Jason LewisFRGS (born 13 September 1967) is an English author,[1] explorer and sustainability campaigner credited with being the first person to circumnavigate the globe by human power.[2][3] He is also the first person to cross North America on inline skates (1996), and the first to cross the Pacific Ocean by pedal power (2000). Together with Stevie Smith, Lewis completed the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean from mainland Europe to North America by human power (1995).
Lewis pedalling his boat Moksha on the River Thames in London, shortly before completing the first human-powered circumnavigation of the Earth (2007)
Lewis set off with friend and fellow adventurer Stevie Smith from Greenwich, London on 12 July 1994, to complete the world's first human-powered circumnavigation, and the two dubbed the journey Expedition 360. By July 2007, Lewis had travelled over 60,000km (37,000mi). He successfully ended his 4,833-day expedition on 6 October 2007, having travelled 74,842km (46,505mi).[4][5]
In mid-1994, Lewis and Smith mountain-biked 2,700 kilometres (1,700mi) through France, Spain and Portugal to the port of Lagos, Portugal. Departing on 13 October 1994, Lewis and Smith then pedaled 111 consecutive days and 7,200 kilometres (4,500mi) across the Atlantic Ocean from Portugal to Miami, Florida in a wooden pedal-powered boat named Moksha.
Lewis then rollerbladed thousands of miles across North America. He was struck by a drunk driver in Pueblo, Colorado, and spent nine months recovering from two broken legs. He finished the North American expedition leg in 1996. In 1998 and 1999, Lewis and Smith spent 53 days pedaling Moksha across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco, California to Hilo, Hawaii, where Smith ended his journey. In four days, Lewis and a small group of supporters hiked the 80 miles across Hawaii.
After 73 days of solo pedaling Moksha across the doldrums, Lewis completed the Pacific Ocean crossing from Hawaii to the island atoll of Tarawa. In May 2000, he was accompanied by Moksha's builder, Chris Tipper, to pedal the 1,300-mile stretch from Tarawa to the Solomon Islands. With the help of friend and expedition supporter April Abril, Lewis then pedaled Moksha 1,450 miles for 32 days across the Coral Sea to Australia. In 2001, Lewis and a group of supporters spent 88 days cycling 3,500 miles across the Australian outback, starting near Cooktown, Queensland, and finishing in the port city of Darwin, Northern Territory.
After spending many years raising funds to continue Expedition 360, Lewis was reunited with Moksha in 2005. He and expedition supporter Lourdes Arango pedaled 450 nautical miles from Darwin to Dili, East Timor.
Throughout 2005, Lewis kayaked thousands of miles through the Indonesian archipelago from East Timor to Singapore. In 2006, he biked from Singapore to the Himalayas, and biked and hiked through the Himalayas to the port of Mumbai. Covering 2,000 nautical miles in 46 days during early 2007, Lewis and friend Sher Dhillon pedaled Moksha from Mumbai, India, crossing the Arabian Sea to Djibouti.[citation needed]
Lewis then planned to travel through Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, and the Middle East before reaching Europe[6] – encountering a problem in Sudan. The Egyptian authorities would not let him pass through their waters, and when his visa for Sudan ran out he was left with an "impossible decision".[citation needed] He attempted to kayak across Lake Nasser to Abu Simbel but was arrested on suspicion of spying. He was released, but Egyptian authorities forbade him from cycling the 178-mile journey to Aswan. He completed this section illegally by riding partly at night.[7] During his journey through Sudan he encountered actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman who were travelling south as part of their Long Way Down motorbike trip.[citation needed]
In July 2007, Lewis reached Syria, and then cycled across Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Austria, Germany, and Belgium before returning to London on 6 October. Pulling Moksha in tow, Lewis crossed the Greenwich Meridian Line where he had begun his expedition 13 years earlier.
During his expedition, Lewis twice survived malaria, sepsis, a bout of mild schizophrenia, and a crocodile attack near Australia in 2005.[8]
As part of a wider interest in sustainability and education, Lewis has visited more than 900 schools in 37 countries, giving talks to students and involving them in a variety of programs to promote world citizenship, zero carbon emission travel, and awareness of consumption habits on the health of the planet.
