Famous traveler Fedor Konyukhov gives his rowing boat in gift to Australia

SYDNEY, May 13. /TASS/. Famous Russian traveler Fedor Konyukhov, who gained worldwide fame after he had crossed the Pacific Ocean in a rowing boat, was honored in the Australian coastal town of Mooloolaba where a commemorative stone, dedicated to Knyukhov' s legendary Pacific voyage from South America to Australia, was opened on Wednesday. The bronze stone rests on a concrete path, which runs along the seaside, approximately 50 meters from the site where the Russian traveler disembarked from his boat to crown his historic endeavor which was the longest in history. The bronze stone has a map of the Pacific with a dim contour of South America and Australia and Konyukhov's Pacific route, 9,400 nautical miles long ( 17,400 kilometers), mapped out in a dotted line. "I thank very much the people of Mooloolaba for their wonderful present, but I think that the commemorative stone was established for the young generation, rather than me, to encourage them to travel and discover the world," Konyukhov told TASS by telephone. Oscar Konyukhov - the elder son of the famous traveler, told TASS that they had accepted Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson's proposal to present Konyukhov's legendary rowing boat to a local museum. At present, the boat is in a shipyard in Britain, where it was built, but in a short while the boat will be brought to Australia," Oscar Konyukhov said. Fedor Konyukhov set off on his voayage from the sea port of Concon on the Chilean coast on December 22, 2013. The traveler crossed the Pacific Ocean in a rowing boat, sailing all the way from one continent to the other, without calling at sea ports and no help from outside, within a record short time -159 days, 16 hours and 58 minutes. Read more