LOA 28’-0”, LWL 26’-5/16”, B 5’-0”, D 1’-0”, DISPL 2,590 Lbs.
This was my last professional boat design and which was the fulfillment of one of my dreams—to design an ocean-going rowboat. Jacob Hendrickson, a retired Air Force pilot and still in his 30s, approached me with a request for help in locating a designer to help him design and build a boat that he could row solo, non-stop, across the Pacific Ocean from North America to Australia. Only one other person had ever attempted such a passage, British rower Peter Bird in 1982, and he did not succeed. He had to be rescued by the Australian Navy about a quarter mile off the Great Barrier Reef. Jacob wanted to be the first to succeed, and he wanted to do a longer voyage from Washington near Seattle. For me, as I said, this was a dream come true, if it panned out. So many boat design requests begin “I want to build a boat, but I don’t have any money” for which there is only one reply: “Sorry, I can’t help you.” But if Jacob proved financially able, then I might be able to fulfill this 30+-year dream to design an offshore voyaging rowboat. I replied: “I’m your man.”
The design proceeded from January to October 2015 with very detailed drawings and specifications for cored fiberglass construction with carbon fiber as an option. Initial prices solicited from some northeast boatbuilders came in between $150,000 to $200,000, which is about what I expected, but maybe a little beyond Jacob’s budget. But he is resourceful and committed. To prepare for the journey, during the summer of 2015, Jacob pedaled solo across the US on a bicycle to prove that he had the stamina and frame of mind for the solo ocean voyage. Indeed, that trip was part of his Air-Land-Sea endeavor—to live and survive in each element. The Air Force flying A-10 Warthogs in Afghanistan was the Air; the bike ride across the US was the Land; and the ocean row across the Pacific will be the Sea.
As this is being written (January 2016), another British rower has just completed the San Francisco, CA-to-Cairns, Australia voyage—Peter Bird’s route—for the first time, rowing solo, non-stop in a 20’ boat. So now Jacob won’t be the first to do this particular voyage, but he may become the first American to make the row, and perhaps the person to row the longest solo non-stop voyage to date. Jacob has contracted with Schooner Creek Boat Works in Portland, OR, to begin construction of the boat in cored carbon fiber composites while he continues to fly corporate aircraft to earn more money for the boat and the voyage. You can follow progress of the building of the boat on Jacob’s website. We wish him luck in his next adventure.
UPDATE JUNE 2019
What a voyage! What a finish! Jacob Hendrickson was finally able to leave Neah Bay, Washington on 8 July 2018 for his transpacific crossing in his rowboat, now named Emerson, a family name. Early on in the voyage it looked like he was getting socked with adverse currents and weather, and it appeared he could not catch a break. By the time he was near Hawaii, he was less than half way across the ocean, but he’d used up more than half of his intended time at sea. From his blog posts, however, he seemed to be in good spirits.
Then, for the second half of the voyage, the weather and currents changed in his favor, and he started making really good progress. My wife, Arliss, and I were in French Polynesia on our boat, Corroboree, when he departed, and we stayed aware of his progress as we made our way westward through the Pacific. It was becoming clear that we could be in Australia to meet Jacob when he landed in Cairns, Queensland, his intended port.
In November, 2018, we hauled Corroboree out of the water in Whangarei, New Zealand for some much needed repair and maintenance work. We managed to buy a car and travel around New Zealand to explore that wonderful country while at the same time stayed aware of Jacob’s westward progress. Come March, 2019, we got Corroboree back in the water and started planning our passage to Australia. Jacob was maintaining good speed, and we were getting concerned that we could possibly miss meeting him on his arrival. Checking the weather prior to our leaving New Zealand, it would not cooperate for us to sail a direct route. So we elected to first head to New Caledonia, about 800 miles to the northwest so as to pick up more favorable weather. Unfortunately, we broke our relatively new stainless steel wire headstay (replaced the previous October in Fiji) and it took us about 10 days to get a new Dyneema headstay installed and new jib boom slider to fit it. Time was getting eaten up–we were stuck in port and Jacob was rocketing toward Australia!
In May, we finally left New Caledonia and had a 5-1/2 day sleigh ride, averaging 6 knots the whole way, to Bundaberg, Australia, about 900 miles south of Cairns. Jacob was still at sea. So we soon hired a rental car and drove two full days to Cairns to meet up with Jacob’s support team–all close family.