In August 2020, Lewis announced on his blog that he and Stevens will embark on a three-year journey named GB360, circumnavigating United Kingdom and Ireland with refitted Moksha, bike and kayak, documenting examples of sustainable living along the way.[9][10][11] They began the first leg of their trip, Cymru360 circumnavigating Wales, from Deeside on 19 June 2021, covering 650 miles in 8 weeks, and ending on 12 August.[12] After completion, Lewis tweeted that if funding permits, they plan to circumnavigate Scotland or Ireland in 2022.[13]
Bibliography
The Expedition, Dark Waters: True Story of the First Human-Powered Circumnavigation of the Earth, Billy Fish Books 2012
The Expedition, The Seed Buried Deep, Billy Fish Books, 2013
The Expedition, To the Brink, Billy Fish Books, 2014
Contributor to Chicken Soup for the Traveler's Soul, HCI, 2002
Contributor to Flightless: Incredible Journeys Without Leaving the Ground, Lonely Planet Publications, 2008
Contributor to The Modern Explorers, Thames & Hudson, 2013
Smith, Stevie, Pedalling to Hawaii, Summersdale Publishers Ltd., 2005
Records
Recognized by Guinness World Records as the first individual human-powered circumnavigation of the Earth, 2013.[14]
Teamed with Stevie Smith, Lewis was the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean from mainland Europe to North America by human power, February 1995.
First person to cross North America on inline skates, September 1996.
First person to cross the Pacific Ocean by pedal power, August 2000.
Literary Awards
The Expedition, Dark Waters: True Story of the First Human-Powered Circumnavigation of Earth and BillyFish Books awarded the Independent Book Publishers Association Benjamin Franklin Bill Fisher Award for best first book (non-fiction), 2013
Winner of the 2013 Eric Hoffer (First Horizon) Award for The Expedition, Dark Waters: True Story of the First Human-Powered Circumnavigation of Earth
Winner of the 2013 National Indie Excellence Award for The Expedition, Dark Waters: True Story of the First Human-Powered Circumnavigation of Earth
Winner of the 2012 ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Award (Adventure & Recreation) for The Expedition, Dark Waters: True Story of the First Human-Powered Circumnavigation of Earth
Grand Prize Winner of the 2012 Southern California Book Festival for The Expedition, True Story of the First Human-Powered Circumnavigation of the Earth
Other Honours
London University Hon Fellow (RHC)
Royal Geographic Society Club Fellow (FRGS)
Explorers Club Fellow
Royal Scottish Geographical Society (FRSGS)
Film
Throughout his 13-year expedition, Lewis' friend, cinematographer Kenny Brown, collected many hundreds of hours of footage, and has compiled the work into a feature-length documentary titled, The Expedition.
Webcomic
In 2012, artist Kris Stacks and writer Anthony DiMatteo created a 27-page black and white webcomic based on the writings of Lewis. The free webcomic was titled Expedition360.[citation needed]
Personal life
In his earlier years before Expedition 360, Lewis worked as a window cleaner, and as a member of a rock n' roll cover band. Before carrying out his 13-year human-powered circumnavigation, Lewis had never crossed an ocean before. Nor had he roller bladed, kayaked, or ridden a bike for more than a few miles.
He regularly delivers inspirational speeches about global sustainability, and appears for book signings and readings to promote The Expedition trilogy. He also frequently writes for magazines and travel books. Lewis is vegan and a strong animal rights supporter, known for saying he "won't eat anything that has a face."
When Lewis was recuperating in Colorado during his expedition, he gave talks at schools. It was there that he met Tammie Stevens, an actress, who was taking a theatre workshop at the same school. After Lewis returned to London in 2007, he was offered a six-figure advance for a book about his experience, but he rejected the deal upon learning he'd have to work with a ghost writer, leaving him broke, homeless and unemployed. It was then that Stevens sent him an e-mail to reconnect. Upon hearing about his plight, she started her own publishing company, Billy Fish Books. They later married and settled in the Beulah mountain community in Colorado.[15] In Beulah, they hosted a "Don't Nix It, Fix It" repair party to encourage sustainability in 2019.[16]
Around the world in 13 years' Newscaster: Alphonso Van Marsh, CNN International,[18] England, 6 October 2007; republished by Rogers Yahoo Video as Around the world in 13 years: Human Powered Voyage, 8 October 2007.[19]
The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arctic coasts of Norway and Siberia is accordingly called the Northeast Passage (NEP). The various islands of the archipelago are separated from one another and from Mainland Canada by a series of Arctic waterways collectively known as the Northwest Passages, Northwestern Passages or the Canadian Internal Waters.
Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body. This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth.
A sea kayak or touring kayak is a kayak developed for the sport of paddling on open waters of lakes, bays, and the ocean. Sea kayaks are seaworthy small boats with a covered deck and the ability to incorporate a spray deck. They trade off the manoeuvrability of whitewater kayaks for higher cruising speed, cargo capacity, ease of straight-line paddling, known as tracking, and comfort for long journeys.
