ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Sarah Outen can be excused for being a bit of a slacker this week, relatively speaking, having just become the first woman to row solo from Japan to Alaska across the North Pacific Ocean.

The 28-year-old British adventurer is taking a brief break in a small town in Alaska's Aleutian Islands. Outen, of Oakham, England, arrived in Adak late Monday after 150 days and 6,035 kilometres at sea in her boat, Happy Socks.

Outen said Wednesday that the journey has been the most amazing adventure of her life, full of the highest highs and the lowest lows. She's experienced unforgettable encounters with whales, sharks and the blackest nights exploding with stars. She's battled fierce storms, whiteout fog, exhaustion and a close call with a cargo ship, not to mention the challenge of living in a tiny space amid the turmoil of the ocean while all alone.

There were times deep desperation set in.

"It's a pretty relentless place," she said. "It really contrasts the feeling of just contentment. When things go right and it feels good and you're happy to be there, it's just a magical feeling to be alone in the ocean."

Her trek is part of her plan for a global excursion by boat, kayak and bike. Outen plans to fly to New York next week before heading back home to begin training for the next leg of the trip.

She plans to pick up where she left off in Adak next spring, bringing along a teammate, Justine Curgenven, to continue by kayak to Alaska's mainland. The two will then bike across Canada and North America. The last phase of the journey is planned for 2015, when Outen will attempt a solo row across the Atlantic Ocean to the United Kingdom.

The first leg took place in 2011 with a kayak-and-bike expedition from London to Japan. Her first attempt at this year's phase ended in 2012 when she and another ocean rower had to be rescued near Japan after their boats were badly damaged in a tropical storm.

Before Outen's "London2London"project, she became the youngest person and the first woman to row alone across the Indian Ocean in 2009.

The scariest moment of this year's trip occurred on a foggy day toward the end. That was when she almost hit a cargo ship after her radar failed because the batteries were struggling to charge after going without sunlight for a week. Outen figured it was too late to get out of the way, so she went into her cabin hoping for the best. Then a wave from the bow of the cargo vessel pushed her boat to safety.

Among the highlights, she got engaged to her longtime girlfriend during a satellite phone call from the sea. She also got up close to whales and birds and once watched a shark circling her boat as she rowed. It was not unusual for flying fish or jellyfish to land inside her boat. All the creatures that made it on board died except for one jellyfish that landed in the bilge locker. Outen managed to put that one alive back in the ocean.

So even though she lacked for human contact, she had plenty of company among creatures, including fish that accompanied her for long stretches.

"It was really nice to be followed by fish," she said.

Outen left Choshi, Japan, on April 27. After arriving in Adak, she celebrated with a bottle of champagne, a hot bath and clean clothes.

News from © The Associated Press, 2013