British explorer Sarah Outen, who is attempting to circumnavigate the globe, from “London2London“, using only human power, has been rescued by the Japan Coastguard after a tropical storm flipped her boat and she experienced severe difficulties.
Outen had hoped that the canoe-style vessel would be resilient enough, but a storm of this strength has put her efforts on hold. After almost 30 hours stranded in what her team described as “merciless” weather, she is now safe and “well but exhausted”
Picture from Japan Coastguard
She told her 6,500 twitter followers on Sunday that she was “Relieved to be back on land and with friends.” before cheekily adding that she was “currently on a drip (I hope it’s Gin!). Huge thanks once again to Japan Coast Guard.”
Outen has been in Japan for a few months, in November she was in Ishinomaki, in Miyagi prefecture, working with NPOs and exploring the earthquake and tsunami effected region and decided to stay in Japan over the winter. Have a look at this video to hear her story from there.
The journey began on April 1, 2011, from London’s iconic Tower Bridge, and is expected to finish there – after 16,000 miles on a bicycle, 7,500 nautical miles of rowing and 300 nautical miles in a kayak – in the Autumn of 2013. Plenty of time to get back in the saddle, get back in the boat and complete her dream journey. Hopefully Sarah will continue to recover and gain strength – after all, she has come this far and many of her supporters will be willing her on!
Have a look at her website to find more updates and use the impressive “Where’s Sarah” tracker page. There has so far been no announcement on the continuation of the journey as efforts focus on Outen’s health but we wish her the best of luck.
