How he swam across the grooms. Russian traveler Fedor Konyukhov crossed the Pacific Ocean on a rowing boat

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There is hardly a Russian who has not heard about the travels of Fyodor Konyukhov - they talk and write a lot about him on the Internet.

“There are no non-believers on the globe, all seven billion believe, a person cannot live without faith. Now I am building a chapel in memory of Fyodor Ushakov. In general, without God, I would not have enough intelligence or health to do what I do. When I row alone in the ocean, I feel like angels are rowing, they are helping me.”

French actor Sami Naceri called Fyodor Konyukhov the record holder for hot air balloon travel and “the only adventurer” who explored the Northern and South pole. This is an “incredible person,” the movie star noted.

Konyukhov, traveler, where now: about the traveler

Fedor Konyukhov is a Russian traveler and explorer, the first person in the world to reach five poles - the Northern Geographic (three times), the Southern Geographic, the Pole of Relative Inaccessibility in the Arctic Ocean, Everest (the height pole), Cape Horn (the yachtsmen's pole).

He is a full member of the Russian Geographical Society, the author of more than three thousand paintings, and a participant in Russian and international art exhibitions, author of 17 books, member of the Union of Writers of the Russian Federation.

Winner of the national Crystal Compass award.

Fyodor Filippovich Konyukhov is a Soviet and Russian traveler, writer, artist, priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Graduated from vocational school No. 15 of the city of Bobruisk (now Bobruisk State Vocational and Technical Art College) with a degree in inlay carving, Odessa nautical school(navigator), then Leningrad Arctic School (ship mechanic). Studied at the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary.

He carried out his first expedition at the age of 15 - he crossed the Sea of Azov on a rowing boat.

In 1989, together with his younger brother Pavel, he took part in the Soviet-American bicycle ride “Nakhodka-Leningrad”.

Since 1998 - head of laboratory distance learning V extreme conditions(LDOEU) in Modern humanitarian academy(Moscow).

By 2016, he had made more than 50 unique expeditions and ascents, expressing his vision of the world in paintings and books.

In 1983 he was admitted to the Union of Artists of the USSR (the youngest at that time).

Since 1996 - member of the Moscow Union of Artists (USA), section "Graphics", since 2001 also a member of the section of the Ministry of Agriculture "Sculpture". Author of more than three thousand paintings, participant in Russian and international exhibitions.

Since 2012 - academician Russian Academy arts Author of 18 books, member of the Union of Writers of Russia.

On May 19, 2012, as part of the Russian “7 Summits” team, Fedor Konyukhov made his second ascent to the top of Everest, this time along the Northern Ridge (from the Tibet side).

An “expedition” of Konyukhov and Viktor Simonov from Karelia to the southern tip of Greenland via the North Pole was planned for 2013. This route is the longest in the Arctic (more than 4000 km). As a result, the travelers covered only 900 km.

In the period from December 22, 2013 to May 31, 2014, he traveled across the Pacific Ocean on the rowing boat "Turgoyak" from the port of Concon (Chile) to Brisbane (Australia). Having spent 160 days on the journey, Konyukhov showed the best result for traveling alone on a rowing boat without visiting ports or outside assistance (the best of the previous similar journeys lasted 273 days). This is the first continent-to-continent rowboat crossing of the Pacific Ocean.

On July 12, 2016, Fedor Konyukhov, after a year of training with the support of the team, began his solo flight around the world in the MORTON hot air balloon, manufactured by Cameron Balloons (Bristol). The launch took place at the airfield of the Australian town of Northam along the same route as the record flight of his predecessor Steve Fossett in 2002 - the aircraft took off from the ground at 07:33 local time (02:33 Moscow time). On July 23, 2016 at 11:11 Moscow time, Fedor Konyukhov landed safely in western Australia. Set a new world record for flight around the world - 11 days 4 hours and 20 minutes or 268 hours and 20 minutes.

Konyukhov, traveler, where now: today

For 2018, Konyukhov is planning a flight into the stratosphere, as well as a trip around the world on a rowing boat.

Rafting on local rivers in honor of Miner’s Day is also planned for August 2018 in Gornaya Shoria in Kuzbass.

Traveler Fyodor Konyukhov was unable to take part in the “Crimean Around the World” due to the fact that he was studying to become a small aircraft pilot in Belarus.
Fedor Konyukhov was going to be part of the “around the world” trip, but later his plans changed.

The Russian glider should launch in 2020, and it will be piloted by traveler Fyodor Konyukhov, who has already completed five circumnavigations of the world and, in particular, set a record by flying a hot air balloon around the Earth in 268 hours. Konyukhov has already become well accustomed to the status of an aviator and has completed training as a pilot at the Minsk Aviation training center"Diamond."

