First person to twice hold three simultaneous overall ocean rowing speed records on different oceans
Who
Fiann Paul
What
first first
Where
Norway (Longyearbyen)
When

The first person to twice hold three simultaneous overall ocean rowing speed records on different oceans is Fiann Paul (Iceland), in 2016 and 2017. On 14 July 2016, as part of a team of four rowing on Danielle, Paul set a record overall speed on the Mid-Pacific route (Monterey, California, USA, to Hawaii) with an average speed of 2.21 knots (4.09 km/h; 2.54 mph). This was in addition to two overall speed records he was holding at the time: one for crossing the Atlantic at an average speed of 3.386 knots (6.27 km/h; 3.89 mph; for the "Blue Riband Trophy", achieved in 2011, from Morocco to Barbados in a team of six, on board Sara G), and one for crossing the Indian Ocean at an average speed of 2.65 knots (4.90 km/h; 3.05 mph; achieved in 2014, from Geraldton, Western Australia, to the Seychelles in a team of seven, on board Avalon). The following year, on 27 July 2017, Paul set a new record when, as part of a five-member crew on board Polar Row, he set the fastest average speed on the Arctic Ocean Open Waters (2.557 knots; 4.73 km/h; 2.94 mph), rowing south to north from Tromsø to Hornsund, Svalbard, Norway. The Mid-Pacific speed record has since been broken, but the "Blue Riband Trophy" achieved on the Atlantic in 2011 and the 2.65-knot speed record on the Indian Ocean have remained unchallenged, giving Paul his third simultaneous overall ocean rowing speed record, and each on a different ocean.


The Blue Riband Trophy in ocean rowing recognizes the fastest crew to cross the Atlantic Ocean from the Canary Islands ("Trade Winds I" route) or Morocco, based on their average speed. Rowers on the shorter “Trade Winds II” route - which starts from Cape Verde and Senegal areas - are not considered for the trophy.