Gavan Hennigan, a 35-year-old from Galway, has become the fastest Irishman to row across the Atlantic after arriving into Antigua on Wednesday night having spent 49 days, 11 hours and 37 minutes at sea.
The Irish record for the 5000km distance was previously held (as reported by RTE) by Limerick man Sean McGowan, who took 118 days to complete it in 2010. Hennigan came in third overall (first solo athlete), an achievement made all the more remarkable by the fact that he beat teams made up of several rowers.
After 49 days and 5000km... #twac2016 #rowgavrow https://t.co/VCeK4uGwt4 pic.twitter.com/CWtXANCPcy
— Gavan Hennigan (@soulogav) February 2, 2017
In rowing the Atlantic (as part of the 'Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge') Hennigan raised funds for Cancer Care West and Jigsaw West, two Galway charities.
There was a report on his exploits on Thursday's Morning Ireland and Hennigan spoke to RTE's Darren Frehill:
Two weeks ago I didn't think I would be able to break 50 days. Early on, I thought it would happen as I was going really well and then the weather was getting to me. I just thought it had slipped from me, really, and I was just trying to hold position and try stay in third.
The guys were chasing me and it was just such a battle. I couldn't believe that I had to put myself through that at the very end because I was already at my wit's end and I just said, 'I have to dig deep here and try and hold third position and try break 50 days'.
So it was pretty epic.
About halfway through, I didn't think I could do any more because I had gone out hard at the beginning, in the first half, and then because of the bad weather I started to fall apart. I really just had to rally and try to hold myself together.
50 sunsets, 50 sunrises, you know, and just endless clouds and stars. It was just unbelievable to be completely on my own and just feel really connected to the ocean.
It is such a bleak and empty place, but there's so much beauty out there...every day it's different.
Frehill also spoke to Hennigan's mother Julie, who thinks her son "has proved that you can, with mental strength, achieve anything." She was discussing Hennigan's recovery from alcohol and drug addiction in his early twenties, since which he has remained sober.
Before undertaking the challenge, Hennigan wrote an article for Balls.ie in which he talked about why he decided to quit his job and spend all his savings on an Ocean Rowing boat as well as the personal journey he has been on:
While most folk would rather fly across the Atlantic, I want to row it. I'm part of that tribe of people who are out cycling early on a Sunday morning, sea swimming, climbing mountains and doing triathlons, but I've taken it to the next level.
When I was 21 I went into rehab for alcohol and drug addiction. In the years before that, my biggest claim to fame would have been that I could do more Es than anyone I know. I was like a lot of teenagers in Ireland in the late 90s but I took it too far. I ended up on the brink of suicide and in rehab at the tender age of 21.
What has happened to me since is nothing short of a miracle. I've stayed clean and sober all this time, nearly 14 years.
The Atlantic trip is by no means the first time Hennigan has completed a daring and adventurous journey. Described on his website as "an Irish Extreme Environment Athlete", he has mountaineered in the Antarctic and the Arctic (to name just two) and has completed The Yukon Arctic Ultramarathon (500km) as well as another 566km ultramarathon in the Arctic Circle. He also happens to have walked 700km across the frozen Lake Baikal in Siberia. In addition to this he has held a day-job as a deep-sea saturation diver, "diving to depths of 200 m to perform heavy construction on oil rigs".
Another year, another incredible Irish rowing story.
