Lesbian Becomes First Woman to Row Solo Across North Pacific

A lesbian explorer has become the first woman to row unaccompanied from Japan to Alaska.

The Associated Press reports that Sarah Outen touched shore Monday in Adak, a town in the Aleutian Islands, after a 3,750-mile solo trek across the Pacific Ocean. She opened a bottle of champagne in celebration.

The 28-year-old British native spent 150 days at sea, during which time she endured the hardships of isolation as well as shark-infested waters.

"I have pushed myself to my absolute limits both physically and mentally to make land here in Alaska, and body and mind are now exhausted," said Outen, whose boat, christened Happy Socks, reportedly capsized five times.

During her five-month journey, the Oxford University graduate also became engaged, proposing to her girlfriend on a satellite phone call.

Outen, who set a record in 2009 as the first woman to row solo across the Indian Ocean, plans to return to Alaska next spring. She wants to bicycle across North America, and, upon reaching the Atlantic Ocean, begin another solo boat ride to the United Kingdom. 

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