Tom’s Pacific Journey

…Eight years later, in 2021, after qualifying as a boatbuilder after a four-year apprenticeship, Tom quit his job and laid the keel of the ocean rowing boat he designed by hand and eye. Tom then worked six days a week for five months, handcrafting a traditional and sustainable wooden boat that would withstand the rigors of an 7,500 nautical mile (13,800km) trans-Pacific journey.

The boat, ‘Maiwar’, named after the Aboriginal name for the Brisbane River, is 24’ long (7.3m), 6’ wide (2m), and weights over one ton when fully loaded. Tom carries 300 litres of drinking water and rations 2-3 litres per day. Tom eats the same thing every day - oats for breakfast, wraps with peanut butter for lunch, a dehydrated meal for dinner, and plenty of fresh fish. Tom chooses to row without modern conveniences such as an electric water maker, chartplotter, autopilot, or even music. Tom prefers silence at sea and has never once been bored or lonely.

In July of 2022 after extreme logistical and bureaucratic challenges during covid, Tom departed Lima, Peru, escorted by yachts, pleasure craft, rowing shells and a Peruvian Naval brass band. Within days Tom was rowing in strong south-easterly breezes and large waves as he was taken north by the famous Humboldt current. For the next 75 days Tom rowed and rowed and rowed. He experienced storms and calms - large whales neared the boat, sharks were a constant, as were the barnacles that made in necessary to climb overboard every week to clean the bottom. Tom experienced some of the highest highs imaginable during this period across the eastern Pacific. The lows were yet to come.

265 Days at Sea - 192 Days in the Villages

On day 75 Tom estimated that he was just 25 days away from reaching his first landfall, the paradisiacal Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. Later that day, a strong southerly breeze blew up and Tom began to be blown off course. Two days later, with the breeze still strong, any chance of reaching his intended landfall disappeared. Tom had to re-assess; he consulted his paper charts and discovered a tiny atoll 1,000 miles to the west. It was the next inhabited island. Overnight Tom’s first leg went from a 4,000 mile journey to a 5,000 mile journey.

On day 160 Tom spotted land. Inhabitants of the island of Penrhyn/Tongareva (Cook Islands), came out in a boat and towed Tom through the dangerous pass and into the shelter of the lagoon. Overjoyed and overwhelmed, Tom stepped ashore for the first time in over 5 months, and into the welcoming arms of the people who would become his friends and family over the next four months while he waited for the supply ship and the end of cyclone season. Upon stepping ashore, Tom was bestowed with the rare honour of a Polynesian name. His new name is ‘Mahuta-Hoehoe-Asanga’ which translates to ‘The warrior that has paddled from afar’. Fitting indeed.

After four months of spiritual bliss living in peaceful harmony with the islanders, Tom departed Penrhyn - destination unknown. This second leg was made all the more difficult by a staphylococcal infection on Tom's legs that caused puss filled sores and wounds to appear, making rowing very painful. Thankfully, Tom had the necessary medication onboard to overcome the worst of the illness. He made the decision to aim for American Samoa, the nearest inhabited island, in order to recuperate. He once again touched land again, for the first time in 38 days.

Five weeks later Tom departed Pago Pago on his third leg. Almost straight away he found himself rowing in unusually strong winds and soon approached the unpredictable South Pacific Convergence Zone which caused strong winds and unpredictable weather. Throughout it all Tom continued to row when he could, often suffering in pain from saltwater sores, fatigue and exposure. The wind continued to throughout the third leg. When the seas are too large, Tom has no other option but to batten the hatches, deploy the sea anchor and ride out the storm, a frightening situation with man and boat completely at the mercy of mother nature. This period was interspersed with light breezes and adverse currents that would sometimes push Tom backwards during the night, the next morning finding himself further away from Australian than the previous day. On day 52 Tom spotted Gaua Island in Vanuatu and after a treacherous entry over the surrounding reef, made it safely into a protected anchorage.

Tom waited on Gaua for one week for the winds to abate, all the while staying aboard his boat, Maiwar. Then the time came to depart. Tom made his way south-west and rowed around Cap Nahoi on Vanuatu's largest Island, Espirito Santo. Tom then continued down the west coast of Santo Island, a tough and dangerous journey very rarely made by outsiders. Eventually Tom arrived in Luganville, Santo's capital. He was then able to check in officially with customs (who did not believe he had arrived in a rowing boat), and stepped ashore for the first time in 70 days. Completing his crossing of the Pacific Ocean 14 months after departing Peru - Covering 7,500 miles in 265 days at sea.

A few weeks later Tom set off from Vanuatu with the aim of reaching Australia. Four days into the journey his boat, Maiwar, was capsized by a rogue wave. Tom managed to swim out of the flooded cabin and hold onto the upturned hull where he remained for the next 14 hours before a dramatic rescue by a cruise ship. Tom survived to tell the tale of his adventures across the Pacific…

People from around the world have been following Tom’s remarkable journey, relishing the opportunity to live vicariously through the young adventurer’s popular blog posts and writings.