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Last of the buccaneers John Fairfax passes away

Last of the buccaneers John Fairfax passes away

THE buccaneer John Fairfax, who rowed across the Atlantic and the Pacific, has passed away. He was 74.

Mr. Fairfax had already led a colourful life before coming to the attention of the public with is plan to become the first person to row solo across the Atlantic in 1969. 

The son of a British father and Bulgarian mother, Mr. Fairfax said he had gone off to stay in the jungle at 13 while living in Argentina with his mother.

His taste for adventure never dimmed. He once cycled from San Franciso to Guatemala before hitchhiking to Panama. It was there that he met a pirate who was to prove a major influence in his life.

With the help of the pirate, Mr. Fairfax spent a spell as a smuggler, handling a small boat to deliver shipments of guns, cigarettes and alcohol.

By 1969 Mr. Fairfax felt ready to tackle the Atlantic single-handed. He had a specially designed rowing boat built. The Britannia was designed to withstand high seas and was also both self-righting and self-bailing.

He set off from the Canary Islands on January 20, 1969. After battling storms, encounters with sharks and rowing an estimated 5,000 miles he arrived at Hollywood Beach, Florida, on July 19, 1969.

Within months he was planning an even bigger adventure — rowing across the Pacific. 

Accompanied by his then girlfriend, Sylvia Cook, Mr. Fairfax set off from San Franciso in another specially built boat, The Britannia II, in April 1971. They were to face storms, including a cyclone, and at one point Mr. Fairfax suffered a shark bite to an arm when he was attacked while trying to spear fish. 

After 8.000 miles and 363 days at sea the couple reached Hayman Island off the Australian coast to become the first known people to row across the pacific.

Afterwards Mr. Fairfax declared: “It was a miserable journey. I don’t care if I never touch another oar”.

In recent years Mr. Fairfax had lived close to Las Vagas where he indulged his passion for gambling. He passed away after suffering a suspected heart attack.

To view an interview with John Fairfax, click here.

 

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