Lone Briton rows Pacific

It is unclear if swimming the last 150 meters will affect Shekhdar's claim to the record

NORTH STRADBROKE ISLAND, Australia -- A lone Briton has become the first person to row across the Pacific.

Jim Shekhdar completed the 275-day journey in a dramatic fashion Friday when he was thrown from his boat and forced to swim the final 150 meters to shore.

The former computer salesman was rowing toward a beach at North Stradbroke Island, near the capital of Australia's Queensland state, Brisbane, when he was hit by a 6-foot wave.

His wife, sister and two daughters waded into the water to greet him as he struggled out of the sea with television helicopters hovering overhead.

It is not clear if swimming the last 150 meters will affect his claim to the record.

Tanker scare

During the 7,900 nautical mile journey, the 54-year-old said he fought off 10 different shark attacks, as well as a life-threatening near-miss with a tanker.

Shekhdar, who left Peru on June 29, 2000, is the first to row unassisted across the Pacific non-stop.

He is also the fastest to cross, finishing 20 days quicker than an assisted row from San Francisco to the Great Barrier Reef by Englishman Peter Bird in 1983.

Waves tipped seven-meter "Le Shark" over

He said his most frightening experience was when he woke up in the night to see an oil tanker heading straight for his wooden boat.

"I couldn't sleep for a week after that," he said of the incident with the tanker. "It was something that affected me more than anything else."

Shark attacks

He also fought off sharks with a hand-fashioned spear he had made from a stick, with a knife tied to the end.

"There were 10 sharks altogether, and one in particular which came under the boat and kept rocking it and returned a week later, so I had to stab it and then it didn't come back," he said.

Waves tipped over "Le Shark," his seven-meter (23-foot) boat, as the adventurer attempted to land on the beach.

Lived on philosophy books

Shekhdar said he spent the nine months at sea reading books on philosophy in an experience which had changed his outlook on life.

"I thought a lot about my life. I am now going to be unchauvanistic, unarrogant, unpolitically correct ... and it will probably only last a couple of minutes," he declared.

The rower was met by a special Australian customs team who stamped his passport to officially finish the journey.

Shekhdar was also given a cold beer on the beach -- something he had been wishing for during his past months at sea.

"That boat is determined to get here before me," a drenched Shekhdar said.

About 100 people have attempted to row across the Pacific Ocean since 1892, with most contenders coming from Britain.

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