The cost of the project is still difficult to predict; the budget may change due to many reasons, the main ones being the technological component and unforeseen logistics costs. The technological investor of the project was the Renova group of companies.

Soviet and Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov is preparing for his sixth trip around the world, which he will make on a miniature rowing boat.

In 250 days, Fedor Konyukhov plans to cover 27 thousand kilometers. He will sail on a tumbler boat to Cape Horn in Chile, then head to the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) and return back to New Zealand. The first stage of the expedition will begin in November 2018.

Konyukhov, traveler, where now: latest news

Fyodor Konyukhov's travel school for children is planned to be built in the village of Mashino, Bakhchisaray district. Pupils here will engage not only in sports and creativity, but also develop spiritually.

Konyukhov himself spoke about this:

“There will be a school for travelers. We are ready to build even now: there is land, there are investors. All my friends and sponsors will implement this. I have such schools in Vologda, Chelyabinsk region. We want to teach children about travel. This is not only sports, but also spirituality and education. At the entrance to the village there will be a chapel on the right and a mosque on the left,” he shared his plans.

Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov, in an interview with Zvezda radio, commented on the rescue of St. Petersburg climber Alexander Gukov, who waited for help for six days without water or food.

“You can even sit there, but your strength goes away. As they say, the mountain takes away,” he said.

Konyukhov admired Gukov’s willpower and emphasized that the St. Petersburg resident is a real climber.

“Few people would do that. I admire him,” concluded the traveler.

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This 9-meter boat was built according to a special special project and using the latest technology. At first glance, the Formula 1 car is just resting compared to what we saw here!

You can climb into it, sit on the seat of Fyodor Konyukhov himself and feel like a real traveler.

The boat consists of several sealed compartments.

Through this compartment you first enter the control room.

Here you can see numerous devices for communication and navigation.

There is also an autopilot, which allows you to maintain a given direction in automatic mode, so while rowing you will not go off course under any circumstances, even in a strong storm.

This is a kind of cell of the great traveler, designed specifically for the height of Fyodor Filippovich. True, I have a hard time imagining how one can sleep here during a storm. Being in this bedroom, you understand with your own eyes that Fedor Konyukhov is a completely unique person.

It also seems incredible that he could swim an average of 100 km a day for almost six months!

Solar panels - in such conditions you can’t live without them.

Porthole (bedroom window) - at the stern of the boat.

And there are also oars - the only “engine” on the ship, except for Fedor himself, of course. No sails or motor were found on the boat.

So the prospect of rowing 17 thousand km seems absolutely unrealistic. But Fedor is the first to do this!

This is what this fantastic boat looks like in real life:

(photo from Fedor Konyukhov’s blog).

He has as many as four circumnavigations of the world, completed in splendid isolation.

How to cross the ocean

The first time is always the hardest, especially if you're a teenager. The future famous traveler decided to conquer the sea at the age of fifteen. The place for the experiment was the Sea of Azov, and the instrument was an ordinary fishing boat, equipped only with oars.

True, according to the original plan, Fedor was going to cross the sea on a boat of his own making. But then an angry parent intervened and took away the homemade product. But the young traveler was not at a loss and “borrowed” a fishing boat from the village council. Konyukhov claims that he then swam across the Sea of Azov.

Later he realized that for serious travel you need a good one. And after finishing his service, he went to work as a sailor in the Baltic rescue fleet, and later went on fishing trawlers.

Most likely, Konyukhov did not forget his youthful adventure with a boat in the Sea of Azov and decided to conquer the ocean in the same way. The traveler successfully realized his idea, and even repeated it in two oceans. He began in 2002 with the conquest on the Uralaz boat.

The development of the seven-meter vessel was entrusted to Philip Morrison. The body was made of carbon fiber and Canadian cedar wood, and a figurine of a Ural car produced by the sponsor was attached to the nose.

The navigation point was equipped with a stationary and manual GPS device, automatic detection location, electronic compass and radar warning of approaching ships. The life support system was powered by two batteries powered by solar panels. They also provided the ability to replenish supplies using rainwater.

In October 2002, Konyukhov started from and went solo across the Atlantic via Columbus. He reached the island in record time, spending just over 46 days crossing the ocean.

Without a sail and without a motor, armed with only two pairs of oars, Fedor Konyukhov managed to cross the Pacific Ocean. In preparation for the trip, he independently created sketches of a unique boat and entrusted its creation to English specialists. Initially, the ship was named “K9”, but later it was renamed “Turgoyak”.

