Staveley man in record-breaking Indian Ocean crew (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Staveley man in record-breaking Indian Ocean crew

4:42pm Tuesday 30th June 2009

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A SOUTH Lakeland adventurer has helped smash a 38-year record for the fastest crossing of the Indian Ocean by rowing boat.

Paul Cannon from Staveley was in a multi-national crew of eight which rowed 3,132 nautical from Australia to Mauritius in less than 59 days - knocking six days off the previous route record.

Mr Cannon, who makes a living as a trapeze artist, set off from Geraldton, Western Australia, on April 28 with three other Britons, three Americans and a Belgian. They arrived at Gunners Quoin Island, North Mauritius, after 58 days, 15 hours and eight minutes at sea.

In addition to the fastest crossing, three of the crew set individual records for the Indian Ocean - the first paraplegic (crew member Angela Madsen), the first women (Angela Madsen and Helen Taylor) and the first person to row the ocean twice (Simon Chalk).

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