Worldwide Classic Boat Show

Saturday, Feb. 19 – Rowing Across the Pacific Ocean in a Wooden Boat

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Rowing Across the Pacific Ocean in a Wooden Boat

A Recorded Video of the Live Presentation is Below

Tom_Robinson_Rowing_Across_Pacific_Ocean 1000px

Tom Robinson is setting out to become the youngest person to row across the Pacific Ocean.
He also happens to be doing it in a beautiful wooden boat that he designed and built himself.
  • Speaker: Tom Robinson – Brisbane, Australia
  • Moderator: Steve Stone, Co-Founder of Off Center Harbor and the Worldwide Classic Boat Show

Here’s a recorded video of the live presentation.

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Comments

78 responses to “Saturday, Feb. 19 – Rowing Across the Pacific Ocean in a Wooden Boat”

  1. Brent Ash Avatar
    Brent Ash

    What a fantastic story. A few years back when I was about your age I did a number of trips into the big mountains in remote areas of the world with small groups of friends. We had to be completely self sufficient, as you will be on your trip. If something goes wrong one simply needs to deal with it. The massively fulfilling experience of self sufficiency in extreme situations cannot be equalled in our safe and comfortable workaday world. One must literally ‘push the boat out.’ Your comments acknowledging that you know it will be difficult but, in the long run, worth it, reminded of Mae West’s famous aphorism: “I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it.”
    Best of Luck to you Tom.

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Hi Brent, thanks very much for your heartfelt words, great quote too!

  2. Aren Carpenter Avatar
    Aren Carpenter

    wow, real nice interview with tom and steve.off center has really burrowed it’s way into my soul over time and it’s thru the work and unselfish giving of steve,maynard,eric,and every poster and contributor on the site.very enriching to the human soul.Good luck to you Tom!

  3. Pete Rankine Avatar
    Pete Rankine

    hey Tom, beautiful boat, grand adventures! Small thing … did you consider LiFePhO (lithium ferrous phosphate) batteries? They’ll charge faster from your solar panel, and 2×100 AH would give you a lighter, quicker, more durable array … check against your charger specs, of course, but it may already be compatible … Congratulations and all best on your fantastic voyage!
    Pete Rankine

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Hi Pete, thanks for your kind words and advice. Unfortunately, shipping any sort of lithium battery further complicates the already tricky situation of getting a whaleboat to Peru, therefore I decided to keep things simple and stick to AGM batteries.

  4. timothy murray Avatar
    timothy murray

    Great presentation, Tom, and best of success to you! Clearly, you’ve trained and studied. I’ve never done long-distance rowing like this, but I share your love of being under my own power, in a boat alone. I didn’t quite get the whole interview, but did you comment on the rudder set-up? How will that be controlled?

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Hi Timothy, the rudder was not mentioned. I will control it with lines that run back to the cockpit, I can either steer with my foot, or lock off the lines on cam-cleats.

  5. Erika Simpson Avatar
    Erika Simpson

    Tom. I posted a very long NYT article for you at the beginning of your great talk. Can you delete it please as it pasted the entire article not the URL. 😊 🙏

  6. Rob vanNostrand Avatar
    Rob vanNostrand

    Delightful story and upcoming adventure. I will be watching with lots of good thoughts for you. A simple gizmo for SMS text messaging via Worldwide Satellite is the Garmin In-Reach mini or similar (small and low cost of operation). Rob from Canada

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Hi Rob, thanks very much. I will be packing my Garmin inReach.

  7. Andrew Bartholomew Avatar
    Andrew Bartholomew

    Tom, you nailed it. Perfect learning the practical stuff and realising from your heart. Thank you. Mullumbimby AU.