The nine-meter carbon fiber boat was divided into two parts: a compartment with a miniature galley and a navigation unit (equipped with the latest equipment) and a living compartment, in which part of the area was allocated for navigation equipment. Electricity for household needs was generated by solar panels, and the water desalinator operated from them.

According to the plan, Konyukhov’s boat was supposed to travel from Chile to in six months, without calling at ports or stopping. "Turgoyak" left Concon on December 14, 2013 and headed for the waters of Peru. Along the way, he contacted the support group several times. In mid-January, Konyukhov survived the storm, but was able to continue his journey.

From Peru the traveler went to the Australian city of Mooloolaba, the final point of the solo expedition. The entire journey took 160 days, the boat withstood all the tests of bad weather, and its owner considers himself lucky to have reached his destination so successfully.

On the way, he caught squid, saw a coconut and tried to get rid of the annoying one. He also set a world record for the fastest crossing of the Pacific Ocean and became the first citizen to complete such a journey.

Around the world races and regattas

On this trip around the world, Konyukhov discovered the amazing world of the oceans, rounded Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope. Having closed the planetary circle, the traveler brought the yacht back to Australia in June 1991.

Konyukhov's second circumnavigation of the world began in March 1993. For this trip, he built the Formosa yacht in Taiwan and immediately set off. The voyage took seven months, and in 1994 the traveler abandoned at the starting point.

In 2004, the tireless Fedor Konyukhov started from Falmouth, England, paved the way to the island of Tasmania and returned to Falmouth in 2005. His large yacht “Trading Network “Scarlet Sails” (85 feet long) was the first vessel of its class to round Cape Horn. From December to January next year he sailed on the same ship, but with a Russian crew on board.

In addition to solo voyages around the world, the traveler took part in solo regattas. His name can be found on the list of participants in the “Around Alone” round-the-world regatta, which took place in 1998-1999.

Konyukhov went to the start on the Open 60 class yacht “Modern Humanitarian University”. This voyage is considered the third circumnavigation of the famous Russian traveler.

At the helm of the same yacht, Konyukhov also competed in the French regatta. The ships had to travel around the world without stopping or calling at ports.

It took Konyukhov one hundred and two more days to circumnavigate Antarctica while participating in the Australian Antarctica Cup competition in 2007-2008. He took part in these races on his large yacht “Trading Network “Scarlet Sails”.

Fedor Konyukhov is constantly making new plans and developing routes for new sea voyages. For 2017, he planned not just a regatta or a trip around the world. The traveler has set his sights on the Mariana Trench; he plans to sink to the bottom in a submersible and spend several days there completely alone.

On January 7, 1887, Thomas Stevens from San Francisco completed the first trip around the world by bicycle. In three years, the traveler managed to cover 13,500 miles and open a new page in the history of travel around the world. Today about the most unusual trips around the world.

Thomas Stevens's trip around the world by bicycle

In 1884, “a man of average height, dressed in a worn blue flannel shirt and blue overalls... tanned like a nut... with a prominent mustache,” this is how journalists of the time described Thomas Stevens, bought a penny-farthing bicycle, grabbed a minimum supply of things and Smith & Wesson 38 caliber and hit the road. Stevens crossed the entire North American continent, covering 3,700 miles, and ended up in Boston. There the idea of traveling around the world came to his mind. He sailed to Liverpool by boat, traveled through England, took a ferry to Dieppe in France, and crossed Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. Further, his path ran through Armenia, Iraq and Iran, where he spent the winter as a guest of the Shah. He was denied passage through Siberia. The traveler crossed the Caspian Sea to Baku, reached Batumi by railway, and then sailed by ship to Constantinople and India. Then Hong Kong and China. And the final point of the route was where Stevens, by his own admission, was finally able to relax.

Around the world trip in an amphibious jeep

In 1950, Australian Ben Carlin decided to travel around the world in his modernized amphibious jeep. His wife walked three quarters of the route with him. In India, she came ashore, and Ben Carlin himself completed his journey in 1958, having covered 17 thousand km by water and 62 thousand km by land.

Around the world trip in a hot air balloon

In 2002, American Steve Fossett, co-owner of the company Scaled Composites, who by that time had already earned fame as an adventure pilot, flew around the Earth in a hot air balloon. He had been striving to do this for many years and achieved his goal on the sixth attempt. Fossett's flight became the first solo flight around the world in history without refueling or stopping.

