Team Anna Victorious

It felt a bit strange to be able to get together, I think we had got so used to being apart it had become normal.  But it didn’t take long for us to fall back into that constant case of mickey-taking and banter.  We had made a move away from our usual Sunseeker berth due to the servicing of the crane that is used to move boats in and out of the water.  But Lakeyard Marina in Poole (www.lakeyard.co.uk) came to our aid and not only allowed us the use of their crane but gave us a berth for the weekend. Wherever we go Emma always turns heads and people come over for a chat. We love talking about our boat and the challenge; for a second or two makes us feel like celebrities only to realise it is Emma they want to see!

We made an early start to make sure that we not fighting the tide and although the dawn was stunning as the light crept over the water there was frost on Emma’s deck which caused great hilarity as we slipped onto the deck (we are very sorry if we woke any of the sleeping residents in the Marina.) 

As quietly as we could, we fired up the jet boil and made breakfast on the pontoon. Phillipa from Savernake Nutrition had put together individual food packs for each of us to consume every four hours. These seemed huge and included a sachet containing a freeze-dried meal (some of which were over 1000 calories on their own) as well as nuts and seeds and the occasional bit of chocolate. We had clearly underestimated the amount of food we would need to eat to fuel 12 hours of rowing. Phillipa had carefully calculated each of our caloric requirements and even personal preferences. She is now a critical part of the team so please check her out at www.savernakenutition.co.uk.

Negotiating the slightly narrow entrance to the marina would have been a sight to behold but hopefully, it was early enough for the number of eyewitnesses to be limited. Once out, the tide was moving fast in our favor and Poole Harbour was as flat as a pancake. It is difficult to describe the feeling when the conditions are in your favour and the boat seems to be gliding through the water. The only parallel that can be drawn is freewheeling down a hill on a bike - well, I suppose a tandem would be more appropriate!

Once out past the dreaded Poole Chain Ferry, we turned left towards the Isle of Wight. For those of you who have not encountered the Chain Ferry, it provides a link between Poole Harbour and Studland. The rules seem to be, there is no warning when the ferry might go and it will give way to no one. So in our comparatively tiny rowing boat, we are often in a position where we committed to passing it and then have to row like hell to make it past. The consensus in our crew is that the captain of the ferry waits for us to be in range before setting off!

At the start of each outing, we set a number of objectives and they might be as simple as perfecting some drills around using the land or para-anchor or using the jet boil to make our food whilst in motion. We have quickly worked out if we want to test our fitness at this stage then do it at home on the rowing machine. Time on the boat is valuable and is needed to hone skills and learn rather than come back feeling like we have been beaten up. So we practiced anchoring onto a buoy and using our land anchor. It is unlikely that we will be using these skills much on the Atlantic as there aren’t very many buoys and we would have to carry a very long rope for our anchor to reach the sea bed, but nevertheless really important skills that we will use in training and promoting our confidence on the boat.

It is with some trepidation that I write this next paragraph for two reasons: firstly embarrassment of the author and secondly we have partnered with a number of amazing, generous, and forward-thinking organisations that might not want their company names associated with what I am about to discuss. But this question we get asked the most is “WHERE DO YOU GO TO THE LOO?” So here goes… Emma is narrow and light so leaning over the side or even having your weight off center destabilises the boat meaning that it makes rowing very challenging if not impossible. So we use bottles for number ones. These bottles are clearly labelled and very different in shape from our drinking bottles so mistakes in that regard are very very unlikely. Number twos are a different matter. It requires a bucket that is precisely on the midline of the deck and with a hand firmly grasping the safety lines that prevent us from falling overboard and whilst conducting a thigh-burning squat over the bucket. The contents go over the side and any additional non-biodegradable “materials' used are deposited in a bag and disposed of once back on land. This horrific yogic pose is all performed while virtually sitting on the lap of the person who is rowing. Despite a time spent on board we have managed to avoid the use of the bucket until now… it had started to become a running joke about who would go first. The large calorie breakfast (thanks to Phillipa), the passage of time combined with the gentle rocking of the boat made the outcome inevitable. Rob was the first to break while the crew was practicing land anchor drills. This was perhaps his first mistake. This long-awaited event caused great excitement and the rest of the crew were quick to offer advice and tips. The best being from Ed “JUST TAKE DOWN YOUR SHORTS AND GET ON WITH IT.”  Which was met with a reply of “WELL I WASN’T PLANNING TO GO WITH THEM STILL UP!”  With what felt like a new spectator sport and the taking of several photos to mark the occasion and Adam providing a full commentary our bucket was finally christened. However when the contents of the bucket were emptied over the side. It didn’t go anywhere! It just bobbed alongside the boat. Again prompting more comments from Adam. The boat was stationary and there was no tide or discernible wind, so it just sat there with the crew just staring at it. When we finish each training row we always debrief and list learning points however small, the primary one on this row, never use the bucket while in anchor!

