British adventurer Dave Bell lands in Kilifi after 28,000km solo ocean row

Bell arrived in Kilifi, north of Mombasa, on Friday, October 2, 2026, ending a journey that began nearly 11 months earlier on the west coast of Peru.

He left Lima on November 9, 2025, with hundreds of days of food and supplies packed into his carbon-fibre rowing boat. His plan was to cross the Pacific, pass through the Torres Strait and continue across the Indian Ocean.

He did not touch land along the way.

By the time Bell reached Kilifi, he had rowed more than 15,000 nautical miles, equivalent to about 28,000 kilometres.

His route took him across the Pacific Ocean, through the Coral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef, across the challenging Torres Strait and along Australia's northern coast before he headed into the Indian Ocean towards East Africa.

The journey was far from straightforward.

At one point, Bell had to stop rowing for about eight weeks in the South Pacific because he was moving too quickly and risked reaching the Coral Sea during cyclone season.

Rather than continue into dangerous weather, he deliberately slowed his progress.

He also encountered severe conditions in the Coral Sea, including a knockdown that brought water into his boat, damaged electrical equipment and left him suffering from salt sores.

Then there were the quieter dangers of spending almost a year completely alone.

Bell said he was followed for weeks by two white-tip sharks, while much of his daily life consisted of rowing, repairing equipment, making drinking water and monitoring his route.

To cope with the isolation, he listened to podcasts and audiobooks and exchanged voice notes with people back home.

When he finally stepped onto the beach in Kilifi, Bell had difficulty walking after spending so long on the boat. He stooped to touch the sand before being supported by his partner, Georgie, as he made his way ashore.

“I’ve not stepped off that boat since the ninth of November. This is the first time I’ve touched land,” Bell said after arriving in Kilifi.

Despite completing the journey earlier than expected, Bell said he still had enough food on the boat to last another 20 days.

Bell, 54, is a former Royal Marine from Bere Regis in Dorset, England, who spent 20 years in the British military.

His experience in the Royal Marines has been central to how he approached the physical and psychological demands of spending months alone at sea.

But the Kilifi arrival was not his first major ocean challenge.

In 2021, Bell spent 119 days rowing solo and unsupported across the Atlantic, travelling from New York to Newlyn in Cornwall. At the time, he vowed never to undertake another expedition of the same kind.

He eventually changed his mind.

Advances in technology, including lighter boats, improved solar panels and autopilot systems, made him curious about what else he could achieve.

That curiosity eventually became the expedition that has now brought him to Kenya crossing two oceans.

Bell's latest challenge was also carried out to raise money for Rock2Recovery, a charity supporting veterans, members of the armed forces, emergency service personnel and others dealing with trauma and mental health challenges.

The expedition has so far raised more than £110,000 for the organisation.

For Bell, however, the expedition was about more than a record.

It was a test of how far he could push himself, physically and mentally, while spending almost a year with nothing but the ocean around him.

After 327 days, the challenge ended with Bell's feet finally touching the sand in Kilifi.