adventure tale, the story of John Fairfax and Tom McClean are woven together for the first time. Fairfax would set off from the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa with his sights on Florida. McClean charted a course from Newfoundland to Ireland.

The two men couldn’t have been more different. John Fairfax was a golden-haired playboy, gambler, whiskey, gun smuggler, and ex-pirate who blamed his boat often, and who brazenly took time off from his goal of reaching America to hop aboard large ships for a drink, a shower, and good food. He courted the press like a modern-day Richard Branson or Elon Musk.

The egoless Tom McClean was an orphan with a tough, Dickensian childhood, who ran off to become a British paratrooper and later joined the SAS (his training rivaled the U.S. Navy Seals). Tom was a purist who loved his boat Silver and never once took time off from rowing to sun himself on a remote beach or jump aboard a cruise ship. After 70 days, he landed on the rocky coast of Ireland to no fanfare and headed straight to the nearest pub.

Though the two men’s remarkable transoceanic journeys seem pulled from a different era, both finished within days of the first landing on the July 20th, 1969.

Filled with gale-force winds, backbreaking effort, menacing sharks, playful dolphins, awing natural beauty, great mishaps, failed equipment, hyperthermia, near-drowning, the fighting of mental and physical lethargy, creative problem-solving, phantom illusions on the water, and glorious moments of bliss, Completely Mad stands alongside other classics of ocean adventure.

With gripping and insightful prose, James R. Hansen brings to life Fairfax and McClean's expeditions, from their battle with the elements to their own inner demons. Completely Mad is a nail-biting, epic tale of endurance, and readers will be gripped until the end to find out who won.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Sports, Biography, Audiobook

384 pages, Hardcover

Published July 4, 2023

About the author

James R. Hansen is a professor of history at Auburn University in Alabama.His book From the Ground Up won the History Book Award of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1988. For his work, The Wind and Beyond (NASA) - (six-volume series), he was awarded the Eugene Ferguson Prize for Outstanding Reference Work by the Society for the History of Technology in 2005.

Reviews

[Bruce Kellison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was completely absorbed in the re-telling of this historic feat in 1969. Using the rowers' autobiographies and interviews, Hansen does a great job bringing the reader right into the cramped, lonely, and dangerous dinghies, but more than that, his research uncovers two quite different and equally fascinating histories of how the men came to the "race" in the first place. ("Race" is a little misleading, because if I have one quibble with the author, it's how he tries to pit the two men against each other when, in fact, they started their journeys months and continents apart and knew little if anything about each other.) Don't fail to read the book's Epilogue, with its rich detail about what each rower did with his life after his journey.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chapter 5 is totally irrelevant
Ponderous
Downright blather
Just tell us about the story while at sea
Don’t need the rowers childhood history
Ugh……..

[Cole · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - story dragged at times who knew 70 days and 180 days at sea solo rowing battling wind, storms, and themselves, could become rhythmic and repetitive.

That being said both these adventures were significant feats of human willpower and mental fortitude.

[Dan Dundon · Rating 4 out of 5]

From time to time, we all have picked up a book that sounded interesting only to be disappointed because the title didn’t reflect the content. That’s not the case in this book. “Completely Mad” accurately reflects two men whose ambition is to row alone across the Atlantic Ocean.
James Hansen does an excellent job of capturing the personalities of the two men who couldn’t be more different. John Fairfax is more of a publicity seeker and not shy about accepting help from numerous ships along the way. Tom McClean is the former British paratrooper who does not seek attention and conscientiously refuses all assistance as he crosses the Atlantic.
To be sure both stories are grueling experiences and will convince many land lubbers they will probably never set foot in a rowboat in the ocean. Yes, both men are to some degree completely mad but no more so than the explorer who must scale the tallest peak or search the ocean depths. It is testament to the desire among some men to be the first to do something no matter how daunting.

[Ddoddmccue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes, they were completely mad!

A tale of man against nature, the many faces of the sea, and two wildly contrasting explorers, not the least the courses they embraced in solo rowing across the Atlantic. East-to-West rower Fairfax, a lifelong self-promoter and gambler, thriving in the limelight (and on the occasional passing ship). West-to-East rower McClean, the stubborn loner shaped by his orphan origins, self-reliance, and military experience.

A contrast, yes. A race or competition, questionable,

While a memorable tale of contrasts and ocean adventure, bloated writing, unnecessary side topics, weak editing, and overlong footnotes threaten to sink the reader. Less ( maybe 100 pages less) is more.

Fortunately the spirit of these two intriguing adventure junkies kept my interest and persistence to read to the end. But they deserve a sleeker vessel.

[Taylor Brystol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting story and I generally like books that follow 2 stories simultaneously. There were some challenges for me though. First off, please don’t repeat the same phrase multiple times. Tom’s rations contained “all the calories a hardworking man needs in a day” might be accurate, but it also sounds like an advertisement. Repeating it? Certainly there was a different way to say it.

No it gonna lie. I didn’t like Fairfax. And I don’t think his row was near as impressive as McClean’s since Fairfax took every opportunity to hop onto another boat, eat a meal, request supplies, whatever. Plus Fairfax was a bit of a jerk and a definite misogynist.

