Resident of Redmond in Oregon, Erden Eruç (pronounced 'Air-den Air-rooch') completed the first solo circumnavigation by human power in 5 years and 11 days between 2007 and 2012. What started as a simple idea in 1997, had become a quiet obsession. A tragic accident which claimed the life of Göran Kropp while rock climbing together in September of 2002, finally put him in motion. Life was too short.

One of the 2024 inductees in the Hall of Fame at Guinness World Records, Erden is a leading ocean rower in the world today. 18 Guinness World Records are currently registered to his name. He is the recipient of the 2013 Citation of Merit from the prestigious Explorers Club, one of the 2013 Adventurers of the Year – “nine individuals changing the face of global adventure” by Outside Magazine, and one of the 50 Most Adventurous Men by Men’s Journal.

2024 Guinness Book of World Records dedicated two pages for each of the Hall of Fame inductees, respectively. Erden is already listed in the 2009, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2021 editions. His records include:

During his last expedition, Erden Eruç launched by rowboat from Crescent City on 22 June 2021 with the goal of reaching mainland Asia. He reached Legazpi in the Philippines on 24 March 2022. This was the first time that anyone crossed the Pacific Ocean by human power from North America to Asia.

Erden chose to stop at Waikiki in Hawaii, making landfall on Sept 10 to address minor repairs, to pursue a visa to China which remained elusive, and to time his crossing with the typhoon season then relaunched on Oct 7. He hoped to reach Hong Kong. Winter weather patterns slowed his westerly progress, China’s border with Hong Kong remained closed and entry procedures to Hong Kong became even stricter over time due to the pandemic, so he decided to follow the trade winds toward Guam. This was perfect for a Valentine’s Day reunion with Nancy during his 12-21 February 2022 stopover. His alternate plan to route across the Celebes Sea then clockwise around Borneo to proceed west on Java Sea toward the Malay Peninsula, was foiled by variable conditions, so he chose to make landfall at Legazpi on Luzon Island in the Philippines on March 24, 2022.

During this crossing, (a) Erden raised awareness about plastic pollution in The Ocean in collaboration with Ocean Recovery Alliance. (b) He collected ambient sound data for now-retired NOAA scientist Jay Barlow using a high frequency hydrophone when conditions allowed. The data helped identify the range of Beaked Whales along his transect. Other species including Sperm Whales were also be identified with this data. This has now been published in the scientific journal Aquatic Mammals under the title: Acoustic Detections of Cetaceans from a Towed Recording System on a Trans-Pacific Rowing Expedition.

With this scientific mission, Westbound Rower has earned the prestigious Explorers Club Flag Expedition status. In addition, (c) Erden accomplished a rendezvous at sea, placing his rowboat in a surface image taken by SAR satellite Sentinel-2. He provided sea state and surface data to document its detection capabilities, providing a valuable ground truthing service to scientists. (d) Testing specific bio sensors during this crossing was an additional task that he undertook.

Throughout this crossing, Ocean Recovery Alliance produced a stream of educational content in English, Chinese, Spanish and Turkish. Erden also reached classrooms regularly in partnership with Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants. His regular conference calls with primary school students in boarding schools in rural Turkey continued in partnership with ILKYAR Foundation. These activities will continue into the future.

Erden wanted to continue his journey on the South China Sea in the spring of 2023 after the typhoon season, toward Vietnam. He bicycled from Legazpi to his intended launch point at Currimao on the northwest corner of Luzon Island. His goal after reaching mainland Asia, was to continue overland by bicycle to Portugal. Myanmar, given their ongoing internal conflict, declined to provide a visa citing security concerns, China citing pandemic restrictions. Having met a dead end, Erden concluded his journey as of March 12, 2023.

Erden’s track across the Pacific Ocean is on: Tracking Map.

Honors and Awards

2024 Inductee in the Hall of Fame at Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records recognized Erden in their Hall of Fame for serving a higher purpose while registering a total of 18 records.

“Erden has established himself as one of the most prolific adventurers and record-breakers in the world. 

His call to be adventurous, as well as his continued advocacy against the exploitation of the environment, raising awareness on the pressing threat of climate change and environmental disasters carries worldwide importance and continues to inspire future generations.

