Jamie Sparks (born 11 January 1992), is a British ocean rower and adventurer. On 27 January 2014 he, alongside fellow Briton Luke Birch, became the Guinness world record holders for the youngest pair to row across any ocean.[1] In 2014, Sparks skippered the first ever unsupported row from Exmouth, Australia to the Seychelles.[2] Sparks and his crew, consisting of Angus Collins, Hamish Khayat and Alex Simpson, were at sea for 71 days.[2]

Jamie Sparks
Born (1992-01-11) January 11, 1992 (age 32)
London, United Kingdom
EducationArnold House School
Harrow School
Alma materUniversity of Bristol
OccupationAdventurer

Early life

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He was born in London and attended Arnold House School in St John's Wood, Harrow School, and the University of Bristol where he received a BA in Archaeology & Anthropology.

Atlantic Ocean Row

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In December 2013, under the team name 2 Boys in a Boat, Jamie and his rowing partner Luke Birch set out from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua in the Caribbean. The pair rowed the 3000 miles in 2 hours on and 2 hours off shifts, all day and night.[3] The crossing took them 54 days and they raised over £300,000 for Breast Cancer Care, a record total for the charity.[4] Prior to the row, the crew had been on 5,000 calorie a day diets in order to gain muscle mass for the crossing.[5]

Indian Ocean Row

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In July 2014, under the team Fast Row West, Sparks captained a crew of four on the first ever unsupported row from Exmouth, Australia to the Seychelles.[2] The team became the fastest four-man crew to cross the Indian Ocean and the youngest four-man crew to cross any ocean.[6] The intended destination had originally been the island of Mauritius however, massive equipment failure and extreme weather conditions led to the crew having to detour to the Seychelles.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "How British Duo Became Youngest Pair to Row an Ocean"]. Guinness World Records. 13/03/2014. Retrieved 11/05/2016
  2. ^ a b c http://row-360.com/jamie-sparks-the-worlds-youngest-double-ocean-rower/ "Jamie Sparks: The World's Youngest Double Ocean Rower". row-360. 07/08/2015. Retrieved 11/05/2016
  3. ^ "Guinness world record for youngest Atlantic Rowers". BBC News. 28/01/2014. Retrieved 11/05/2016
  4. ^ "2 boys in a boat row the Atlantic". Breast Cancer Care. 28/01/2014. Retrieved 11/05/2016
  5. ^ "MH Grill: Jamie Sparks". Men's Health. 18/11/2013. Retrieved 11/05/2016
  6. ^ a b "A Fast Row to Eden". The Seychelles News Agency. 12/09/2014. Retrieved 11/05/2016