    1. Steve Stone Avatar
      Steve Stone

      Hi Andrew. Thanks for your generous donation to Tom’s GoFundMe campaign.
      Here’s that link if anyone needs it:
      https://www.gofundme.com/f/tomspacificjourney

  8. Dell Anderson Avatar
    Dell Anderson

    Wonderful interview and inspiring. As well as a bit terrifying from the prospective of older age and a medical background. It is easy to become concerned about your passion without wanting to discourage you. In some ways what you are doing is reaching towards one of the most basic needs of man which is to feel alive, to experience personal freedom and do something unique, yet not to overlook or minimize the danger. Invisible dangers such as sun exposure from reflected water may haunt you in old age with increased cancer risk, or more immediately Murphy’s law which observes that anything that can go wrong WILL eventually go wrong. What happens if a storm comes up too quickly for you to put all the fenders up? Or what if you are hit with a sneaker wave and knocked unconscious and unable to right the boat? How much redundancy of fresh water supply tools do you have? How willing are you to exercise good judgment and if necessary postpone the trip until next year due to the delay from Covid even if it means possibly not setting a record for the youngest person to do what you are doing? Does that really matter to you? So many tragedies happen after a person focuses on going full steam ahead even when problem after another crops up which of itself would not prove fatal, but turns out to be a predictably contributing factor to a bad outcome. Are you taking solar stills for fresh water creation? I remember a documentary about someone who had three of those stills, but two of them failed to function for one reason or the other. The film was agonizing enough, I can’t imagine being surrounded by fresh water and the torture of thirst. Water and food and air and warmth. That’s all you need. Make them redundant. The mental challenges will be hard enough without physical hardships.
    There are reasons few people try to do what you are planning, and some fail. One of them is obviously the danger, but it sounds like you are doing everything you know how to mitigate the risks and I wish you all the deliberate attention to detail needed for success in your mission and your search for meaning.

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Hi Dell, thank you very much for taking the time to voice your concerns, for my best interests.
      I really do feel as though I have covered all bases, with back ups in place to make sure this journey is successful. I am learning all about what it takes to plan a voyage of this magnitude, hopefully all goes to plan this year, but if anything does get in the way, next year, or the one after will be just as splendid for a rowing adventure. Obviously there’s no guarantee of the outcome of this trip, but I like to think I’ve taken every step I can to make this the adventure of a lifetime!

  9. Uno Andersson Avatar
    Uno Andersson

    Intresting and well done.

  10. Dean Woodcook Avatar
    Dean Woodcook

    I view Tom as a legend in the making and will be following his adventures. Thanks for the wonderful presentation.

  11. Karel Doruyter Avatar
    Karel Doruyter

    Great to hear what you are about to do !! Friends of mine did the cross Atlantic row a number of years ago and always thought I might do it, however age got in the way !! Good luck !!

  12. Jonathan Lewis Avatar
    Jonathan Lewis

    Inspiring lad who gets it! His attitude, determination and hard work supplies optimism for we tainted old folks.Bravo.

  13. hugh clay Avatar
    hugh clay

    Thanks Tom, great project and fascinating presentation – all the best for the voyage

  14. Robert Leaver Avatar
    Robert Leaver

    Is your boat fiber glassed?

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Hi Robert, there is no fibreglass on the hull, just a small amount of fibreglass in the foot-well that is not self draining.

  15. Dave Lathrop Avatar
    Dave Lathrop

    maybe TOO specific but eat fiber to counteract freeze dried food!!!!! throws the system off!!!!

  16. Raban Stumme Avatar
    Raban Stumme

    I am watching you from Germany. You are a really good storyteller and your project is amazing. I wish you a lot of fun rowing all the way.

  17. Chris Tietjen Avatar
    Chris Tietjen

    Have you practiced re-boarding from the sea with gear on? Also it looks like you could use more hand holds on the deck surfaces.

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Hi Chris, thanks for your comments. Yes I am capable of getting back on board. Since those photos were taken I have added extra handholds on the cabin and aft deck.

  18. Louis Heath Avatar
    Louis Heath

    Are you going to record the trip on video?

