Australian Navy Rescues Rower Crossing Pacific from California

A Lithuanian rower attempting to cross the Pacific Ocean has been rescued by an Australian

warship after hitting stormy waters off the coast of Queensland State.

Royal Australian Navy officer Justin Jones said in a statement that Orimas Moskos was

brought aboard the warship on March 3.

The 44-year-old adventurer began his trip alone in October from San Diego, California.

He made it to within 740 kilometers of Australia's mainland before running into a tropical cyclone.

Australia's Maritime Safety Authority organized the rescue.

It said the enclosed boat that Moskos traveled in was mostly destroyed by the powerful waters.

He was only able to recover a few personal belongings from the boat.

Moskos was stranded for three days in the Coral Sea east of Queensland's coastal city of Mackay.

His goal was to make it from California to the Australian state's capital, Brisbane.

The whole distance is about 12,000 kilometers.

The rower turned on an emergency signal while experiencing stormy seas fueled by 80-kilometer-per-hour

winds caused by Tropical Storm Alfred.

That led to rescuers establishing radio contact with Moskos.

Moskos reported he was fatigued, the team said.

Navy officials said the warship was taking Moskos to Sydney in New South Wales.

Rowers traveling by themselves have crossed the Pacific Ocean nonstop in the past.

Moskos was attempting to become one of the few to cross the sea alone and without stopping.

Peter Bird of Britain became the first to do so in 1983.

He rode from San Francisco and was pulled behind another boat for the last 48 kilometers to the Australian mainland.

Even though he did not complete the whole trip alone, he is considered to have rode

close enough to Australia to have made the crossing.

Fellow British citizen John Beadon rode from San Francisco to the Queensland city of Cairns in 2015.

He is considered by some to have made the first successful crossing.

Australian Michelle Lee became the first woman to successfully make the crossing in 2023.

She rode from the Mexican coastal city of Ensenada to Port Douglas in Queensland.

Another Australian, Tom Robinson, attempted to become the youngest to row across the Pacific in 2022.

He was 24 years old at the time.

During his trip, Robinson took a rest in the Cook Islands.

He set out from Peru and spent 265 days at sea before he was rescued off the southwestern

Pacific nation of Vanuatu in 2023. I'm Jill Robbins.