Mick Dawson (born in June 1964 in

Boston, Lincolnshire Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. It lies to the south-east of Lincoln, east of Nottingham and north-east of Peterborough. The town had a population of 45,339 at ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

) is a former

Royal Marine Commando The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a company strength sub-unit to the Special Forces Support Group (SFSG), landing craft cr ...

, film maker, professional sailor and adventurer. He is best known for rowing the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

with friend and fellow ocean rower

Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the vocalist, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Martin went to University Colleg ...

in a new state of the art vessel, Bojangles, which Mick built. In 2009, they completed their voyage in 189 days 10 hours and 55 minutes; a world first and earning a place in the

Guinness Book of records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

Rowing

Mick Dawson is one of the most experienced

ocean rowers The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic/Southern, and ...

in the world having rowed over 20,000 miles across the worlds oceans during some 524 days at sea in ocean rowing boats.

Pairs Atlantic Crossing in 2001 with his brother Steve.

Completed in 70 days 10 hours and 12 minutes.

Solo North Pacific attempt in 2003

Mick made his first attempt to row the Pacific Ocean solo in 2003, ended when his

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

was torn off, in severe weather, and he had to return to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

after 12 days.

Solo North Pacific attempt in 2004

The second in 2004, was halted by a freak capsize that sank his boat after 109 days at sea and having rowed over , two thirds of the way across the route.

Pairs Atlantic Crossing in 2005 with Andrew Morris.

Mick worked for the

Atlantic Rowing Race The Atlantic Rowing Race is an ocean rowing race from the Canary Islands to the West Indies, a distance of approximately 2,550 nm (2,930 statute miles or 4,700 km). The race was founded in 1997 by Sir Chay Blyth with subsequent races roug ...

organisers as a rowing consultant and safety skipper for the 2005. It was here he came to the rescue of an injured Andrew Morris and went on to complete a second crossing of the Atlantic at his side. Completed in 61 days 2 hours and 50 minutes.

Pairs North Pacific Crossing in 2009 with Chris Martin

Mick, together with his friend and fellow ocean rower Chris Martin skippered the first team to successfully row, across the hostile north Pacific route; from Choshi in Japan to directly beneath the iconic span of the

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. They rowed in a boat called Bojangles, which Mick built – The boat was long and wide and was manufactured from lightweight Carbon-Kevlar material. The boat was one of the most advanced ocean rowing vessels ever made. Unfortunately, after months at sea and several days of adverse weather and increasing fatigue, the decision was made to resupply before their contingency ran out completely, as they hoped they would have enough supplies to make it to San Francisco unsupported. Mick and Chris completed their journey from Choshi in Japan to San Francisco on the 13November 2009 at 16:00 GMT. They were greeted by their families and a flotilla of boats as they passed the finish line under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. They completed the voyage in 189 days 10 hours and 55 minutes. Mick and Chris also raised money for two charities, one based in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and one based in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. The first is the Hearts of Gold Children's Hospice. The second charity is Hamilton Lodge School for Deaf Children.

Pairs Crossing of the Pacific; California to Hawaii 2018

Mick returned to the Pacific in 2018 to take part in the Great Pacific Race from Monterey Bay to Hawaii in 2018. He rowed with Steve 'Sparky' Sparkes. The pair completed the race in 82 days, 16 hours and 54 minutes coming first in the pairs category and third overall in a highly eventful race. When the pair stepped ashore at Waikiki Yacht club 'Sparky' (Also a former Royal Marine Commando) became the first 'Blind' person to row the Pacific Ocean.

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

charted Mick's and Chris' voyage in the documentary 'Rowing The Pacific.'

Business career

Mick is a published author having written two books about his adventures in ocean rowing and working with recovering veterans. His first book; published in the US in 2017 is called Battling the Oceans in a Rowboat and in the U.K. it's published under the title; Rowing the Pacific His second book entitled; 'Never Leave A Man Behind,' which covers his work with recovering veterans and his row with blind veteran 'Sparky' across the Pacific in 2018 was published in July 2020. Mick is also an accomplished speaker and works regularly; online and at live events, with companies and corporations across the globe. Giving insights into the ethos of great teamwork, achieving goals and adaptive leadership using his many ocean rowing adventures as a dramatic backdrop to illustrate his points.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Mick 1964 births English male rowers 20th-century Royal Marines personnel Living people Royal Marines ranks Military personnel from Lincolnshire