The last 5 days or so of his voyage, Jacob was actually at anchor on the Great Barrier Reef. The weather was too strong–30-knot winds out of the southeast was pushing him too far north of Cairns. Also, the Australia Border Force was getting a bit difficult to deal with because of the legal formalities to properly notify them a minimum of 4 days prior to arrival. They would not budge on their requirements. So we waited. He waited. Finally, the weather eased a bit, the 4th day arrived, and Jacob upped anchor for the final push into Cairns–that is, he tried to up anchor, but his only anchor was stuck hard on the bottom, and he had to let the anchor and rode go. Now he had to complete the voyage because he had no anchor left!
The Australia Volunteer Coast Guard (AVCG) came to Jacob’s assistance–but without actually touching the boat, which would have negated the whole point of a solo, unassisted, trip. With the help of local fishing boat charter captain, Daniel McCarthy, AVCG arranged to take Jacob’s family out to escort Jacob the last 5-10 miles into port. The wind was still blowing pretty strong out of the southeast, and he could not quite steer closely enough to Cairns to make it into port. So Jacob decided to go to the next port north, Yorky’s Knob, which had a small marina there. The rest of us spectators and friends hopped into our cars and drove madly up to Yorky’s Knob. From the top of the Knob–a big hill on the shore–we could see Jacob slowing progressing into port, escorted by two AVCG vessels.
Our view of Emerson, at left, from atop Yorky’s Knob with two AVCG boats (yellow) in escort.
By mid-afternoon, 8 July, and a mile offshore, Jacob still could not make it directly into the Yorky’s Knob Marina. The wind was still too strong to make the right amount of westing for his being pushed north. The next option was Trinity Beach, about a mile north of the marina and a historic WWII training site, now a tourist town. Back in our cars, we made a mad dash to Trinity Beach. We arrived just as Emerson and Jacob hit the beach. There was a crowd of spectators that quickly grabbed the boat and steadied it as Jacob hopped out and put his feet on the sand! Record established!–336 days at sea–this is the longest time at sea for anyone in a solo, non-stop rowing voyage. Total distance was 6,209 nautical miles direct from Neah Bay to Cairns, but probably over 9,000 miles traveled through the water by the time he finished.
Jacob and Emerson land on Trinity Beach, 8 June 2019 after 336 days at sea.
Now that Jacob had set foot on land–amidst spectators and the press–AVCG could render assistance. They called a local lifeguard to paddle her surfboard from Emerson out to their hard-bottom inflatable with a tow rope, and they towed Emerson and Jacob off the beach and back to the quarantine pier at Yorky’s Knob Marina. We raced back in our cars, and after Jacob went through the required clearance procedures, we were all able to go down onto the dock and greet him ashore. It was just a great afternoon.
Jacob stands in the surf for an impromptu interview with a TV cameraman who is not afraid to get his feet wet.
More TV and newspaper interviews followed on the docks when Jacob finally arrived at the marina.
Jacob and I finally got to greet each other face to face after 3 years.
L-R: Daniel McCarthy who helped us get the AVCG involved, Shauna Flanigan (who with husband Kevin, far right, are the owners of Schooner Creek Boat Works who built Emerson), Jacob, me, my wife Arliss, and Kevin Flanigan.
This is the first time I had ever seen Emerson.
So, what now? Jacob is taking some time off to decompress, volunteering for a few weeks at a yoga retreat near Sydney. Emerson has been shipped back to the US and will likely make another appearance at the Portland, OR, Boat Show in January. From there, it will likely go to a museum. For me, this was a great way to finish a career in yacht design, to see Jacob accomplish his mighty effort. Arliss and I are in Australia for about a year where we will explore this country by car. Then we continue our voyage around the world next year.
UPDATE AUGUST 2024
First, Arliss and I completed our circumnavigation aboard Corroboree, arriving in Boca Raton, Florida, in June 2023, having sailed nearly 32,000 miles around the planet in 6-1/2 years. Then, in 2024, we had an opportunity to visit the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, Oregon, to see Emerson in a new permanent display. I met with the curator of collections, Jeff Smith, to give the museum some copies of the construction drawings for Emerson’s display. Jeff then led me on a tour of their two storage facilites where they have in safe keeping literally thousands of maritime artifacts and a huge collection of boats. The museum had just embarked on a new capital campaign to expand the display space, more than doubling its size, and securing a special place for Emerson and one other famous transoceanic rowboat. Completion is expected in 2026.
Also, Jacob Hendrickson has produced a 27-minute video describing his experiences at sea during is record-setting voyage, which you can see on YouTube, HERE.
And which record? Guinness has certified that Jacob Hendrickson and Emerson hold the World Record for the longest time spent rowing solo, non-stop, unassisted, across an ocean: 335 days 22 hours and 30 minutes, traversing the Pacific Ocean, E-W, departing from Neah Bay, WA, USA on 7th July 2018 and arriving into Trinity Beach, Queensland, Australia on 8th June 2019.
HOORAY!