UK man first to row solo from US to Australia A British adventurer has made history, becoming the first person to row solo from the United States to Australia. A relieved John Beeden, 53, is still recovering after reaching land at Cairns on Sunday morning, two months after he was due in Queensland. 
"I don't think I quite comprehended the immensity of the challenge and that it was a proper world first," he said. Mr Beeden was greeted by his wife and two daughters after 200 days at sea, rowing 7400 nautical miles non- stop across the Pacific Ocean without even an assistance boat. After leaving San Francisco in   June, bad weather set back his finish date but he was able to email wife Cheryl and teenage daughters Libby and Georgie, keep his spirits up and complete 15 hours of rowing each day.
"It was really hard work but I just pushed on," he said. Mr Beeden, who lived in South Australia as a child for two years and now lives in Canada, said it was a "spiritual homecoming" to land in Australia.