Rowing the Atlantic: Lessons Learned on the Open Ocean

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Ever since those pub discussions in early 2019, the friends have been working feverishly towards their departure. The logistics of rowing non-stop, unsupported, across the Atlantic are not for the faint-hearted. “We spoke to a number of former participants, and they all said to us that it’s 95% admin,” laughs Wells. “Getting to the start line is 95% of the battle. The actual row is the final 5%.” Matthew Pritchard: Brits may remember him as one of the crew from Dirty Sanchez, or on BBC as ‘The Dirty Vegan’. He’s a fitness beast, and he’s no doubt going to be our engine. Oldham Athletic owner Frank Rothwell who has vowed to row the Atlantic a second time, aged 73, to raise money to cure dementia (Image: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/frankrothwell) She is very appreciative of those who give time, money or efforts to protect the sea and those creatures who inhabit its waters. Our week in Fuerteventure brought the team closer together, and gave us a better idea on the workings of our boat

Matthew Pritchard: Brits may remember him as one of the crew from Dirty Sanchez, or on BBC as ‘The Dirty Vegan’. What can I say? A lovely, lovely, kind, caring thoughtful guy. I had never seen Dirty Sanchez before, but a few of my friends had, and they expected him to be pretty crazy. For sure he’s a fun guy, but not over the top in the slightest. Just a great human to be honest. Humble, sweet, and now a great friend. He’s someone you can really trust. Kat underwent a radical hysterectomy but doctors left her ovaries as she wanted to do another round of egg-freezing. Once her eggs were harvested, she had her ovaries removed.

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Your ship, the Sedna Solo, has a very interesting name. What is its origin? Where is the Sedna Solo now? Sacrifices. Selfish ones at that. You know, being a Type A personality is often lauded. Single-minded. Driven. Motivated. Sure, sounds great, right? Not always. The downside to all this is a selfishness that carries us Type As through life, and I was guilty of that right from the outset. I was due to get married in February 2021, but the row was due to start in late January. What to do?

We want to send them huge congratulations on their world record as well as our grateful thanks for raising funds for Cancer Research UK and for highlighting the need for more funding to develop better and kinder treatments for all types of cancer.I’m hugely privileged to be able to join the team at Monkey Fist Adventures. The logistics, the funding, the PR, the expertise. I have zero ability for all of that. I’m humbled and hugely grateful, to be given this chance. It would be criminal to waste such an amazing opportunity. I hope that my book might help a child to believe that almost anything is possible, given enough determination and commitment, and that their life is very much what they choose to make it.

We had always got on well. I was always hugely grateful to have his calming energy on the boat. A kind, gentle soul. We would have discussions about theology, politics, literature late through the night. I would have gone insane without those chats. And despite my early frustrations with his rowing, I love the man. And couldn’t have imagined the row without him. But once I rid myself of my frustrations, it was better still. Like a father figure for me on the boat. I cursed myself for getting so worked up at him in those early weeks. We met Billy coming off the ferry. But the boat stayed. Impounded by customs. “ Mix up with the paperwork“. We were due to have sea trials the next day so this was far from ideal. And I STILL hadn’t even seen the boat, let alone step on the boat, or rowed the boat, yet! The whole expedition is approximately 3000 miles/5000km. And it can take up to 2 months. As I said, the first month was undoubtedly the worst month of my life, I had never felt so down. Regret for signing up and being away from my loved ones, angry at myself for the money I had spent on this experience, and frustrated at the boat builders and organisers that caused the chaos to delay us further still. I also felt that this negativity would never let up. But it did. I guess it always does? More people have summited Mount Everest than have successfully rowed the Atlantic and fewer than 20% of ocean rowers are women.

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This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( September 2015) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) After your satellite phone failed you confess you had a “guilty delight” about being disconnected from everything. Do you still long for that today? Are you able to disconnect while on dry land or do you need the sea to help you accomplish that? Martin was an experienced sailor too. This was helpful considering Pritch and I knew so little about anything ocean-orientated. We were around the mid-way point on our row one sunny afternoon when Martin discovered our latest issue with our not-so-wonderful ocean rowing vessel. Essentially, we had no life raft. The fundraiser from Oldham set off on the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge on 12 December, and had planned to reach the Caribbean island on Valentine's Day, to reunite with his wife Julie.

The next morning, the early wake-up came and went, and we drove to the marina to set off. Starting the Row and Getting Rescued There's no denying it will be tough both physically and mentally, however, if every stroke of the oars brings better research or aide to anyone living with Alzheimer's the pain will be worth it.I think the previous indoor rowing challenges I have completed before have prepared me for what sitting on a rowing machine for such a long times feels like. I think it’s a mixture of both because sitting on a rowing machine is different to sitting on a boat, it’s a different rowing position. So I think the mixtures of experiences indoors and at sea is what really helps, coping with my body and everything else. I think, now that we’re reaching the end of Day 5, my body is starting to react and starting to adjust to where it needs to be. It’s really difficult to work on this area in particular, unless you are actually doing the challenge itself. In this challenge, there is also the aspect of your body “downpowering” every muscle of your body that you don’t use rowing, which I experienced during my previous Atlantic row. After 40 days of rowing, going for a walk will be a much more exhausting experience than rowing, as the body will need to relearn using those muscles it mostly forgot about for several weeks.” The World's Toughest Row is an extreme endurance rowing race and the premier event in ocean rowing. Competitors from across the globe test themselves against the might of the Atlantic Ocean.