Team Anna Victorious

Since our last blog we have a number of notable events to update on, we have been out on the boat for over seven hours with the help and support of a veteran Ocean Rower and we have completed all our mandatory training as stipulated in the race rules. Bright and  early on a Saturday morning Jack and Rob collected Charlie, who was one third of a trio from last year's race, All Oar Nothing, from Bournemouth Railway Station and met Adam and Ed who were already preparing Emma for her longest voyage since she arrived in English Harbour, Antigua in January.  Emma was tied to a pontoon surrounded by super yachts as usual and although the smallest craft by some margin she never looks out of place. Charlie had not set foot on an ocean rowing boat since he completed the race.  If he remembered the pain and discomfort he didn’t show it and quickly set about addressing some of the auto helm issues that we had experienced last time we had taken her out.  He then assumed a position with his back to the stern cabin from which he barely moved for the remainder of passage. Before long we were all firing questions at him, but he remained patient and answered them all, even the really random stuff from Adam, it’s probably best that some of those questions stay on the boat!

We rowed an hour on and hour off which is some way from the 2 hours about that most teams observe on the Atlantic but allowed us to practice changeovers and intended to allow us to fuel and stay hydrated. The changeovers began like a comedy of errors, Emma rocked violently from side to side with much swearing and in one unfortunate encounter Rob fell landing on Ed who was rowing at the time.  The efficiency of how we replace rowers is critical to not only our physical safety but if done badly can add days to our crossing.  We were pleased that we certainly improved by the end of this row but something we will need to practice every time we take Emma out.  Fueling and hydration was another matter.  We had planned to fire up the jet boil that heats our water to mix with our dry food.  But shortly after lighting it we discovered no one had remembered any cutlery! Faced with the prospect of eating our dahl or chicken tikka with our hands we gave up and just ate some snacks we had brought with us.   Failing to stay hydrated on the sweltering Atlantic could make the difference between success and failure and could even put our lives at risk.  We all resolved to drink regularly at the outset of this trip and failed miserably.  We have set this as our number one objective for our next row and will need to hold each other to account for the benefit of everyone.  Almost before Emma was tied off on the pontoon at the end of the row there was a sprint to the nearest chip shop that should indicate how ill-disciplined we had been in this area.

We also christened our brand new oars, we all agreed that they definitely made a difference! Emma’s existing oars were being presented to sponsor from her last crossing.  An idea that we may well steal.  So if there are any businesses out there that would like to be our exclusive oars sponsors get in touch.

We all agreed that this trip had been a resounding success.  The list of learning points was as long as ever but knowing what we don’t know at this stage is significant progress.  Watching Adam and Jack battling the tide as we rowed into Poole Harbour was also a great pleasure.  Even the strange questions for Charlie stopped briefly as they realised that rowing pretty hard only equated to around one knot compared to reaching a top speed of five knots on the way out.  Coastal rowing around the UK is very challenging due to the combination of tide and wind.  When the both conspire against you it can make for a very demoralising day.  Once we start the race tides should not be an issue and if we can plan our route well the majority of wind should be at our backs (fingers crossed) but all our training will be in UK coastal waters so something we will need to get used to.

There is an infinite number of conditions and equipment list that we need to satisfy the race organisers before we will be allowed to start our crossing, one of which is a number of Royal Yachting Association qualifications to show that we are competent at sea.  Rob’s mum and sister agreed to put us up living near the training centre in Teignmouth, Devon.  So we all crammed into one bedroom for seven nights.  It turns out that Adam needs complete darkness to fall asleep and when he does he snores!  Ed ended up sleeping in the walk-in wardrobe wearing ear plugs which did nothing to improve his mood. Jack had been working with a company called Silverback Sports who had very kindly provided us with kit so we turned up in Teignmouth wearing all the clothing we had been given.  As we queued to pay for our parking a lady behind us in the line said “you all look like rowers” you could see all four of us inflate with pride that people could tell that we were aspiring ocean rowers just by looking at us.  The Lady turned out to be Erin who is also taking on the Atlantic as part a four called One Ocean in the same year as us.  She later decided that we looked like a football team which wasn’t necessarily the look we were going for. 

We also met Triston from Team Commando Spirit and Iris, Melissa, Renate and Marieke who make up the Atlantic Dutchesses.  Both boats are competing this year and only a few months from starting their race.  It was great to meet other people who were mad enough to take on the adventure.  We shared stories of training and the constant mission of fundraising.  Jack and Rob plan to go to La Gomera this year to wave off the teams. Although the days were long we were able to make the most of the great weather and get out and train in the morning before the course started.  We swam in the sea and walked on Dartmoor and even went for a couple of short runs around the Devon countryside.  It turns out Ed is a pretty talented sea swimmer when he and Jack embarked on some epic swims.  They may well have just volunteered themselves for cleaning the bottom of the boat mid Atlantic.  Rob and Adam can be on shark watch! 

Ed also seemed to find every tick on Dartmoor that attached themselves to his legs.  He had to make an emergency trip to a pet shop to buy tick twisters and spent a whole afternoon in class trying to get the little blighters out. We are really pleased to complete our VHF radio, First Aid, Survival at Sea and Navigation courses and will be hearing the Mayday and Pan-Pan procedures in our sleep for some time to come.  On the final day we completed a specific Ocean Rowing course with Ian Couch who is the safety officer for the race.  The day was so valuable to speak to an ocean rowing expert and gain a practical view of everything from nutrition to how to care for you backside.  He brought to life what we had only imagined until this point and we left feeling more elated and excited but perhaps a bit more anxious as we now had an idea of what was to come.  We are desperate to make the best of fine weather and get back out on Emma soon. I'm sure this time we will have an abundance of cutlery.

Thanks again for all your support, Rob