Fastest Indian Ocean crossing by a crew of six (Geraldton to Seychelles)

What to remember

Six rowers left Geraldton, Australia, bound for Victoria on Mahé in the Seychelles. Aboard Avalon, Leven Brown, Jamie Douglas-Hamilton, Tim Spiteri, Fiann Paul, Cameron Bellamy and Heather Rees-Gaunt crossed the Indian Ocean in 57 d 10 h 58 min in 2014.

The crew averaged 2.65 knots. The comparison with the previous holders flatters them: Avalon covered a route 600 nautical miles longer, and the calculated advantage over the old record comes to roughly 10 days.

Ocean rowing boats are most often built for one, two or four people, though some carry as many as fourteen. The Ocean Rowing Society International, which adjudicates the sport's records, splits its history into historic rows, up to and including 1981, and modern-day rows, the era of the Avalon crossing.