
UK man becomes first triple amputee to sail solo and unsupported across Pacific Ocean
A British veteran who lost both legs and his left arm serving in Afghanistan has made history after becoming the world's first triple amputee to sail solo, non-stop and unsupported across the Pacific.
Craig Wood, from Doncaster in South Yorkshire, was 18 years old when he suffered life-changing injuries from a roadside bomb in Sangin, southern Afghanistan, in 2009.
Wood, now 33, has sailed 7,506 nautical miles (13,900 kilometres) across the Pacific Ocean in 90 days to raise funds for the charities that helped his recovery.
The father of set off from Puerto Vallarta in Mexico on March 25 and arrived in Hiroshima in Japan on Tuesday morning.
'I'm exhausted, but so proud to complete an expedition that many thought impossible,' Wood said at the finish line in Hiroshima.
Craig Wood lost both legs and his left hand, and his face was ravaged by shrapnel. Photo: Instagram
'It has tested me and my boat, Sirius II, almost to the limit, but I tried to stay in the moment, focus on my goal and the thought of seeing my wife and children at the end spurred me on.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


South China Morning Post
16 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
4 pandas leave Japan for China, leaving only 2 in the country
All four giant pandas on loan to a western Japan zoo left for China on Saturday, ahead of the expiration of their lease agreement. Advertisement The 24-year-old Rauhin and her offspring – Yuihin, Saihin and Fuhin – left Adventure World amusement park in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, for the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China 's Sichuan Province, according to the zoo operator. Their departure means that only two giant pandas remain in Japan. Both are at Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens and are also due to return to China next February. About 1,400 visitors queued at the park before it opened for their final public display on Friday, and some 3,000 people attended a farewell ceremony. Giant pandas (clockwise from top) Rauhin, Yuihin, Fuhin and Saihin, at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture. Photo: Kyodo 'It is sad that they leave Japan all at once. I wish for them to stay healthy in China,' said Chisato Noda from Nagoya. Advertisement


South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Quake swarm and volcano eruption in Japan reignite fears linked to viral manga prediction
A swarm of earthquakes around Japan 's remote Tokara Islands and the eruption of a long-dormant volcano in Kyushu have renewed public anxiety – stoked in part by a manga artist whose work is widely believed to have foretold a 2011 disaster and who has now predicted another major calamity striking Japan in early July. Seismologists, however, have dismissed any suggestion of a link between the recent activity and the prediction, stressing that there is no scientific basis for forecasting the timing, location or magnitude of earthquakes. More than 330 tremors have rattled the Tokara chain in the past five days, according to local reports, including a magnitude-5 quake shortly after 4am on Tuesday. The remote islands lie between the southern tip of Kyushu and the Okinawa islands, in a seismically active stretch of southwestern Japan. The seismic unrest has coincided with a string of smaller quakes felt in southern Kyushu and the Japan Meteorological Agency's decision to raise the alert level on Mount Shinmoe – a volcano in central Kyushu – to level three on its five-tier scale. Shinmoe erupted on Sunday after seven years of dormancy, sending a 500-metre plume of ash into the air. Ashfall has been reported in surrounding areas, while officials have warned that pyroclastic flows and flying rocks could reach up to 2km from the crater. While seismologists have not linked the events, the timing has unsettled some members of the public, given that the uptick in activity has coincided with a widely circulated prediction by manga author Ryo Tatsuki.


South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- South China Morning Post
UK man becomes first triple amputee to sail solo and unsupported across Pacific Ocean
A British veteran who lost both legs and his left arm serving in Afghanistan has made history after becoming the world's first triple amputee to sail solo, non-stop and unsupported across the Pacific. Craig Wood, from Doncaster in South Yorkshire, was 18 years old when he suffered life-changing injuries from a roadside bomb in Sangin, southern Afghanistan, in 2009. Wood, now 33, has sailed 7,506 nautical miles (13,900 kilometres) across the Pacific Ocean in 90 days to raise funds for the charities that helped his recovery. The father of set off from Puerto Vallarta in Mexico on March 25 and arrived in Hiroshima in Japan on Tuesday morning. 'I'm exhausted, but so proud to complete an expedition that many thought impossible,' Wood said at the finish line in Hiroshima. Craig Wood lost both legs and his left hand, and his face was ravaged by shrapnel. Photo: Instagram 'It has tested me and my boat, Sirius II, almost to the limit, but I tried to stay in the moment, focus on my goal and the thought of seeing my wife and children at the end spurred me on.