Ex-police officer breaks record for most ocean rows
Former police officer Dawn Smith BEM has now rowed across the ocean seven times.
Retired police officer Dawn Smith BEM has achieved a new women's world record for the most ocean rows and the greatest cumulative distance covered.
Smith, who financed her initial journey in 2019 by selling her home, has since completed "pretty much" one ocean crossing annually, accumulating over 16,000 nautical miles. Her most recent expedition, a 2,500-mile journey from Newfoundland, Canada, with Canadian partner Paul Lore, is set to conclude in her hometown of Burnham on Crouch, Essex, on August 29.
On Monday, the Ocean Rowing Society (ORS) officially recognized her seven ocean crossings and 16,815 nautical miles rowed as new world records. This latest endeavor with Lore also marks them as the first mixed pair to row the North Atlantic from west to east. Furthermore, Smith is the first British woman to row the Atlantic in both directions, with the west-to-east route being particularly challenging due to the difficult British waters encountered at the end.
Smith described her latest row as "the hardest row I've ever done. It's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life." She added, "Neither of us can quite believe that we've actually come through it. There was a potential we could come in contact with an iceberg. The temperature was so cold. It's been absolutely brutal."
After 47 days at sea, during which they observed several whales, the first human they encountered was a fishing boat skipper who believed they needed rescuing. The duo returned to the UK last week, requiring assistance from the coastguard and a tow to Newlyn, Cornwall, the nearest safe harbor. Smith recounted, "We had to row against the tide for six hours and still went backwards before the tide turned. So we rowed solidly, we did not stop for a break, we did not stop for food, small water breaks." The ORS stated that the towed distance was "virtually insignificant" compared to other historical rows and would not invalidate Smith's new record.
Speaking to BBC Essex presenter Ben Fryer, Smith explained the high cost of the sport, which necessitated selling her house for her first trip six years ago. She detailed, "This boat, second hand, costs about £53,000. You've got about £10,000 worth of equipment on board. The food is £10 per packet and you need three of those per day, plus snacks per person that you need to pack for about 60 days." She concluded, "Some people could see this as a privileged sport. I don't have money, I just have passion."
Her previous crossings include a solo Atlantic row from Gran Canaria to Barbados in 2019, followed by two more Atlantic crossings with a team in 2021 and 2022, from Tenerife to Antigua. In 2023, she joined two others for a mid-Pacific row from Monterey, California, to Kauai, Hawaii. She conquered the Atlantic again in 2024 with a team of four, rowing from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua. In December 2025, she and Lore set a world record for the fastest mixed pair, completing the journey from La Gomera to Antigua in 42 days, 4 hours, 19 minutes. Their latest challenge commenced on June 26, with the pair crossing the finish line at Bishop Rock, a skerry off the British coast.
Smith is currently fundraising for Phoenix Heroes, a charity supporting veterans, while Lore is backing K9s for Warriors in the US, which provides service dogs to veterans. Burnham on Crouch is planning a grand welcome celebration for their return, featuring bands, boats, and a picnic.