Sarah Outen paddles to Japan

With over 10,000 miles already under her belt Sarah Outen has just completed the biggest challenge yet on her loop of the globe.

In the last six months Sarah Outen, 26, from Rutland Canoe Club, has kayaked and cycled from London to Russia; crossing the formidable Gobi desert, camping in bear-inhabited forests and coming closer than she’d liked to poisonous snakes, but these challenges are nothing compared to the one that she has just faced – a cold kayaking marathon from the remote Russian island of Sakhalin to Japan - 24 nautical miles in freezing cold seas, huge waves and strong currents. The crossing took 11.5 hours. To Sarah’s knowledge, the crossing had only been achieved once before in a kayak.

The crossing was over La Perouse Strait - dividing the Russian island of Sakhalin in the north from the Japanese island of Hokkaido, and connecting the Sea of Japan on the west with the Sea of Okhotsk on the east.

You can read the story on her blog and, as she is carrying a GPS tracking device you can follow her progress.

A big welcome from the people of Japan especially Mr Sato from Wakkanai Town Hall who surprised them with a banner and flowers.

Where to next?

Sarah is in the middle of undertaking a human-powered loop of the planet "London2London:Via the World". On 1 April 2011, she set off from Tower Bridge in her kayak along the Thames and over to France. Then 10,000 cycling miles across Europe and Asia to Russia from where she kayaked to Japan. She still has to cycle down this North island of Japan before making a 10 mile kayak crossing to the South Island - Honshu. Thence a 650 mile bike ride down to Tokyo. Sarah will overwinter in Japan, while waiting for the right weather window before rowing solo across the Pacific Ocean to Canada, cycling across America and then rowing solo across the Atlantic Ocean back to the UK. A quick cycle and kayak will take her back to Tower Bridge in London in the autumn of 2013. A journey of over 20,000 miles which will take her two and a half years. Nobody has ever rowed this combination of oceans in a single journey around the globe, solo or otherwise. Only 2 men have ever rowed the North Pacific solo. Sarah will be the first woman to row solo across the North Pacific.

GOOD LUCK SARAH. ENJOY A REST IN JAPAN OVER THE WINTER.