We rowed out towards the Isle of Wight and with the buzz of a drone overhead, we knew that we were about to be joined by Steve McGrath (@maddoggiraffe) and Alex Anderson from Maritime Filming UK (@maritimefilminguk).  Steve and Alex have been two of the most generous supporters and the shots that you see on Social Media are often down to their talent and expertise. They were being transported by Mat from Rebel Marine (@rebelmaerineiow) who had given up his day for free to help us. They got some amazing shots of us in front of the needles at the south tip of the Isle of Wight and certainly a striking part of the British Coastline. With all the shots taken, we turned to head back in. We take time to plan our trips to make sure that we avoid adverse tides and weather conditions. However, we have to remember that the personalities of the individuals on the boat, and when it was suggested that we row three up to get back faster there were no dissenting voices. So we made the 12-mile row back to the Chain Ferry as the tide was rushing out.  We went from rowing at between 4 and 5 knots to about 1.5 knots. Conversations stopped and we began to battle the conditions having committed ourselves to this unnecessary challenge.  And you guessed it we played our usual game of chicken with the Chain Ferry. With our lungs and legs burning we made our way back into the Marina in the dark and tied Emma up in her berth having secured over 40 miles and 14 hours in the boat. We just managed to get back to our hotel, jump in the shower and order a pizza to be delivered before passing out.

The alarm woke us at 0530 the next day to do it all again. Well, not quite thankfully. We had decided that seeing the Chain Ferry two days in a row would be just too much of a good thing so we opted to explore Brownsea Island and repeat some of the drills. Adam and Rob have relied on Jack and Ed to navigate. It is critical though that we are all competent at all aspects of ocean rowing so Adam and Rob practiced using the chart plotter and navigation app. We anchored and fired up the jet boil. The most common injuries to ocean rowers are burns whilst cooking so it’s really important that we are proficient at this skill. It is difficult to describe but it normally requires two people and several other sets of hands. No doubt it will get easier.  We also made a point of scoring our meals out of 10 so that we didn’t discover that we hated the vegetable pasta on our second night on the Atlantic faced with it for breakfast lunch and dinner for the next four weeks. Food is not only critical to fuelling our propulsion it is also an important part of the mental aspect of the challenge. Jack had been talking all weekend that he was saving a macaroni cheese meal for just this moment.  However, as we were trying out food from different providers to see which we preferred they were all different sizes and required different amounts of boiling water added to. Unfortunately, Rob slightly overdid the water and Jack who is the perpetual optimist explained it was the best macaroni soup he had ever had and tipped about half a pint of cloudy liquid over the side.

We have booked our flights and accommodation for the start and we are ticking big items off the to-do list like servicing and repairing the water maker and paying for the boat to be shipped to the start. There is no question now that this is real, we really are going to be rowing the Atlantic this year. It’s not a dream anymore. This is our reality and we love it. The team is proud of the achievements we have made coming to this point but even more proud of the people that reach out to us to offer support or who express how they have been inspired to follow their dreams as a result of hearing our story.