Beeston Hall School, West Runton, Norfolk

In August, 2009 Sarah Outen rowed into the record books as the first woman, and the youngest person, to row solo across the Indian Ocean. Her journey took three years planning, one failed attempt, 4,000 miles and 124 days at sea.

On what promised to be an inspirational and motivational evening, Beeston pupils, staff, parents and friends gathered in the Sports Hall to hear Sarah recount her journey from Australia to Mauritius in ‘Serendipity’, or ‘Dippers’ as she affectionately calls her custom-made rowing boat.

Getting the expedition off the ground was a mammoth project, with preparation and training to ensure she could cope physically and mentally crucial to success – running the London Marathon was just one part of this – and on March 13, 2009 she set out on her remarkable journey, keeping firmly at the forefront of her mind, ‘Man cannot discover new oceans unless he is brave enough to lose sight of the shore’.

The weather and mighty Leeuwin current conspired against her and in what Sarah laughingly referred to as her ‘Warm Up Lap’ she spent 10 days at sea going in a massive 400 mile loop from Fremantle, Australia right back to Freemantle. Sarah told the younger members of the audience that they too should look upon any setback in their school life not as a failure but as a warm-up lap where they learnt useful lessons.

On April 1^st she set off again and, while the shortest route to Mauritius is 3,100 nautical miles, Sarah covered some 4,180 – all thanks to some feisty currents, teasing winds and the generally unpredictable Indian Ocean weather.

Holding the audience’s attention from beginning to end, she described mid-ocean storms, 5 capsizes, encounters with whales and the continuous worry of being squashed by container ships. One capsize occurred 45 days into the journey, following a worrying warning from her radio contact that a storm was approaching which would ‘munch you in its fangs’. Sarah told how she coped with the huge waves, one stroke at a time, telling herself to just keep rowing, until finally a monster of a wave overpowered the boat. Another time she received a cryptic, but equally worrying, message from him which simply said, ‘It’s about to get very interesting’. To get through the difficult times Sarah kept a daily list entitled ‘Good things about today’ which she told the audience was a good tip for anyone having difficulty coping with life.

There were also the amazing times she surfed with albatrosses, passed the time of day with her very own troupe of Pilot fish, who escorted her across the ocean, and was treated to the most incredible sunsets and sunrises.

There followed a lively question and answer session – quite a number of questions relating to the news that Sarah took with her and consumed 500 chocolate bars, running out of chocolate two weeks before the end of her journey, a fact which obviously struck a chord with her young audience. With the number of hands being raised showing no signs of abating, reluctantly the Headmaster finally called a halt to proceedings and, on behalf of everyone, thanked Sarah for coming and a truly enthralling evening.

But hers is a tale of more than just records. To date she has: raised £30,000 for arthritis charities in memory of her late father; fulfilled a lifelong ambition to row an ocean; and, overcome the challenges nature threw in her path during her journey. And she is only 24.

The Oxford biology graduate is now touring the world with tales of the high seas. Energetic, witty and truly inspiring, she will captivate any audience of any age, taking them on a journey exploring more than just oceans. Her story is raw and elemental – just as adventure should be.