Geo Quiz

Rowing

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Today’s Geo Quiz: There are several ways to travel from Australia over to the African island nation of Mauritius.

The shortest way is to cross an ocean — and that’s the ocean we want you to name. A direct flight from Perth in Western Australia to Mauritius covers more than 3,000 miles of water.

If you’re not in a hurry, you could hop a cruise ship. But imagine rowing….and rowing … and rowing …. to cross that stretch of ocean.

Sarah Outen has been doing that in a 20-foot rowboat for more than 4 months. She’s endured huge waves, sharks, and exhaustion. But she made it…. though she’s a little shaky.

“It’s crazy I’m not very good at walking have I can stand up but I have to hold on to things it’s as if I’ve been at the beers all night, I’m a bit wobbly.”

Sara Outen completed her crossing of the Indian Ocean this week. And the Indian Ocean is the answer to our quiz. The British rower is the first woman to accomplish the feat… She also did it in record time. Outen says coming ashore turned out to be one the trickiest parts of the trip:

“I capsized quite a few times into a very big sea and actually came to rest on the reef. So rather than paddling up to the jetty nice and sedately, I finished my crossing stuck on the reef! Which is all rather hairy I think. I’m very glad to just be back safe and dry land and see my family and friends again.”

Outen rowed about 12 hours a day, sometimes longer. She dodged storms and passing ships. She says there were plenty of perils to keep her awake and there was plenty of time to just reflect.

“You think about all sorts of things while you’re out there sometimes you’re not thinking about anything other than staying safe and surfing down waves safely quite often you’re just taking in the sea state and the clouds, the wildlife, home and what I might do next so you do a lot of thinking inside your head.”

Some of that thinking was about her father who died three years ago. He suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, and Outen undertook the journey to raise money for arthritis research. Along with sturdy oars and essential food and water, Outen equipped her boat with a few bottles of champagne:

“Those 3 bottles of champagne were for different landmarks in the trip, there was one was for my birthday, 24th birthday, another was for the anniversary of Dad’s death, and the third were for the half way mark so they’ve all been drunk and were very much enjoyed out there.”

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