NewsroomPlus.com Contributed by The University of Auckland
Tara Remington’s epic 4000km row across the Pacific Ocean from Los Angeles to Waikiki last year has made the Guiness Book of World Records.
Tara, 44, a professional teaching fellow at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education and Social Work, rowed across the Pacific Ocean from Long Beach, Los Angeles to Waikiki in Hawaii with American Paralympian Angela Madsen, 54. The pair left Los Angeles on 20 May 2014 in their 6m mono-hull rowboat the Spirit of Orlando and reached Hawaii on 21 July 2014.
The journey took 60 days, five hours and five minutes to complete. It is listed in the book as the first team to row the mid-Pacific east to west.
The 4000km odyssey raised money for New Zealand girl Charlotte Cleverley-Bisman. Charlotte lost her arms and legs to meningitis as a baby in 2004. Now a ten-year-old, she needs on-going assistance with prosthetic limbs as she grows.
The news came as a huge surprise to Tara. She only found out last Friday night when a friend posted a picture of the book on facebook.
“So on Sunday morning, after my son’s soccer game finished, we drove into the city to buy our own copy of the book.
“I think for me, the most exciting part of being in the book is the permanence of something that still feels a bit surreal.
“And the Guiness Book of World Records is one of my son’s favourite books to read.”
Tara and Angela coped with the stress of the row by listening to Kiwi classics like Split Enz, The Topp Twins and Patea Maori Club.
Tara even taught Angela the haka.
They also enjoyed playful dolphins, and were impressed by a large white shark that swam up alongside their boat and rolled over to show them its belly.
When they reached Waikiki, Tara ate a cheese pizza to celebrate after two months of living on two minute noodles.
Never one to sit still for long, Tara is now planning to row the Yukon River Quest 2016 with former colleague Dr Airini. The 715-km (444-mile) wilderness adventure paddling race is held on the Yukon River from Whitehorse to Dawson City in Canada’s Yukon Territory.
Tara, a Waiuku resident, first got involved with Charlotte’s charity through the Meningitis Trust in the 2007 Atlantic Rowing Race, and now her daughter Jade is Charlotte’s pen-pal.
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