He set off from Miami on his Sea Doo GTX in early June of this year and only stopped riding late last month.

In 2000, John, 43, set the distance world record by riding 5,604 miles in 80 days. Since then, teams from Australia and South Africa bettered his mark and pushed the record to 10,500 miles. John was determined to hold on to the record this time: “I just want to be the best in the world at something, and this is it. This is my record!” he said.

His journey had already taken him up the Intercoastal Waterway from Miami, along the East Coast, through New York City, and as far north as Montreal. From there, he travelled past Ottawa, through Lakes Ontario and Erie to Chicago, down the Illinois River, up the Mississippi, further up the Missouri River, up and back along the Ohio River, and down the Tennessee River to the Gulf of Mexico. Once there, he hugged the west coast of Florida to Ft. Myers, crossed the state via Lake Okeechobee to Vero Beach, and headed north.

He broke the previous record of 10,500 miles just outside Half Moon Bay, Georgia, with severe weather and seven-foot waves.

He said: “I was so close to the record I just couldn’t take the day off.” He was so determined to remain the world record holder he carried on with his journey, in order to “pad the record and put it further out of reach.”