Crossing the Atlantic Ocean from Europe to South America

On 22/04/2021, Dr. Georgios Ardavanis became the world's first Greek and oldest rower to row across the Atlantic Ocean from continent (Europe - Portimao/Portugal) to continent (South America - Cayenne/French Guiana). He is among a diverse set of endurance athletes who attempted this feat.

Dr. Ardavanis (a Greek citizen and engineer who resides permanently in the USA), as a member of five (5) European non-professional rowers, rowed a distance of 3,250 nautical miles (6000 km) in 51 days and 18 hours. The previous record for a mixed crew of five (5) (male and female) was 68 days. The team consisted of five (5) rowers (4 male rowers and 1 woman rower). The team was broken into two (2) sub-teams of three (3) and two (2) rowers, respectively. Each team rowed every two (2) hours alternately around the clock. The team rowed a Rannock45 ocean boat (8,65m by 1,8m). Every team was rowing alternately. Row for two (2) hours, and sleep for two (2) hours, row for two (2) hours, sleep for two (2) hours, again and again with cold, rough seas, and high temperatures, never looked back but always forward.

Dr. Ardavanis did not use any motivational quotations to motivate himself during this demanding expedition. He believes that people that they use motivational quotes lack strength and they cannot take care their own self. Although, he experienced a lot of pain challenges in his body from a late surgery before the Atlantic expedition, as well as rib injuries (big waves threw him off his rowing seat against his cabin's metal hatch), injured wrist and elbows and hips because of the rough seas, he never gave-up. Instead, he repeated consistently the following quote for the first fifteen (15) days of the expedition: "Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year. But eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. Yet, if I quit, that it will last forever" (Lans Armstrong).

Every injury or pain after the 15th day of his expedition had no impact on his body or mind. He knew that it would pass and thus he was fighting it with stronger rowing and therefore with more pain.

These types of expeditions require the participant to have a big ego, unlimited mental forces, extreme patience, inner strength, strong body, and be fearless. According to him, you should not have a fag attitude (meaning entitlement complex/everything should always go their way, victimhood complex/self-pity attitude, hypersensitivity, fear for failure, believing that nothing is your fault, getting angry when people disagree with you). Beside nature, you must deal with the nature of different human beings, and this is not an easy task in an 8-meter boat for 51 days.

Dr. Ardavanis and his teammates faced huge ocean swells (10m or more) which became dangerous to the safety of the rowing boat and the rowers. Specifically, more of an issue was when the face of the waves steepened into a wall. These walls eventually became so unstable that they collapsed, forming white water called breaking waves which beat with fury the boat and the rowers.

Being at sea is not for everyone, and there are challenges that are new for any level of ocean rower. For ocean rowing, it is more important to be fearless and courageous than being a good rower. Experience rowing is useful, and it is good to check if you enjoy it. However, you also will need other skills such as commitment, discipline, and being mentally prepared. According to Dr. Ardavanis, being mentally prepared is just as important as being physically prepared. You must consider that an ocean rowing will push you mentally like never before and this is something you have to be sure that you will be able to cope with. Psychology is essential when considering ocean rowing, for example are you comfortable being yourself? Can you tolerate possible friction between yourself and your teammates? Because at the end of the day you must keep going and will not be able to just stop and turn around. 

Dr. Ardavanis decided to do the Atlantic expedition because he wanted to challenge himself and help set an example to anyone who has had a challenging time or has been battling something. We all have our challenges in life and being able to carry on despite this can be so empowering. ]After going through his own health battles, it was time for him to set an example for not just himself and the ones he cared for but whoever followed his journey.

In the last twenty-five (25) years, Dr. Ardavanis participates in extreme adventures such as ocean rowing, ultra-marathons, alpinism, and ultra-triathlons worldwide as a personal motivation to set new goals and to overcome them, to explore his limits in conjunction with the thrill of risk-taking. Dr. Ardavanis believes that pursuing a seemingly impossible goal and persevering through endless trials and tribulations is what makes someone's life journey exciting and tolerable. 

