Don Allum
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Donald Edward Allum (17 May 1937 – 1 December 1992) was a British oarsman, the first person to
row Row or ROW may refer to: Exercise * Rowing, or a form of aquatic movement using oars * Row (weight-lifting), a form of weight-lifting exercise Mathematics and informatics * Row vector, a 1 × ''n'' matrix in linear algebra * Row(s) in a table ( ...
across the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
in both directions.


Duo Atlantic rowing

Allum's cousin, Geoff Allum, initially thought of the idea to row solo across the Atlantic after reading John Ridgway and
Chay Blyth Sir Charles Blyth (born 14 May 1940), known as Chay Blyth, is a Scottish yachtsman and rower. He was the first person to sail single-handed non-stop westwards around the world (1971), on a 59-foot boat called ''British Steel (yacht), British ...
's book ''A Fighting Chance'' and ''The Penance Way'' by Merton Naydler, written about the respective exploits of rowing duos Ridgway and Blyth, and David Johnston and John Hoare. However, on hearing the news that this feat had just been completed by
John Fairfax John Fairfax (24 October 1804 – 16 June 1877) was an English-born journalist, company director, politician, librarian and newspaper owner, known for the incorporation of the major newspapers of modern-day Australia. Early life Fairfax was bo ...
, Geoff instead decided that he and Don should attempt to become the first crew to row the Atlantic in both directions. In 1971 the pair made their westbound attempt in their boat, the
dory Dory most commonly refers to: * Dory (boat), a small, shallow-draft boat * Dory, the common name of several fish; see List of fishes known as dory * Dory (''Finding Nemo''), a fictional character Dory may also refer to: Arts and entertainmen ...
''QE3''. During the crossing, Don and Geoff had only a short wave radio receiver for listening to the
BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...
; no electronic equipment for communicating with other vessels. For navigation, they used a
sextant A sextant is a doubly reflecting navigation instrument that measures the angular distance between two visible objects. The primary use of a sextant is to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon for the purposes of cel ...
. Their chosen port of departure was
Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital city of the Canary Islands (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the m ...
on
Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, a Spain, Spanish archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa. the island had a population of that constitut ...
, in the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
; in part because it had also been Ridgway and Blyth's starting point, as well as that of
Alain Bombard Alain Bombard (; Paris, 27 October 1924 – Paris, 19 July 2005) was a French biologist, physician and politician famous for sailing in a small boat across the Atlantic Ocean without provision. He theorized that a human being could very well su ...
, who rafted across the Atlantic in 1952. After initially making good time, they became much slower for the second half of the trip due to a number of issues encountered. Having packed enough drinking water to allow per man per day for 100 days, the pair later discovered that due to poor re-ballasting after use, the bags had moved around too much in the
bilge The bilge of a ship or boat is the part of the hull that would rest on the ground if the vessel were unsupported by water. The "turn of the bilge" is the transition from the bottom of a hull to the sides of a hull. Internally, the bilges (us ...
s and around a quarter of their total water stocks were lost from bags snagging on sharp parts of the boat. Added to the fact that their entire food stocks were dried food which required re-hydration, they drastically reduced their daily intake of both food and water, losing strength and weight as the days and weeks went by. On 26 March 1971, after 73 days at sea, Don and Geoff Allum rowed into
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in
Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...
. When they landed, only of drinking water remained. Don and Geoff Allum began their eastward attempt from St John's,
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
in June 1972, heading towards the west coast of Ireland. After only three days, Geoff had to be picked up by a passing oil tanker as he was suffering from hypothermia and severe seasickness. Don continued on for 76 days, on 36 of which he met with head winds which pushed him back towards Newfoundland. On the evening of day 75, the boat was swamped by a large wave, and Allum lost his oars, spare clothes and most of his food. Luckily, he was picked up the following day by a passing ship. After the failed attempt, Geoff decided not to try again, and Don waited 14 years before making another Atlantic rowing attempt.


Solo Atlantic rowing

In 1986 at the age of 49, Allum revisited the westward crossing as a solo endeavour. He successfully rowed from Pasito Blanco on Gran Canaria to the
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
island of
Nevis Nevis ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute the Saint Kitts and Nevis, Federation of Saint Kitts ...
in 114 days; however, due to completely depleting his water stocks in the final two weeks, by the time he reached his destination he had lost half of his body weight and his eyesight and hearing were failing. This experience reportedly had a long-term effect on his health and led to multiple kidney failures within the following years. In September 1987 Allum completed his eastward crossing of the Atlantic, from St John's, Newfoundland to
Dooagh Dooagh () is a village located on Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland. It is best known for the nearby Keem Bay, a Blue Flag beach. Dooagh beach Between May 2017 and January 2019, Dooagh beach had of golden sand. Previously, the sand was com ...
on
Achill Island Achill Island (; ) is an island off the west coast of Ireland in the historical barony of Burrishoole, County Mayo. It is the largest of the Irish isles and has an area of approximately . Achill had a population of 2,345 in the 2022 census. ...
,
County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...
,
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. The journey took 77 days and very nearly ended in disaster.


Death and legacy

Allum's health declined during the following years, and multiple kidney failures were attributed by Geoff Allum to Allum's rowing experiences – in particular his 1986 westward Atlantic crossing. Allum reportedly refused to seek medical treatment during this time. He died from a heart attack in
Heston Heston is a suburban area and part of the Hounslow district in the London Borough of Hounslow. The residential settlement covers a slightly smaller area than its predecessor farming village, 10.8 miles (17.4 km) west south-west of Charing C ...
,
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
, on 2 November 1992 (also reported as 1 December 1992), at the age of 55. A monument was erected in Dooagh on Achill Island, County Mayo, Ireland, to commemorate Allum's 1987 landing. British rock band
Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mo ...
released an eighteen-minute song called "Ocean Cloud" on its 2004 album ''
Marbles A marble is a small spherical object often made from glass, clay, steel, plastic, or agate. These toys can be used for a variety of games called marbles, as well being placed in marble runs or races, or created as a form of art. They are ofte ...
'' based on his solo crossings.


References


External links


Don Allum's journal
taken during his 1987 solo crossing
RTÉ News broadcast from 7 September 1987
on Allum's arrival on Achill Island, including interview footage with him {{DEFAULTSORT:Allum, Don 1937 births 1992 deaths English male rowers 20th-century English sportsmen