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For centuries, explorers have been captivated by the challenge of circumnavigating the earth. Magellan and his crew first circled the globe in 1592 and since then many have followed their footsteps by different means. Teams have travelled by plane, by hot air balloon, by a combination of ship and motorcycle/foot/bicycle - but never exclusively by human power. We will be the first to circle the earth without sails or motors, to travel the oceans by rowboat and the land by bicycle, ski, and foot.

This odyssey has eluded countless explorers and adventurers of the past and remains one of the last great expeditions of our time. In our two year 42,000 km expedition we will row across two oceans, cycle over continents, and explore the coldest inhabited areas on the planet.

This journey will be shared with schoolchildren across Canada. Throughout the journey, satellite and internet communications will connect Canadian students with the team and with classrooms throughout the world. Our experiences and discoveries will also be shared with the general public through a website, documentary film and novel on the expedition. We hope to promote the use of non-emission forms of transportation and draw attention to the environmental fragility of our world.

Going for A Record

First Human Powered Circumnavigation

This expedition follows the rules delineated by the FAI (Federal Aeronautique International) for global circumnavigations. These are the same parameters that have been fulfilled by historic circumnavigations, including the first aerial circumnavigation (USA), the fastest circumnavigation (France), Steve Fosset`s round the world quest by balloon (USA), and Joules Verne`s classic tale, Around the World in Eighty Days (Fiction). Find out more.

Atlantic Rowing Records

Julie and Colin rowed 9,836 km across the Atlantic Ocean in 145 days from Lisbon, Portugal to Limon, Costa Rica from September 22, 2005 to February 24, 2006. Upon completing this journey they became the first to row from mainland Europe to Mainland North America. Julie also became the first Canadian woman to row any ocean and the first woman in the world to row across the Atlantic from mainland to mainland.

 

Expedition Timeline

JUNE 2004 - Bike B.C.

Colin, Tim and Julie left their homes in Vancouver and cycled north. They were entirely self supported, which meant carrying all our equipment and food, which was on average 150lbs per person. Colin and Tim cycled 2,600 km to Whitehorse and Julie cycled with the team as far as Alaska.

JULY to AUGUST 2004 - Paddle the Yukon River

Colin and Tim transferred their equipment into a canoe and paddled 1,500 km on the Yukon River, navigating through rapids, stormy weather and suffocating smoke from the raging forest fires to reach Fairbanks, Alaska. They then switched to a ocean going rowboat that we customized and delivered ahead of time. They rowed the remaining 1,600 km of the Yukon River to the North Pacific Ocean.

SEPTEMBER 2004 - Row across the Bering Sea

From the mouth of the Yukon River, the team rowed 800 km across the Bering Sea in their offshore rowboat to reach Siberia. This is one of the most treacherous areas of ocean in the world and had never before been crossed in a rowboat.

OCTOBER to NOVEMBER 2004 - Hike Eastern Siberia

In Siberia a Russian female explorer, Yulya, joined the team. The trio hiked 850 km across the roadless mountainous terrain of Northeastern Siberia. The conditions at times were quite difficult with bogs forcing the team to walk through rivers in -15°C temperatures while blizzards blinded them.

DECEMBER to JULY 2005 - Ski and cycle across Russia

Once the bogs froze and the ground snow-covered, the 2,300 km overland ski and bicycle trek began. Their bikes were specially modified to ride on frozen roads and rivers of ice.

JULY to SEPTEMBER 2005 - Bike across Europe

In Moscow the team celebrated the end of Part 1 of the expedition, Vancouver to Moscow. Colin and Julie then continued to travel from Moscow to Vancouver. They cycled 5,500 km across Europe, travelling through Russia, the Ukraine, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, and Portugal.

SEPTEMBER 2005 to FEBRUARY 2006 - Row across Atlantic Ocean

An ocean rowboat was shipped to Portugal and readied for its Atlantic crossing. Originally the team wanted to use the same boat that crossed the Bering Sea, but it proved too difficult to transport it out of Russia in a reasonable time period. Instead the team used a 24ft Woodvale Pairs ocean rowboat.

Colin and Julie left for their crossing on September 22, which was timed so that they would avoid both the stormy season off the European coast and the hurricane season further west. It was expected to take approximately 100 days (and up to 140 days) to cross the Atlantic and reach Florida. However this season was anything but normal and the team was affected by 2 hurricanes and 2 tropical storms.  Because of unusual seas and currents, they decided for a more southerly destination and aimed for Costa Rica. 
After 145 days at sea they reached Limon, Costa Rica. Upon completion, Julie become the first woman worldwide to row across the Atlantic Ocean from mainland to mainland and the duo the first to row from mainland Europe to mainland North America.

MARCH to MAY 2006 - Cycle across Central and North America

The team cycled 8,300 km through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and the USA to return to Vancouver and complete the circumnavigation.

The expedition completed on May 20th, 2006 in Vancouver, BC.