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Hi Louis, yes I will be taking cameras along to record the journey.

  19. Mark Shaw Avatar
    Mark Shaw

    What safety gear and medical equipment will he be taking with him.

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Hi Mark, I will have a range of safety and medical equipment on board. I will have the same gear as any other ocean rower or sailor.

  20. James Macdonald Avatar
    James Macdonald

    When you need to sleep, will the boat still make forward progress with the current or wind?

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Hi James, yes I will still be making ground when not rowing.

  21. Barbara Woll Jones Avatar
    Barbara Woll Jones

    This is just terrific ! Is that a solar panel on the starboard deck ?

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Yes, there are two identical solar panels on the aft deck.

      1. Barbara Woll Jones Avatar
        Barbara Woll Jones

        Thanks, Tom – looking forward to “following” your voyage – GOOD LUCK !!!

  22. Naida Hobbs Avatar
    Naida Hobbs

    Looking forward to watching your progress. Really well done presentation. You could look up Karl Krueger – the fellow went from Washington State to Alaska on a stand up paddle-board – he might have some good advice re sustenance. All the best!

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Hi Nadia, thanks very much for the info, I will check out Karl.

  23. Laurence Wade Avatar
    Laurence Wade

    Are you planning to fish during the trip…other than your tinned tuna. Also what provision do you have for boiling water for your MREs?

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Yes, I have fishing rods on board to catch fish, to supplement my diet and boost morale. I have a small stove onboard to boil water.

  24. carol roberts Avatar
    carol roberts

    Will you try to keep the bottom clean at sea?

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Hi Carol, indeed, I will be going over the side regularly to scrape off barnacles.

  25. Elizabeth Gilmore Avatar
    Elizabeth Gilmore

    What a brilliant story and an amazing accomplishment to build such a boat. So IMPRESSIVE. Tell your parents that we are all cheering for THEM as well during your journey!

  26. William Simmons Avatar
    William Simmons

    For anyone, let alone a young man, 4 months alone is daunting from the psychological perspective. How do you prepare for that?

    ~ Bill Simmons, Larchmont, NY

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Hi Bill, although I can’t be certain, I feel as though, deep down, I have what it takes to be alone for that period of time.

  27. Steven Sather Avatar
    Steven Sather

    Just thought of another question: What is the ideal length of oar for rowing 14 hours per day. Is there any guideline for how far out the oarlock should be?

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Great question Steven, someone needs to do a serious study into oar length, span, blade area, stroke rate etc. Until then, I will continue using my 3.2m oars that are pretty standard for a boat of my size.

  28. Julia Graves Avatar
    Julia Graves

    Have you kept a journal and will you write along your way across the Pacific? What plans do you have to get music on your journey?

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Hi Julia, I answered the question about writing, as for music, I think I’ll take an ipod along…

  29. Louis Heath Avatar
    Louis Heath

    Did you encounter any big seas or storms on your trip, if so can you describe some of it?

  30. Steve Sawtelle Avatar
    Steve Sawtelle

    What does the boat weigh, empty and laden?

  31. Colin Giegerich Avatar
    Colin Giegerich

    What’s your skin care like on that kind of journey? Have you done anything special with your oar handles, gloves, or whatever else?

  32. Dave Lathrop Avatar
    Dave Lathrop

    i wonder about your health on the trip. what are you thinking about that way?

  33. David Gosd Avatar
    David Gosd

    How does it feel to always be looking backward?

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      One gets used to in very quickly. especially at the speed I’m rowing.

  34. Peggy Davis Avatar
    Peggy Davis

    what are the round ‘disks’ that stick up on the deck? – they look like about 16″ in diameter….

  35. Erika Simpson Avatar
    Erika Simpson

    How can we etransfer donations to cheer you on from Canada…as you are neither crazy nor mad. Next generation explorer here. Remember Shackleton.
    Prof Simpson who needs etransfer email. How do we send cash?