Traveling around the world by taxi

Once, the British John Ellison, Paul Archer and Lee Purnell, the morning after drinking, calculated the costs associated with it and found out that a taxi home would cost them much more than the drinking itself. Probably, someone would have decided to drink at home, but the British did something radical - they pooled together a 1992 London cab and set off on a trip around the world. As a result, in 15 months they covered 70 thousand km and went down in history as participants in the longest taxi ride. History is silent, however, about their activity in pubs along the road.

Around the world on an ancient Egyptian reed boat

Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl made the transatlantic crossing on a light reed boat built on the model of the ancient Egyptians. On his boat "Ra" he managed to reach the coast of Barbados, proving that ancient sailors could make transatlantic crossings. It is worth noting that this was Heyerdahl's second attempt. The year before, he and his crew had nearly drowned when the ship, due to design flaws, began to bend and break into pieces a few days after launch. The Norwegian team included the famous Soviet television journalist and traveler Yuri Senkevich.

Around the world trip on a pink yacht

Today, the title of the youngest navigator to complete a solo circumnavigation of the world belongs to Australian Jessica Watson. She was only 16 years old when she completed her 7-month circumnavigation of the world on May 15, 2010. The girl's pink yacht crossed the Southern Ocean, crossed the equator, rounded Cape Horn, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, approached the shores of South America, and then returned to Australia through the Indian Ocean.

A millionaire's trip around the world by bike

The 75-year-old millionaire, former producer of pop stars and football teams, Janusz River, repeated the experience of Thomas Stevens. He changed his life dramatically when in 2000 he bought a mountain bike for $50 and hit the road. Since that time, River, who, by the way, is Russian on his mother’s side, speaks excellent Russian, has visited 135 countries and traveled more than 145 thousand km. He learned ten foreign languages and managed to be captured by militants 20 times. Not life, but a complete adventure.

Jogging around the world

Briton Robert Garside bears the title "Running Man". He is the first person to travel around the world by running. His record was included in the Guinness Book of Records. Robert had several unsuccessful attempts to complete the round-the-world race. And on October 20, 1997, he successfully started from New Delhi (India) and finished his race, the length of which was 56 thousand km, at the same place on June 13, 2003, almost 5 years later. Representatives of the Book of Records scrupulously and for a long time checked his record, and Robert was able to receive a certificate only a few years later. On the way, he described everything that happened to him using his pocket computer, and everyone who was interested could get acquainted with the information on his personal website.

Traveling around the world by motorcycle

In March 2013, two Britons - Belfast Telegraph travel expert Geoff Hill and former racing driver Gary Walker - left London to recreate the round-the-world trip that American Carl Clancy made on a Henderson motorcycle 100 years ago. In October 1912, Clancy left Dublin with a travel companion, whom he left in Paris, and he continued his journey to the south of Spain, through North Africa, Asia, and at the end of the tour, he traveled across America. Carl Clancy's journey lasted 10 months and contemporaries called this trip around the world "the longest, most difficult and most dangerous journey on a motorcycle."

Solo non-stop circumnavigation

Fedor Konyukhov is the man who completed the first solo non-stop circumnavigation in Russian history. On the yacht "Karaana" 36 pounds long, he traveled the route Sydney - Cape Horn - Equator - Sydney. It took him 224 days to do this. Konyukhov's round-the-world trip began in the fall of 1990 and ended in the spring of 1991.

Fedor Filippovich Konyukhov is a Russian traveler, artist, writer, priest of the Russian Orthodox Church, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR in sports tourism. He became the first person in the world to visit the five poles of our planet: the Northern geographic pole (three times), the southern geographic pole, the Pole of relative inaccessibility in the Arctic Ocean, Everest (the pole of heights) and Cape Horn (the pole of yachtsmen).

A Russian crosses the Pacific Ocean on a rowing boat
Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov, who has traveled around the world five times, is currently crossing the Pacific Ocean on the Turgoyak rowing boat. This time he decided to make the transition from Chile to Australia. As of September 3, Konyukhov had already managed to cover 1,148 km; more than 12,000 kilometers of ocean travel remained to Australia.

An excellent example for novice travelers can be the experience of Nina and Gramp, a married couple who have been married for 61 years. They packed their bags and created.

On December 12, 2012, on his birthday, Fyodor Konyukhov officially presented a new project - crossing the Pacific Ocean on a rowing boat. Fedor Konyukhov plans to cross the Pacific Ocean on a rowing boat along the continent-continent route non-stop, without calling at ports and without escort.

In December 2012, a visit to England took place, during which the design of a 9-meter boat (working name of the boat “K9”) was finally approved and a decision was made to build the boat on the east coast of England (near the city of Ipswich).

