Teams of rowers will be vying to smash a six-year-old record for a non-stop circumnavigation of Britain. The record for the Anglo American Boat Race, or GB Row 2010 as it's known this year, meant rowing more than 70 miles a day.
Starting on June 1, six men will aim to win the race and smash the 26-day World Record whilst raising tens of thousands of pounds for charity at the same time. Considered by most ocean rowers to be far tougher than any other ocean row, this expedition is a massive test of human endurance.
But with a combined rowing experience totaling 78 years and a former Atlantic Rowing Race winner skippering them the crew has plenty of skill on board. The crew is made up of four British and two South African rowers whose ages range from 25 to 39. They are Bill Godfrey, Dave Pattle, Dan Jenkins, Joe Leiserach, Jonny Hewett and Adam Anderson.
In order to achieve their formidable goal the crew will row in shifts, taking it in turns to row for 90 minutes and rest for 90 minutes, 24hrs a day. Pushing themselves to the absolute limit will mean that the crew will lose an average of 15% of their body weight. They will also have to contend with a host of ocean rowing ailments such as bottom blisters, tendonitis and salt sores.
Crews rowing across the Atlantic often row naked in an attempt to heal some of these problems but without the privacy of the open ocean this crew may well attract some unwanted attention when they start stripping off. Not surprisingly the lads are going to have to take every possible opportunity to do just that if they want to get to the finish in one piece. As well as physical problems the crew will face the notoriously challenging tidal conditions found around the British coastline and will have to contend with the frustrations of being held up by tides, winds and currents.
As a result, most ocean rowers describe this expedition as the toughest ocean row there is and the race organisers state on their website that ‘99% of ocean rowers need not apply’.
British gig rower Jonny Hewett says “during my north-south ski traverse of Iceland last year I decided that my next expedition would need to push the boundaries even further. This race is the perfect opportunity to do just that."
The crew will also have to pay careful attention to the weight of the boat because the lighter they are the better their chances of success. The skipper Bill Godfrey says “this is a cut-the-end-off-your-toothbrush expedition. I won’t be letting the guys bring anything other than the bare essentials. Not only do we want to break the current record, but we also want to set an unbeatable benchmark for the crews who come after us.”
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