Ebb & Flow Atlantic Row Part 3
Friday, August 9th, 2024
The Atlantic Challenge, The World’s Toughest Row
Before I emailed the team, I wanted to understand more about the challenge.
Atlantic Campaigns have been organising the event since 2013, previously known as the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge and now the World’s Toughest Row.
It is an annual ocean rowing race that spans approximately 3,000 miles from San Sebastián de La Gomera in the Canary Islands to English Harbour in Antigua. Since its inception in 1997, the challenge has evolved into a premier event in ocean rowing, attracting participants from around the globe.
Only 750 people have successfully crossed the Atlantic Ocean in these events, of which only 168 have been women.
Rowers endure extreme physical and mental challenges, such as sleep deprivation, salt sores, and the vastness of the ocean. They must be self-sufficient, carrying all necessary supplies and relying on solar panels for power and to produce their own drinking water.
Many rowers adopt a polyphasic sleep schedule, often rowing in shifts of two hours on and two hours off, leading to significant sleep deprivation over the course of the journey.
Unusual Facts:
Each team will row in excess of 1.5 million oar strokes during a race.
The waves that the rowers experience can measure up to 20ft high.
There are more people who have climbed Mount Everest than have completed the Atlantic Rowing Challenge.
At its deepest, the Atlantic Ocean is 8.5km / 5.28 miles deep.
At some points during the crossing, rowers are closer to the astronauts in the International Space Station than people on land on Earth.
There is no toilet on board – rowers use a bucket!
Each rower is expected to use 800 sheets of toilet paper during their crossing.
Crews will experience a range of temperatures, from as low as 10 degrees during the night shifts at the start to well in to the 30’s with added humidity as they approach the finish.
Rowers burn in excess of 5,000 calories per day.
The average rower loses around 8kg during a crossing.
With the above in mind, this is when I decided to email them, to offer my knowledge and experience of how teams achieved high-performance teamwork and enhanced their mental resilience.
To be continued.
#AtlanticRowingChallenge #TeamEbbAndFlow #Teamwork #Resilience #Purpose #Inspiration #Rowing