The design was developed by Philip Morrison, who also designed the 7-meter rowing boat “URALAZ” for Fedor Konyukhov, on which he crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 46 days and set a world record. The project turned out to be very successful and more than 20 ocean-going boats were manufactured according to the drawings of the URALAZ boat.

Over the past 10 years, designs of ocean rowing boats have undergone significant changes, but as for the design of the boat and the contours of the hull, Fedor Konyukhov decided to maintain the classic design, repeating the shape of the previous URALAZ boat. The new boat has a hull of 9 meters in length, a hull width of 1.6 meters, 5 waterproof bulkheads, two types of steering gear (stationary and emergency), sufficiently large volumes for storing food and equipment, while the weight of the Turgoyak boat is less than the URALAZ boat, since the hull is made of carbon fiber.

The new Turgoyak boat is built from durable carbon fiber material by molding into a matrix. Read more about construction.

The manager of the construction of the boat and its technical equipment was an Englishman, Charlie Pitcher. It is worth noting that Charlie himself crossed the Atlantic Ocean twice alone on a rowing boat in 52 days and 35 days. In 2013, he started from the Canary Islands and finished 35 days later in Antigua, setting a new world record for singles. Read more.

The project manager is another famous ocean rower, organizer of races across the oceans on rowing boats - Simon Chalk. This Englishman has 6 crossings of the Atlantic Ocean and 2 crossings of the Indian Ocean on rowing boats. Read more.

Organizing such a large-scale project as crossing the Pacific Ocean is a super-task and we need professionals high level. If we compare the Atlantic, there is a route of 3 thousand miles, which can be covered in one season. The Pacific Ocean between Chile and the east coast of Australia has a route length of almost 9 thousand nautical miles. We are targeting 180-200 days in the ocean and it’s clear that I won’t be able to do it in one season. I plan to start in the summer (December in the Southern Hemisphere), and finish in the late autumn; I cannot avoid storms on the approach to Australia. The boat must withstand enormous loads, and I will need the most modern technologies, the latest developments in ocean rowing projects. Therefore, I invited active ocean rowers Simon and Charlie to the project, and they are both boat builders, each building a boat for their rowing marathons. Simon's experience as an organizer of races across the ocean is also important to me; the logistics of England - Chile - Australia are quite complex and we will need his experience. – Fedor Konyukhov

The name of the rowing boat is Turgoyak

Start of the expedition. The first time Fedor Konyukhov started on December 14, 2013 from the Chilean city of Con Con, Valparaiso region, but due to problems with on-board batteries he was forced to return to Con Con. The second start took place on December 22, 2013, also from Con Con. The estimated time planned for crossing the Pacific Ocean is 180-200 days. The finish area is the east coast of Australia, approximately the city of Brisbane.

In preparation for this expedition, Fedor Konyukhov used information about single passages across the Pacific Ocean from east to west in non-stop mode by the following rowers: (based on materials from the site www.oceanrowing.com)

Anders Svedlun (Sweden). Start 02/27/1974. Finish 09/06/1974. Travel time 191 days. Starting point Chile (Huasco). Finish of the island of Western Samoa. Traveled 6,462 miles.
Peter Bird (England). Start 08/23/1982. Finish: 06/14/1983. Travel time is 294 days. Start San Francisco (USA). Finish Barrier Reef (east of Australia), next to the Lockhart River. Traveled 8,688 miles. Crossed the equator.
Jim Shekhdar (England). Start 06/29/2000. Finish: 03/30/2001. Travel time is 273 days. Starting point Peru. Finish point: North Stradbroke Island (Australia). Traveled 10,652 miles. The main reference point for Fedor Konyukhov.
Maud Fontenoy (France). Start 01/12/2005 from Peru (Lima). Finish: Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia). Finish: 03/26/2005. Travel time: 72 days. Traveled 4,217 miles.
Alex Bellini (Italy). Start 02/21/2008. Finish 12/12/2008. Travel time is 294 days. Start location: Peru (Callao). Finish point: Coral Sea (65 miles off the coast of Australia).
Serge Jandaud (France). Start 06/12/2010. Finish 11/23/2010. Travel time – 163 days. Start location: Peru (Callao). Finish point is Wallis Island.

Fedor Konyukhov will try to cross the Pacific Ocean from east to west from the continent (South America) to the continent (Australia) without stopping or visiting islands.

Map of the route of this transition

On May 31, 2014 at 13:13 local time (Brisbane), the rowboat Turgoyak touched down the coast of eastern Australia, the city of Mooloolaba.

Fedor Konyukhov crossed the largest ocean on the planet on a rowing boat, from continent to continent, without calling at ports, without outside help, in a record time of 159 days 16 hours 58 minutes.