5 minute read
Atlantic Rowing Challenge
The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge
Team Peninsula aboard the Dirty Oar from left - Sam Morris, MCC Member Toby Kendall and Will Drew.
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Three men in a boat called the ‘Dirty Oar’ recently rowed across the Atlantic Ocean to raise money for charity. MCC Member Toby Kendall, and his crew mates Sam Morris and Will Drew, formed Team Peninsula, that took part in the premier event in ocean rowing - the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.
The trio rowed more than 3000 miles west across the Atlantic from San Sebastian in the Canary Islands, to Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua, in the Caribbean. Over 38 days and 15 minutes and more than 1.5 million oar strokes, Team Peninsula raised over £50,000 for charity.
As well as an extraordinary feat of endurance rowing across the Atlantic, the team was highlighting the alarming impact of plastic marine pollution on our oceans.
Here Toby tells of their sea-faring adventures.
What made you want to row across the Atlantic?
As a former soldier in the British Army I enjoy adventure sports and wanted to try something out of my comfort zone. Having never rowed before and my greatest fear being swimming in unplumbed depths, rowing across the Atlantic Ocean seemed the ultimate challenge. At its deepest the Atlantic Ocean is 8.5km deep.
How did you train for the race?
Training started from scratch. We had a 5-day training course rowing as a complete team as Sam lived abroad during the pandemic, followed by various technical courses for ocean rowing. The rest of our training was in the gym with weights and rowing machines for 12 months, but this challenge is more about mental robustness and less about rowing technique.
The ocean-going rowboat has a cabin at both ends, with three rowing seats. Tom, Will and I took turns rowing in two-man shifts of two hours on and one hour off during the day and solo for two hours on and four hours off through the night.
What was the hardest part?
The hardest part was at the beginning, getting into a routine, making the most of our one hour off, getting enough sleep, eating properly and keeping up maintenance of the boat. Blisters are par for the course and ‘claw hand’ made it agony trying to close my hands after waking up - it’s a sort of repetitive-strain condition, but you row through it and after a while it settles down – until the next shift. And of course, we all got sore bums and suffered from sleep deprivation. Our food was a bit unappetising after a while - we lived off army style expeditionary rations – highenergy, boil-in-the-bag food, supplemented with chocolate and Haribos! I have never eaten so much in my life, but I still lost 14kg in six weeks, we were burning 7,000 calories a day.
How did the weather affect your progress?
Most of the time the weather was warm and sunny, but we had the occasional squall. Surprisingly, we found bad weather and big seas were easier. In the midAtlantic we were rowing in 40-foot waves and although it was very intimidating we never felt at risk.
Ironically, the worst days were when it should have been wonderful – days when the sea was like a pond and there was no wind or currents. We expected to make rapid headway but in fact it got really hot and our progress was painfully slow and morale dipped badly. In big water and with helpful Trade winds in the right direction we made much faster progress.
What was the most memorable part of the race?
The best part for me was being so far away. The isolation, the peace and quiet in mid-Ocean was magical. It made me realise how small we are and yet what a hugely negative impact we have on the planet. My best memory is of rowing one night through a sea of phosphorescence. As the boat cut through the water, it lit up the sea with this magical, brilliant light. It was an enchanted evening.
We saw some amazing marine life – sharks followed us for six hours one day, which was mildly unnerving, and on other occasions we were surrounded by a pod of whales. Dolphins and turtles also regularly kept us company swimming along side and under the boat.
Although we had the latest technology to guide us, it was fascinating learning to read the water, the stars and the sun to navigate. When we saw sea birds for the first time after three weeks mid-ocean we knew we were approaching land. It felt good to be so integral to nature.
How did you fill the time?
I did get a bit bored on occasion, especially at night, but we listened to music and audio books and I did enjoy the chance to let my mind wander for prolonged periods, which never happens back in the real world. We swam occasionally but mainly to do maintenance on the boat, but my greatest fear in life is swimming in deep water.
How did it feel to arrive in Antigua after six weeks at sea?
When we first hit landfall it was hilarious taking our first steps on terra firma, it was like we were very, very drunk. We had an amazing reception at Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua, with family and friends there to meet us. It was fantastic to celebrate with the other crews and to realise our achievement – not just for charity, but for ourselves personally. It was a beautiful moment seeing how sport goes far beyond just the race. We came eighth overall and second in the Trios Class.
I realised I had had the greatest privilege to be in a tiny boat, in the middle of the mighty Atlantic Ocean, and to see it in all its truly awesome, beautiful, natural magnificence. Returning to Kenya and walking along one of our glorious beaches, I realised how important our efforts are in trying to protect the oceans and what we are trying to achieve in Kenya.
Team Peninsula with MCC Member Toby Kendall and crew mates Sam Morris and Will Drew, raised over £50,000 for Ocean Generation and Azraq – two charities fighting against plastic pollution, which they felt were relevant to the sport.