    1. Sandy Lam Avatar
      Sandy Lam

      Hi Erika,

      You can support Tom’s journey directly through his GoFundMe!

      https://www.gofundme.com/f/tomspacificjourney

  36. Louis Webster Avatar
    Louis Webster

    Day before yesterday, I saw a boat at the Harbor Marine Museum in Gig Harbor, Washington that was the first solo nonstop across the Pacific. Good luck.

  37. Douglas Henschen Avatar
    Douglas Henschen

    Just saw what looked like a gas tank in the gunnel. What is that for?

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Well spotted Doug, when I was coastal sea trialing I mounted an outboard as an emergency if I was being blown onto a lee shore. One day I used it to get me out of a potentially dangerous situation.

  38. george schietinger Avatar
    george schietinger

    great for you. very impressive. good seas. good luck and good winds and safe seas.

  39. Alan Morris Avatar
    Alan Morris

    Looking forward to following your adventure!! Thanks for sharing!

  40. Laura Young Avatar
    Laura Young

    Are you going to do a test capsize roll to see if you can right her?

    1. Sandy Lam Avatar
      Sandy Lam

      Yes Tom has been testing his boat, he filmed one test session with Maiwar here: https://youtu.be/K5T93tp4ZG0

  41. Erika Simpson Avatar
    Erika Simpson

    What lights do you have to prevent collisions at night while asleep?

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Hi Erika, Maiwar has the same navigation lights you would find on other pleasure vessels.

  42. Robert Stefl Avatar
    Robert Stefl

    Is the hull have a layer of fiberglass, or just epoxy coated?

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Just epoxy coated Robert.

  43. Erika Simpson Avatar
    Erika Simpson

    Aleksander Doba, Who Kayaked Across the Atlantic, Dies at 74

    He hungered to paddle across an ocean so vast it seemed infinite. He did it three times, setting records and becoming a national hero in Poland.

    Aleksander Doba in 2016. He kayaked across the Atlantic Ocean three times, the last time in 2017, when he was 70.Credit…Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

    By Alex Vadukul

    March 11, 2021

    Aleksander Doba, a Polish adventurer who kayaked alone across the Atlantic at the age of 70 while subsisting on his wife’s fortifying plum jam — after having twice paddled solo across the Atlantic when he was in his 60s — died on Feb. 22 on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. He was 74.

    His son Czeslaw said the cause was asphyxia resulting from high-altitude pulmonary edema.

    Mr. Doba’s three daring voyages earned him Guinness World Records titles, and in 2017 he became the oldest person to kayak across the Atlantic. His feats made him a national hero in Poland.

    A former chemical plant engineer who lived in a little river town, Mr. Doba had long been the most accomplished kayaker in his country. His desire to conquer the sea grew from an innocent idea that gradually consumed him: He had kayaked everything else, so why not the Atlantic Ocean?

    As a young man in Communist Poland, he had joined a local kayaking club, and he took to the sport avidly. In 1989, he surpassed the record for the most days paddled by a Polish man in a single year. He later spent 100 days paddling the circumference of the Baltic Sea. He also kayaked the coast of Norway to the Arctic Circle; on that trip, he was thrown from his boat during a storm and woke up to the sound of his own

    But Mr. Doba hungered to cross an ocean so vast that it seemed infinite, and he began plotting to kayak the Atlantic.

    “With my hand on my heart, it wasn’t my idea,” Mr. Doba told The New York Times Magazine in 2018. “I was infected with a virus.”

    In the spring of 2017, he began his third trans-Atlantic crossing — the one that garnered the most media attention — when he paddled out from New Jersey. After clearing Barnegat Bay and heading for the horizon, he was soon a floating blip in the ocean.

