Author: Grant ‘Axe’ Rawlinson

Written for Grant and Luke by John Mitchell, Project Manager Grant and Luke have battled the Tasman’s sea gods into submission. The final route taken from New Zealand to Australia Ernie had a safety boat arranged to escort then into the berth (but not to assist). He managed to take a couple to photos while…

Written for Grant and Luke by John Mitchell, Project Manager After the weather dramas of last night Grant and Luke are now back on track for arrival later today Back on track, 7am 28th March I’ll leave the messages from Grant to describe last night. From Grant 5am this morning 28th March In hindsight our…

Written for Grant and Luke by John Mitchell, Project Manager Grant and Luke are preparing for the final hard push towards the coast overnight. Grant & Luke’s progress up to 8pm 27th March Once through the East Australian Current (EAC), with luck, they will have a slightly easier row down the coast to Coffs Harbour,…

Written for Grant and Luke by John Mitchell, Project Manager Since the last update Grant & Luke have picked up their pace, last 24 hours averaging nearly 6 kph and 145km, in an attempt to beat the weather change heading their way. Grant & Luke’s progress up to midday 26th March Grant and Luke are doing…

Written for Grant and Luke by John Mitchell, Project Manager Since the last update Grant & Luke have continued to advance towards Australia averaging around 5kph. Grant & Luke’s progress up to midday 24th March The weather has remained benign with the easterly winds and calm seas continuing to assist them. The main concerns over the…

Written for Grant and Luke by John Mitchell, Project Manager Grant and Luke are still rowing at a great rate making good mileage toward the Australian coast. Grant & Luke’s progress up to midday 22nd March Major decisions were needed on the 20th. After the rapid progress of the last 2 weeks the team had finally…

Written for Grant and Luke by John Mitchell, Project Manager As I write this blog, Grant and Luke have just passed the half way point on their row across the Tasman from New Zealand to Australia, having departed from Houhora in the far north of New Zealand at 2pm 6th March. Grant & Luke’s progress…

Introduction During February and March 2023, I embarked on a 23-day expedition to cross the Bay of Bengal in peddle powered boat. The Bay of Bengal is known as the world’s largest bay, stretching around 2200km across and bounded by Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand and Indonesia, our plan was to cross from Phuket,…

On a cold, windy and wet day yesterday, together with my good mate Chris, I was deeply privileged to visit and pay my respects at the grave of ‘John Simpson Kirkpatrick’ on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. As many of you will know, my rowing boat ‘Simpson’s Donkey’ was named after Kirkpatrick. I drew inspiration…

SIMPSON’S DONKEY is for SALE! SIMPSON’s DONKEY is a carbon Rannoch R20 built in 2016. She is configured as a Solo or Pairs boat She is currently based in the south of Australia and would be ideal for a Solo or Pair considering an Indian Ocean crossing as she is already in Australia (she is…

And… it’s official… Axe, Luke and Simpson’s Donkey are safely back on land at the holiday town of Mallacoota, a little south of Eden where their journey began. Met by Luke’s parents with a boat trailer, all has ended well with some awesome seamanship to get Simpson’s Donkey back safely without having to trouble any…

9pm update – land has been sighted! Just 18 nautical miles to go – close enough to send a photo via phone – and spirits are high aboard Simpson’s Donkey! “You can see land over Luke’s shoulder- I just wish it was NZ,” says Axe.

Firstly the status – Axe, Luke and Simpson’s Donkey are all safe and making great progress back towards the Australian mainland. You can see their exact location on the GPS tracker at https://axeoneverest.maprogress.com/rowingfromhometohome Last night, as you’ll see from the tracker, the course detoured south just a little bit while the guys waited out some…

So the latest from on board Simpson’s Donkey as of this morning, is that all is going well in Mission: Get home safe. “Conditions last night were ideal for rowing,” says Axe. “We rowed 2-hour shifts all night and have been doing 1-hour shifts so far today. “Today the wind is swinging to the North-East…

Sad news today from the Tasman Sea where Axe and Luke have been battling the elements since Saturday night when they left Eden, New South Wales to attempt their crossing to New Zealand… Speaking via Satellite phone this morning, Axe said that after a rather brutal capsize on Tuesday, both he and Luke have decided…

The stage is set for the round 3 battle with the Tasman Sea to begin. Within the next few days I will depart Australia once again in my third attempt to finish off the Rowing from Home to Home expedition, a journey from Singapore to New Zealand completely by human power.  I have currently travelled…