Dr. Ardavanis started his training after two (2) months of recovery from his last surgery (July 2020). Specifically from the beginning of October 2020 until February 2021. Some doctors told him to sit back and take it easy for at least a year. He did not because his time for him is his everything. He entered a severe training program to upgrade his body, learn to row, and built a strong mind. His training plan was broken into two phases. In the first phase, he hired a rowing trainer to train him. Every day he rowed 30-60 km in his rowing club's ergometers and rowing boats. In the beginning, training was not easy for his mental and body situation. There were many predicaments, especially with his body. His coach pushed his mind and body limits to superior levels. During his rowing training, Dr. Ardavanis added some hard work on his own, like sleeping on the hard floor inside a light sleeping bag while listening to YouTube prolonged sounds of wild sea waves and storms. He also was running 15 km every day carrying a backpack of 10 kg. Following the run, there were two hours of floor exercises to strengthen his core, body, and mind. All the above preparation enhanced Dr. Ardavanis's mental courage and determination to higher levels. His mind was able to get control in difficult moments and give strength to his weaknesses and fears.

The realities of the such expedition are that for every two hours where the crew is shifting on the oars around the clock while at the same time must handle seasickness, salt sores, blisters, delirium, fatigue, discomfort, rough seas with huge waves, prolonged storms, and high temperatures. All these are of no surprise for ocean rowing expeditions, and therefore Dr. Ardavanis was able to shape a character out of granite and be able to handle successfully all these meanness and difficulties not only with his flesh but above all with his mind.

The size of the vast blue and the monotony of the days and nights can strike anybody with fear and awe. Indeed, Dr. Ardavanis had a strong feeling that would encounter insurmountable feelings in a rogue emptiness of raw and wild nature. Vast blue and dark, and inside this, dolphins, fish, and turtles swam up alongside his boat while he was witnessing the most incredible night skies, dawns, and sunsets of his existential life. There were days that he rowed through eerie mirror-calm conditions, and then furious foaming waves battered us. Yet, Dr. Ardavanis tends to think that the overall picture was not all bad because, on an ocean rowing expedition, you encounter nature in the raw. Being thrown into such an extreme environment with a small group of people forms stormy situations. For some of the crew that will be completing such an expedition will be fulfilling their dream of doing that one big thing in their lives; for others, it might be the first of many such adventures, and for others, it might be another notch on their adventure bedpost.

Regarding the challenges that people are facing daily in a working environment, there are five (5) lessons to be learned from this extreme expedition:

Five (5) lessons

Lesson #1: FOCUS ON THE GOAL

Isolating your mind from negative energy and people with negative influence can substantially help you concentrate on your task at hand and, at the same time provide you with an excellent reference for accomplishing any difficult task.  

Lesson #2: HANDLE EFFICIENTLY THE EVERYDAY ROUTINE

Get into a routine. Settling into a familiar working pattern was one coping mechanism used by the team to great success. Dr. Ardavanis noted, "Resilience is gradually getting higher as he gets into a routine on the boat, and he can see himself and his teammates making progress.”

Lesson #3: TAKE TIME OUT

Removing yourself from the situation for a time can help you to recharge and cope with stress. Although an ocean rower is confined within a small space on the boat, one would imagine himself in his happy place to recharge his batteries and return to his life objectives with a different perspective.

Lesson #4: CREATE A SENSE OF CONTROL

Creating guiding and protective structures can help you not feel overwhelmed. Dr. Ardavanis described that finding out exactly where they were geographically, in the middle of an ocean, was a terrifying thought as what was going around them was unpredictable and humongous. So, building up secure processes and structures for working as a team and focusing on managing challenges on the boat was a suitable mechanism for creating a sense of control.

Lesson #5: SEEK SUPPORT FROM OTHERS

Being able to lean on each other and offer support when times are tough is a key skill in any venture. Dr. Ardavanis described that the team support network helped the rowers of his team to work through the challenges they faced.