    Image

    Mr. Doba once said that his hunger to cross the Atlantic was not really his idea. Rather, he said, “I was infected with a virus.”Credit…Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

    For 110 days, Mr. Doba paddled eastward on his specially designed fiberglass kayak, Olo. Along with jars of his wife’s plum jam, he subsisted on freeze-dried goulash and porridge, chocolate bars and homemade wine. After his salt-water-drenched clothes became too irritating, he navigated the rest of his trip buck naked. He slept in a tiny coffin-shaped cabin that he entered by sliding through a portal, and when flying fish landed on his deck he snacked on them alive. (“Very fine,” he said. “Better than sushi.”)

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    During the voyage, Mr. Doba endured a violent two-day storm that nearly swallowed him whole. As he braced for his life, the rope tethering his sea anchor (the only thing keeping his kayak stable) broke off. Realizing that Olo might momentarily shatter into pieces, he strapped on a harness and scrambled across the deck to tie on a new anchor before crawling back to his nook.

    After another storm, Olo’s rudder was seriously damaged, so he reluctantly contacted his team via satellite phone seeking help. A freighter picked him up, and its Filipino crew repaired the rudder. The ship’s captain was hesitant to let the disheveled man back into the ocean alone. But Mr. Doba insisted, and he became a blip in the ocean all over again.

    His odyssey concluded that September when he paddled into the port in Le Conquet, France.

    “I came very close to the line of my possibility and human possibility,” he told The Times.

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    But Mr. Doba had tested the limits of possibility during his two previous Atlantic crossings.

    In 2010, when he kayaked from Senegal to Brazil, his skin broke out in salt-induced rashes, his fingernails nearly peeled off, and his eyes suffered from conjunctivitis. In 2013, when he paddled from Portugal to Florida, a Greek tanker made the mistake of trying to rescue him.

    “Me, fine,” Mr. Doba shouted in English to the ship’s crew, giving a thumbs-up.

    They offered to throw him ropes. He refused.

    When the ship circled back to him again, Mr. Doba shouted a vulgarity in Polish, and they left for good.

    Image

    Mr. Doba’s three trans-Atlantic voyages earned him Guinness World Records titles, and in recent years he enjoyed celebrity status in his native Poland.Credit…Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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    During his voyages he admired the majesty of the sea and relished wonders that he alone was privy to. When he saw shooting stars at night, he made wishes that, he said, later came true. He playfully tapped the shells of turtles that swam alongside him. He witnessed the formation of storm clouds and the deafening calm that accompanied them.

    He once became convinced that someone was watching him. He studied the water closely.

    “Then I saw it: a huge head, sticking out of the ocean,” he told Canoe & Kayak magazine in 2014. “The whale swam here, and there, all around my kayak. Its 20-meter-long tail was wagging. And then, suddenly, the whale went down and disappeared into the ocean.”

    Aleksander Ludwik Doba was born on Sept. 9, 1946, in Swarzedz, Poland. His father, Wincenty, was a mechanic. His mother, Eugenia (Ilijna) Doba, was a homemaker.

    He grew up ice skating on ponds and skiing through forests. His father built him a bicycle from scrap parts, and when he was 15 he rode it across the country.

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    In the early 1970s, Mr. Doba graduated from Poznan University of Technology, where he studied mechanical engineering. He married Gabriela Stucka in 1975, and they settled in a town called Police, where he got a job at a chemical plant. In 1980, his co-workers asked him if he wanted to join their kayaking club, and soon he was spending all his weekends out on the water.

    An early escapade involved kayaking on the Baltic Sea at a time when the Communist Party, to discourage defectors, had declared it illegal. When Mr. Doba encountered border patrol soldiers, they told him that he was in serious breach of the law.

    “I was just paddling down the river,” he explained. “I don’t know how I ended up here.”

    He kept chasing adventure. He explored countless Polish rivers, and he amassed records and firsts.

    It was in 2010 that he started seriously planning to cross the Atlantic. He designed an unsinkable kayak that contained food lockers and a cabin to sleep in. That October, he paddled from Senegal to Brazil in 99 days.

