WATCH: Finnish firefighter (51) set to cross Caledonian Canal in epic solo Atlantic row
A Finnish rower who has been rowing solo across the Atlantic from Canada will be taking the Caledonian Canal route as he heads to his home in Helsinki.
Firefighter Jari Saario (51) left Canada's shores on June 22 and has since been rowing solo in a bid to reach Finland and complete his epic challenge.
Jari began his rowing journey on in January, going from from Gran Canary to arrive in the Caribbean in March – an almost 5000 kilometers-long journey rowed by arm strength only with a Rannoch R10 solo rowing boat.
Now on the return leg of his journey, he arrived in Scottish waters on Thursday and said he will now "take his time" and enjoy the beautiful scenery of Scotland.
He said during a break in Fort William: "I am very pleased that I am going along this route. Initially the plan was to go through the English Channel or north of Scotland, but in both cases the winds would have been really strong and it would have made it a very difficult row.
"However my 14-year-old daughter in Helsinki wend online and found the route crossing the Caledonian Canal. I couldn't have gone for a better route – the sceneries are amazing and the people are too, everyone has been very nice and kind to me."
Mr Saario, who had previously rowed between Helsinki and Estonia as well as Copenhaghen, said he decided to take this journey around six years ago.
"My wife and I were reading on a newspaper about someone who had attempted to cross the Atlantic on a rowing boat, but had failed.
"She said: 'I think you could do it.' That's when the idea to take on the challenge kicked off.
"I like to challenge myself. I wondered what my own sized challenge would be. I decided to do something nearly never-seen-before big."
The Finn said the first leg of the journey, travelling along the south of the Atlantic, was much easier. Going from Canada to the UK was a much more complex experience.
About being on his own for such a long time, he said: "Human beings are weird. The first two weeks on the journey were awful. After that, I stopped missing what I didn't have, you get used to the conditions and you keep on going."
Jari said he is beyond grateful for the amount of people that have started to follow his row on social media – now reaching a staggering 137k followers who, according to him, have become the "third oar" of the row.
Now, he should spend one or two weeks in the area, and is looking forward to visit Loch Ness.
"I am also a rescue diver," he told. "Once, I had to dive in the sea to recover my the wedding ring that my chief in the fire department had dropped my mistake.
"Now, I'm planning to dive into Loch Ness, maybe I'll be lucky and will find Nessie!"
You can follow his journey on his social media or on the satellite locator.
