Australian Navy rescues rower as Pacific crossing hit by cyclone

An Australian warship has rescued a Lithuanian solo rower who encountered a tropical cyclone while attempting to cross the Pacific Ocean from California.

Aurimas Mockus was taken aboard Royal Australian Navy landing ship HMAS Choules on Monday, where he was undergoing a medical assessment, vice admiral Justin Jones said in a statement.

The 44-year-old adventurer had been stranded for three days in the Coral Sea around 460 miles east of the Queensland coastal city of Mackay. He had rowed there in an enclosed boat from San Diego, headed for the Queensland capital Brisbane.

He began the 7,500-mile journey in October and was days away from Brisbane when he ran into the storm, which is forecast to cross the Australian coast within days.

Brisbane is 500 miles south of Mackay by air.

Mr Mockus activated an emergency beacon on Friday after rowing into stormy seas and 50 mph winds generated by Tropical Cyclone Alfred, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said in a statement.

The rescue authority sent a plane that made radio contact with Mr Mockus, reporting he was “fatigued”, on Saturday.

The warship is taking Mr Mockus south beyond Brisbane to Sydney, the navy said.

The cyclone continued to track south and on Monday was 280 miles east of Brisbane, authorities said. It is forecast to turn west and cross the Australian coast on Thursday or Friday.

Mr Mockus was attempting to become one of the few rowers who have crossed the Pacific alone and without stopping.

Briton Peter Bird arguably became the first in 1983. He rowed from San Francisco and was towed the final 30 miles to the Australian mainland. He is considered to have rowed close enough to Australia to have made the crossing.

Compatriot John Beeden rowed from San Francisco to the Queensland city of Cairns in 2015 and is considered by some to have made the first successful crossing.

Australian Michelle Lee became the first woman to make the crossing in 2023, rowing from Ensenada in Mexico to Queensland’s Port Douglas.

In 2022 another Australian, Tom Robinson, attempted to become the youngest to row across the Pacific, albeit with a break in the Cook Islands. He set out from Peru and spent 265 days at sea before he was rescued off Vanuatu in 2023.

A wave capsized the 24-year-old’s boat, leaving him clinging naked to the hull for 14 hours before he was rescued by a cruise ship that made a 124-mile detour to reach him.