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    “He wasn’t a man who necessarily looked forward to spending Christmas with the family,” his son Czeslaw said. “On the way to my grandmother’s house for the holidays, he wanted to be dropped off on a river and asked us to pick him up on the way back.

    “A normal person wants to sit by the fire with their family for Christmas,” his son added. “He preferred to be dropped off on a cold river in the middle of the snow.”

    In addition to Czeslaw, Mr. Doba is survived by his wife; another son, Bartek; a sister, Wanda Kedzia; and three grandchildren.

    In recent years, Mr. Doba enjoyed celebrity status in Poland. People stopped him on the street to take selfies. An elementary school honored him with a statue in his scruffy, bearded likeness. And he began preparing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, an expedition that had long been on his bucket list. He trained by jogging up and down the stairs of a high-rise building with a heavy backpack, and he took long daily hikes.

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    He arrived in Tanzania last month. On the morning of Feb. 22, he reached Kilimanjaro’s summit with two guides. After taking in the view, he sat on a rock to rest.

    “He said many times that he didn’t want to die in his bed,” his son said. “From what we gather, he was euphoric to reach the summit. Then he sat down and fell asleep.”

    One of the last people to see Mr. Doba alive was a Polish climber named Boguslaw Wawrzyniak, who was also summiting Kilimanjaro that day. When he encountered Mr. Doba at 18,700 feet, he was excited to encounter one of his homeland’s heroes, and he took a selfie with him on the mountain.

    “I wished him luck in reaching the summit,” Mr. Wawrzyniak said in a phone interview. “Then I asked the local guides with him, ‘Do you know who this man is?’ And they said: ‘Yes. We know who this is. He

  44. Stephen O'Brien Avatar
    Stephen O’Brien

    Tom why didn’t you build the boat up dude down?

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      I built her right side up as I wanted to make sure the plank lines were fair, this would have been harder upside down. I don’t think there would be much of a time saving upside down, especially being young and nimble.

  45. Bob Hite Avatar
    Bob Hite

    We didn’t loose you

    1. Bob Hite Avatar
      Bob Hite

      You appear to have a solar cell on the aft quarter deck. Your charging system? Will you be fishing to supplement your food and what type of stove will you be using?

      1. Tom Robinson Avatar
        Tom Robinson

        Hi Bob, yes Maiwar is equipped with solar panels and batteries, I have a small hiking stove I will use to boil water to rehydrate the meals. I will also have a larger camping stove to fry up any fish I catch along the way!

  46. Erika Simpson Avatar
    Erika Simpson

    Met a woman in Alaska off Juneau while kayaking. She rowed all the way up North American coast to Alaska. She was very fit. We teased her about seeing whales and seals backwards. Good luck and stay positive!!

  47. Erika Simpson Avatar
    Erika Simpson

    Great job everyone from very snowy and cold Canada!

  48. Steven Sather Avatar
    Steven Sather

    Nice looking boat! Are you planning on stopping anywhere along the way? Will you be able to anchor?

  49. John Zeigler Avatar
    John Zeigler

    Have you considered chafe? Nearly did me in during the 2001 Trans Atlantic Rowing Race. We had no alchohol (forgot to add to medical kit), and we had no antibiotics ( Tom did but ‘forgot’ he had a Z pack….). Make sure you have enough for the voyage. And sun block! We ran out…sort of …..important) Have you been in touch with Mick Dawson? I’m sure he’s a treasure trove of advice and experience. (emaildeletedbutsaved@hotmail.com) And also Rob Hamill in NZ….((emaildeletedbutsaved@co.nz)
    I’m unable to contribute at this time but if I win the lottery, you’ve got some scratch from me! John Zeigler

    1. Tom Robinson Avatar
      Tom Robinson

      Hi John, Thanks very much for your advice and contacts! I really appreciate it.

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