The tales of his circumnavigation and his extraordinary achievements have inspired countless individuals to chase their dreams fearlessly – and he continues to dream big, striving for new goals while making a positive impact and honouring the memory of fellow adventurers who sadly passed away during their expeditions.”

2021 Ocean Ambassador - Ocean Recovery Alliance
Ocean Recovery Alliance is a 501(c)(3) registered in California and a registered charitable organization in Hong Kong, the focus of which is to help improve our ocean environment through new ways of thinking and collaboration. They have launched the Global Alert App to empower individuals and stakeholders of beaches and riverfronts to take action especially to address plastic pollution. As an Ocean Ambassador, Erden will participate in their awareness campaigns.

2015 Turkish American of the Year Award - Assembly of Turkish American Associations
"Presented to Erden Eruc in recognition of his extraordinary expeditions and exemplary initiatives which are sources of pride to the Turkish American community." 
35th Annual Turkish American Conference, 12-14 March 2015, Washington, DC, USA

2013 Citation of Merit - The Explorers Club
The prestigious Explorers Club which was established in 1904 embodies the spirit of exploration where curiosity meets adventure. Its membership has attracted the likes of early polar explorers including Scott, Amundsen, Shackleton or astronauts who were first to the moon or to space. The first to climb Mt. Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary was their president for a long time. Don Walsh the first to descend to the bottom of the 11,000 meter deep Mariana...more

2013 Adventurers of the Year - Outside Magazine
"Nine people changing the face of global adventure" -- The 2013 list by Outside Magazine which includes Felix Baumgartner and James Cameron

Best of ExplorersWeb 2012 - ExplorersWeb
"Best of Explorersweb" is selected by the journalists at Explorersweb, the world's leading source in adventure news. ExplorersWeb selects expeditions every year by their performance, having proved themselves outstanding in all or most of the following: *Courage, *Determination, *Persistence, *Self reliance, *Ingenuity, *Pioneering, *Idealism, *Comradeship, *Compassion, *Respect towards competition, *Honesty

2012 Sports Career Achievement Grand Award - Turkish National Olympic Committee
This award was issued at the Olympic House in Istanbul together with the other recipients of 2012 Fair Play Awards for having used sports to advance humanitarian causes.

- 2012 Golden Dolphin Award
- 2011 Vancouver Award by the Explorers Club
- Fair Play Award by Turkish National Olympic Committee (2007)
- First Turkish man to row across an ocean (2006)
- First Turkish man to climb big walls of Yosemite Valley, Half Dome (1989) and El Capitan (1991)
- Sportsman of Graduating Class, Bogaziçi University (1983)

Eruç was born in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1961, raised in Turkey. He has been an avid outdoorsman from an early age. When he was 11, his father took him on a climb of Mount Erciyes, an extinct stratovolcano in south central Turkey and the highest mountain in central Anatolia with a summit at 3,916 m (12,848 ft). During his higher education years, Eruç studied mechanical engineering at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul where he earned both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree. In 1986, he moved to the United States where he continued his studies in engineering and business administration, earning a second Master of Science degree in Engineering Mechanics at the Ohio State University and an MBA degree later at George Mason University.

He worked in various technical consulting projects in the U.S. for nine years, advancing into project management. At the age of 41, he left the corporate office world to pursue a dream of far-flung outdoor adventures following a climbing accident which claimed the life of a friend. His new occupation was educating and inspiring others, especially children, through the pursuit of entirely human-powered travels around the world. He is also a sailing instructor and a delivery captain, holding the credentials of USCG 100GRT Master with sailing and towing endorsements and of RYA Yachtmaster Offshore.

During his journey to Alaska to climb Mount McKinley, Eruç took time to marry Nancy Board in June 2003. Board is an American businesswoman, an international workplace behavioral health expert, an outdoor enthusiast and the acting Vice President of the Around-n-Over nonprofit organization. The couple met while both were consultants at a United States Postal Service project in Chicago. Though they are from vastly different cultural backgrounds, they found their values complementary and their life’s mission similar. Thus, they chose to be married honoring indigenous people’s traditions, blessed and facilitated by elders from the Alaskan Haida-Tsimshian and Inupiat tribes in a small ceremony held outside on Sadie Cove along the Kachemak Bay south of Homer, Alaska.

Erden's Wikipedia page