My feelings shouldn’t be reflected in a nonfiction book however, and the author clearly appreciated McClean’s row more as well. I relate, but I personally do not like overt bias in the books I read.

[Howard Lazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a crazy story of two adventurers who pretty much simultaneously in 1969, while the world was riveted to the moon landing, became the first men to row solo across the Atlantic. John Farifax, a former smuggler, rowed almost 6 months from the Canary Islands to Florida. Tom McLean, an orphan and British SAS hero rowed for 70 days in the opposite direction the far shorter (but much colder) route from St John's Newfoundland to Scotland. Between the two of them, they experienced every travail imaginable - cold, heat, wind, storms, sharks, and probably worst of all, the mental challenge of doing this alone (Farifax did board ocean liners he passed for short respites, and he did take on supplies from them) - but both persevered. A fascinating read of the spirit of two extraordinary men. Highly recommended!

[Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title Completely Mad does the story justice. Recommended by a buddy (who happens to have also rowed an ocean). What I really enjoyed was that it went beyond the romantic, go big at all costs mind set, and really let you know that it was brutal. It was gruesome. And even though they both succeeded there were plenty of people who didn’t or couldn’t. Also liked the contrast of the two guys- incredible they both independently came up with the idea a few months apart and both pulled it off. It may be the author’s bent but he makes a great argument for Tom being a little shafted given he did the whole thing unassisted. Would recommend.

[Jeff Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

It takes a certain talent to screw up a sea adventure. I've read a couple of dozen books about people sailing around the world, getting lost at sea, crossing the Atlantic on a raft, and a few books about Polynesians crossing the wide Pacific using the sun, stars, wave patterns, birds, and clouds to find their way to a tiny speck of an island. Stories of people against the elements are inherently compelling. Except for James Hansen, who somehow takes an adventure story and turns it into tedium. It's flabby and rambling. His poetic touches are clumsy and get in the way of the story.

[Pegeen · Rating 4 out of 5]

So we are invited along on two solo rowing trips across the Atlantic . The tedium of all those miles at times almost caused me to quit., if our rowers did not. There is is only so much weather reporting I can envision. The contrast in personalities, backgrounds and routes ( one southern longer thru horse latitudes from Canary Islands to Florida , complete with mahi mahi and the other from Newfoundland, thru the GrandBanks and freezing waters to Ireland) held my interest. I am struck by the difference in the primitive technology of the 1969 boats, compared to just a few years later.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not always eloquently delivered, but a captivating account of two harrowing experiences, nonetheless. The biggest appeal for me was the premise behind the title, which seems to this reader an appropriate description for any solo sailor or nautical navigator of any kind. The author does a good job of coordinating the clearly unexplainable depth of both men's conviction with that of pioneering explorers such as Shackleton, with whom Fairfax and McClean were fascinated. Also worth the read for references to other mad mariners such as Alain Bombard.

[Scott Augustein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the type of book I normally read but I met Tom McClean and the author when they were speakers at an event I attended in 2024. On our way out we all received a copy of the book signed by both. The book was very interesting. I was born in ‘66 and I read a couple copies of The Guinness Book of World Records as a child and I vaguely remember reading about the Atlantic Ocean crossings, so this actually brought a couple childhood memories.

[Andrew McLaughlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started as a read and couldn’t get into it and switched to as an audiobook to finally finish. The true story of two people racing to row across the Atlantic ocean first was cool, but the book was just far too detailed and about too much more than rowing. I was looking to learn about the rows themselves, but became more two biographies about two rowers.

[Joseph Caprile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story of Tom McClean and John Fairfax who each rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, same time different routes
Breaks down each rowers life and journey
Hansen also wrote “First man” story of Neil Armstrong
*Book to have in your library

[Daniel Farabaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really thrilling narrative of the ocean crossings. The people are painted vividly and the author creates a palpable sense of the possibility for disaster at every stage. The book moves quickly and reads very well.

[Jimmy Abraham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captivating book that was fun to get through and told a great story. Not necessarily "deep", but what's wrong with that? I got it in Martha's Vineyard with Julias family and read it the summer of 2024.

[Doug D'jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty good but pretty repetitive too and I guess there's only so much you could say about one person rowing one way and the other rowing the other way by themselves across the Atlantic Ocean. I was rooting for the guy that came in second.

[Holly]

I typically cannot get enough of real life adventure stories—anything with overcoming limitations. This just didn’t do it for me and I had to throw in the towel.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stopped reading about a third in, just too much technical detail about boats etc for me.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Youssouf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it interesting as it deals with rowing alone in dangerous situations. Not only I learned more about the Atlantic, I also learned a great deal about perseverance in hardship conditions.

[Constancia · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a shame.
1. Terrible title
2. Badly read
3. Badly written
4. A good story ruined

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic storytelling, soon, I hear, to be made into a major motion picture!

[Lisa Keuss · Rating 3 out of 5]

For an adventure story it starts slow, but picks up in the second half. Tom McClean's story is more fleshed-out and interesting, and he certainly was a more likeable fellow than John Fairfax.