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Canadian Rower Completes Historic Solo Journey Across Atlantic Ocean

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Canadian Mylene Paquette Rows Across Atlantic Ocean
Canadian Mylène Paquette arrives in Lorient, France, after rowing solo across the Atlantic Ocean. (Image credit: Twitter | @team_mylene)

After 130 days at sea, a Canadian rower has become the first North American woman to complete a solo journey across the North Atlantic Ocean, arriving in France Tuesday morning (Nov. 12).

In just over four months, Mylène Paquette, from Montreal, Quebec, rowed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the east coast of Canada, to Lorient, France, along the country's northwestern tip. Paquette crossed into French waters at approximately 11:09 a.m. local time (5:09 a.m. EST) on Tuesday, reported CBC News.

"I'm feeling weak, really weak … but I'm so excited and I guess that I'm proud," Paquette, 35, said as a tugboat pulled her specially designed vessel to shore, according to CBC News.

But, it was not smooth sailing the entire way. In September, Paquette encountered the remnants of Hurricane Humberto, which churned for several days in the eastern Atlantic. Paquette capsized during the storm, but received assistance from the crew of the Queen Mary 2 ocean liner, reported CBC News.

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Denise Chow
Denise Chow
Live Science Contributor

Denise Chow was the assistant managing editor at Live Science before moving to NBC News as a science reporter, where she focuses on general science and climate change. Before joining the Live Science team in 2013, she spent two years as a staff writer for Space.com, writing about rocket launches and covering NASA's final three space shuttle missions. A Canadian transplant, Denise has a bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto, and a master's degree in journalism from New York University.