Aurimas Mockus has been rowing across the Pacific for months. Now he’s weeks from Australia – if he can avoid Cyclone Alfred

Lithuanian rower Aurimas Mockus set off from San Diego in October 2024 to undertake a 12,000km journey across the Pacific Ocean to Brisbane in a single-seater ocean rowing boat. Photograph: Aurimas Mockus

For four months Aurimas Mockus has been alone at sea. Surviving on dried food and rowing an average of 12 hours a day, he has battled blisters and unfavourable winds.

Now, just 12 or so days from Australian shores, the 44-year-old Lithuanian has encountered a new problem: avoiding the centre of Tropical Cyclone Alfred, which has been intensifying over the Coral Sea.