One Ocean Crew and savvy navvy prepare to row the Atlantic
by savvy navvy 9 Jun 2021 12:03 BST
One Ocean Crew and savvy navvy prepare to row the Atlantic © One Ocean Crew
If you're in need of some motivation look no further than the awesome ladies of One Ocean Crew.
Meet Jen, a Team GB physio from Oxfordshire, Emily, a landscape architect from London, Janette, a corporate investigator from Pretoria, South Africa and Erin, a kayak coach and wilderness guide from Cornwall. These four ladies who started their race training on rowing machines in the heart of lockdown and are now ramping up to the start line of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge at the end of the year.
What is the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge?
Grit, determination and ambition should come somewhat close to summing up what it takes to enter this increasingly well known annual rowing race.
The race will take the crew more than 3,000 miles west from San Sebastian in La Gomera. Finishing at Nelson's Dockyard in English Harbour, Antigua. This year teams will come from all over the world to arrive at the race start in early December.
During the race, the ladies will be completely self-sufficient rowing in a routine of two hours on, two hours off for 24 hours a day. They will face sleep deprivation, salt sores and will be completely exposed to the elements.
Although Atlantic rowing races are growing in popularity as more and more people undertake the challenge it might come as a surprise that more people have been into space than have successfully rowed the Atlantic.
One Ocean Crew partner with savvy navvy for race training
Well, it turns out the savvy navvy app is super useful for rowers, paddle boarders and water sports lovers.
We hear you, savvy navvy? That's for boats not rowing boats, what on earth do the crew need it for?!
The crew use savvy navvy to check the weather forecast and tidal data before planning a training session. As the crew are training in the UK the weather can be unpredictable and the tide, even more unforgiving.
When conditions are too windy the crew can't get out on the water because they don't have an engine to power against the strong winds - and they're not quite ready to be blown out to sea just yet! So prior to heading out the ladies use savvy navvy to pick the optimal time to depart for the most productive training sessions.
Fun facts about the crew during the race:
- They are expected to row in excess of 1.5 million strokes
- The crew will row 2 hours on and 2 hours off 24 hours a day
- It's expected they will experience waves up to 6 metres high (that's the height of a giraffe)
- The ladies will burn more than 5,000 calories a day (that's 40 pints of Guinness!)
The eco boat
For a 4 person crew, the boat actually has only 3 rowing positions as one person will be off mending the boat, eating or resting before starting to row again. Onboard the ladies will be completely self-sufficient with a water maker that relies on solar power, all the food they need for the journey will be stored onboard and all repair and maintenance supplies and tasks will be carried out on the water as well. There is no shower, no toilet, just a bucket!
Rowing for charity
The boat is as strong as others in the race but is made in a way that has less impact on the environment. The crew called their ocean rower, Vaquita, which means 'little cow', a species of porpoise on the brink of extinction. Vaquita is the world's rarest marine mammal with an estimated 10 individuals remaining. This species of porpoise wasn't discovered until 1958, and now sadly the world is on the brink of losing them forever.
The crew are rowing to raise awareness for ocean protection in an attempt to get people to live more sustainably. One Ocean Crew is raising money for Sea Ranger Service, an organisation on a mission to preserve 1 million hectares of previous ocean biodiversity by 2050 whilst supporting 20,000 young people to kickstart a maritime career.
Find out more here...
Would you like to sponsor One Ocean Crew in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge?
Equipment, food and spares are some of the biggest expenses for the crew. If you would like to support their campaign you can find the details here.
Check out more savvy stories
Here at savvy navvy we're delighted to team up with a number of ambitious, adventure-seeking and inspiring savvy ambassadors, we've also established some fantastic collaborations with partners around the globe that help to not only expand our offering to savvy navvy members but also provide discounts and benefits with other cool companies.
Meet the people, teams and companies that make us savvy, here.
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