Don Allum

Donald Edward Allum (17 May 1937 – 1 December 1992) was a British oarsman, the first person to row across the Atlantic Ocean in both directions.

Duo Atlantic rowing Allum's cousin, Geoff Allum, initially thought of the idea to row solo across the Atlantic after reading John Ridgway and Chay Blyth's book A Fighting Chance and The Penance Way by Merton Naydler, written about the respective exploits of rowing duos Ridgway and Blyth, and David Johnston and John Hoare. However, on hearing the news that this feat had just been completed by John Fairfax, Geoff instead decided that he and Don should attempt to become the first crew to row the Atlantic in both directions.

In 1971 the pair made their westbound attempt in their boat, the dory QE3. During the crossing, Don and Geoff had only a short wave radio receiver for listening to the BBC World Service; no electronic equipment for communicating with other vessels. For navigation, they used a sextant. Their chosen port of departure was Las Palmas on Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands; in part because it had also been Ridgway and Blyth's starting point, as well as that of Alain Bombard, who rafted across the Atlantic in 1952. After initially making good time, they became much slower for the second half of the trip due to a number of issues encountered. Having packed enough drinking water to allow per man per day for 100 days, the pair later discovered that due to poor re-ballasting after use, the bags had moved around too much in the bilges and around a quarter of their total water stocks were lost from bags snagging on sharp parts of the boat. Added to the fact that their entire food stocks were dried food which required re-hydration, they drastically reduced their daily intake of both food and water, losing strength and weight as the days and weeks went by.

Death and legacy Allum's health declined during the following years, and multiple kidney failures were attributed by Geoff Allum to Allum's rowing experiences – in particular his 1986 westward Atlantic crossing. Allum reportedly refused to seek medical treatment during this time. He died from a heart attack in Heston, Middlesex, on 2 November 1992 (also reported as 1 December 1992), alt=Black circular plaque mounted on a standing rock. Text reads: "Don Allum, the first man to row across the Atlantic in both directions, landed on the rocky shore down from this memorial, from St. John's Newfoundland on 4th September 1987, completing the second leg of his epic voyage in a 19 ft. 10 ins. plywood open boat, the QE 3, after 77 days at sea."

British rock band Marillion released an eighteen-minute song called "Ocean Cloud" on its 2004 album Marbles based on his solo crossings.