Giles Johnson lives in a small, idyllic village in Somerset, England. But a year ago, he was on the high seas, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, rowing from the east coast of Canada to the west coast of Ireland. It was the latest of his audacious (possibly crazy) adventures with good friend and adventure partner, Matthew Ponsonby. Hear Giles describe his extraordinary journey with Matthew.
Episode introduction:
This is the extraordinary story of two men in a tiny row-boat, crossing the Atlantic Ocean from the East Coast of Canada to the west coast of Ireland. On a balmy summer’s day, I spent two very enjoyable hours with Giles Johnson in his consulting rooms in a quaint little village in the heart of Somerset, England. This idyllic meeting spot couldn’t have felt further away from where most of his incredible story takes place – in the middle of the mighty and unforgiving Atlantic ocean, with his good friend and rowing partner Matthew Ponsonby, a lifetime away from anyone else.
As if this adventure is not exciting enough (in fact, some might even say it’s bonkers – sorry Giles), it looks as though the pair have broken two world records. At the time of publishing this, Giles and Matthew are still waiting on official confirmation from the Guinness World Records people. Not that breaking records was even really on their radar in the first place.
Here, as told by Giles Johnson, is the story of their extraordinary adventure to cross one of the world’s great oceans.
Useful links:
- Matt and Giles’ instagram account with a few videos and photos from their journey.
- Rannoch Adventure report on Matt & Giles’ crossing
- Giles Johnson’s professional website