Expedition 360 is the name of a successful attempt by Briton Jason Lewis to be the first person to circumnavigate the globe using only human power – no motors or sails. It was begun by Lewis and Stevie Smith in 1994 and ended at 12:24 pm on 6 October 2007, when Lewis re-crossed the prime meridian at Greenwich, London, having travelled 74,842 km (46,505 mi).
Kenichi Horie is a Japanese solo yachtsman. In 1962 he became the first person to sail solo and non-stop across the Pacific Ocean. He has made other significant solo voyages, usually involving boats exhibiting some sort of environmentally friendly theme, including his 2008 voyage across the Western Pacific Ocean in a wave-powered boat.
Lewis William Gordon Pugh, OIG, is a British-South African endurance swimmer and ocean advocate. Dubbed the "Sir Edmund Hillary of swimming", he is the first person to complete a long-distance swim in every ocean of the world, and he frequently swims in vulnerable ecosystems to draw attention to their plight.
Colin Angus is a Canadian author and adventurer who is the first person to make a self-propelled global circumnavigation. Due to varying definitions of the term "circumnavigation," debate has arisen as to whether or not the route travelled fulfilled the strictest criteria. As part of the circumnavigation, Angus and his then fiancé Julie Wafaei made the first rowboat crossing of the Atlantic Ocean from mainland Europe to mainland North America, and Wafaei became the first Canadian woman to row across any ocean. Colin and Julie have two sons: Leif, born September 2010, and Oliver, born June 2014.
Peter Bray became, in 2001, the third person known to cross the Atlantic Ocean alone in a kayak as well as the first one to paddle west to east and also the first one not using sails to help his paddling. He documented his expedition in the book Kayak Across the Atlantic in 2004.
Erden Eruç is a Turkish-American adventurer who became the first person in history to complete an entirely solo and entirely human-powered circumnavigation of the Earth on 21 July 2012 in Bodega Bay, California, United States. The journey had started from Bodega Bay a little more than five years earlier on 10 July 2007. The modes of transport included a rowboat to cross the oceans, a sea kayak for shorelines, a bicycle on the roads and hiking on trails, along with canoes for a few river crossings. The route he followed was 66,299 km (41,196 mi) long, crossed the equator twice and all lines of longitude, and passed over twelve pairs of antipodal points, meeting all the requirements for a true circumnavigation of the globe. Guinness World Records has officially recognized Eruç for the "First solo circumnavigation of the globe using human power" on a journey that lasted 5 years 11 days 12 hours and 22 minutes.
Human power is work or energy that is produced from the human body. It can also refer to the power of a human. Power comes primarily from muscles, but body heat is also used to do work like warming shelters, food, or other humans.
Riaan Manser is an explorer based in South Africa. He has done his exploring on a bicycle or a kayak.
Jock Wishart is a maritime and polar adventurer, sportsman and explorer. Until his successful 2011 Old Pulteney Row to the Pole, he was best known for his circumnavigation of the globe in a powered vessel, setting a new world record in the Cable & Wireless Adventurer and for organising and leading the Polar Race.
Sarah Dilys Outen is a British athlete and adventurer. She is also a motivational speaker in the UK and internationally. Outen was the first woman and the youngest person to row solo across the Indian Ocean and also the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Alaska. She completed a round-the-world journey, mostly under her own power, by rowing boat, bicycle and kayak, on 3 November 2015.
The Guinness World Record (GWR) for fastest circumnavigation of the globe by bicycle is awarded for completing a continuous journey around the globe by bicycle and other means, consisting of a minimum 29,000 km in total distance cycled.
Human-powered watercraft are watercraft propelled only by human power, instead of being propelled by wind power or an engine.
Michael Horn is a South African-born Swiss professional explorer and adventurer. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, he currently resides in Château d'Œx, Switzerland. He studied Human Movement Science at Stellenbosch University in Western Cape, South Africa. Horn is currently undertaking his latest expedition Pole2Pole, a two-year circumnavigation of the globe via the two poles.
Oliver "Olly" Hicks is a British ocean rower, kayaker, explorer and inspirational speaker. He holds three world records for adventure. He is best known for his solo ocean rows and extreme kayak voyages. He first made the headlines after his solo trans-Atlantic voyage in 2005 when he became the first and currently only person to row from America to England solo and the youngest person to row any ocean solo. Hicks has rowed and paddled over 7,000 miles on ocean expeditions since 2005. Over 6,000 miles and 220 days alone at sea.
Jason Fox often referred to by his nickname 'Foxy', is a television personality, adventurer and a former UK Special Forces soldier and Royal Marine Commando. He is best known as the longest serving directing staff on the popular Channel 4 television series SAS: Who Dares Wins, and the presenter of the investigative documentary series Meet the Drug Lords: Inside the Real Narcos.
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