Physical preparation
Most ocean rowers are fit, young men and women. I started from a point when I weighed around 110 kilos and was very unfit, so physical preparation for my row across the Atlantic Ocean is vital. Training has taken fourteen months and has been long and steady. Rowing, on the river and on a machine, running, swimming, weight training and cycling have all played their part.
I have followed a regime at Sportspark, my local sports centre at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and my weight has been down to 87 kilos. I have now begun to replace some of the lost kilos with lean tissue, and I must now bulk up to give my body some onboard fuel to use on the journey.
The training regime consisted of running to the gym, fifteen minutes of stretches, forty minutes of cardiovascular work followed by forty minutes of strength work on weights and resistance machines. Rowing on the River Yare was a vital part of the training. I bought an old lifeboat from a dredger which weighs around a tonne, the same as an ocean rowing boat. I fitted it with a sliding seat to mimic an ocean rowing boat and began training. Starting on the Yare at Great Yarmouth, I rowed up to Norwich over two days and established a routine of a couple of hours a day in addition to the gym work.
The actual ocean rowing boat I will be crossing with is now in use and I will be practicing with her until she goes for shipping to La Gomera in early December. |
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Dietary requirements
Ocean rowing requires a huge amount of physical energy. For my rowing challenge across the Atlantic Ocean, I'll need something in the order of 8,000 calories a day - more than three times the recommended daily amount for an average male.
Because weight is always a consideration on the boat, I must use freeze dried food as my main source of energy. This means that I will have to boil water to rehydrate it. This is done on a small single burner stove on gimbals to keep it level as the boat lurches around on the waves.
The food comes in foil pouches, adding boiling water and leaving to soak for ten minutes and hey presto - lunch, eaten straight from the pouch. It’s just gourmet pot noodle really, but it is high in calories and is easy to prepare. The menus give a balanced diet with lots of carbohydrates (fuel) and protein (the nine amino acids we need), minerals, vitamins, fats and iron.
In addition to my freeze dried food, I will have a plentiful supply of treats such as nuts, dried fruit, tinned sunflower seeds, banana chips, and calorie boosts such as Lucozade powder.
Even with all of this sumptuous banqueting though, I simply cannot consume the calories I will need in the day, so it is estimated I will lose between fifteen and twenty kilos during the 100 day row. |
My daily routine onboard
Routine is a vital mental tool for ocean rowing and mine will be typed out, laminated and posted in my cabin. I will have squares to tick daily with a grease pencil.
The daily timetable should look something like this:
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0500 |
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Stop sleeping, row for one hour. |
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0600 |
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Take vitamin supplements, brush teeth. Make and eat breakfast. Use toilet. |
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0700 |
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Row for three hours |
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1000 |
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Mid morning meal |
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1030 |
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Row until midday |
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1200 |
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Take position and plot onto chart, have coffee and snack |
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1230 |
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Row for two hours |
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1430 |
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Lunch |
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1500 |
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Row for two hours |
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1700 |
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Evening meal, e mails and phone home, update website. Use toilet, scrub bottom of boat, take shower. |
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1800 |
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Row for three hours, listening to music. |
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2100 |
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Stop rowing, secure boat for the night, retire to bed. |
This routine is bound to be flexible, but it gives me a good long sleep each night which should ensure good quality rowing.
A different routine might be preferable, but once established it will be important that I stick with it for self maintenance.
Medical
Should any ailments or injuries occur I have a full medical kit onboard and I have trained in first aid.
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Entertainment
A device called a Creative Nomad Jukebox will be my music and audio book reader. It will be loaded with a massive choice of music and books and should keep me in good spirits. I will also have my Roberts short wave radio for the world service and a selection of books.
Progress
Daily progress will be plotted on the chart, I hope for about thirty miles per day, but if it does not come up to expectations I will review my expectations at an early stage. This is one of the tools provided by the Ocean Rowing Society’s (ORS) psychologist Dr Tim Woodman. If you allow yourself to reach the point where you consider that you have failed, you will risk becoming depressed. By reviewing your goals early, that moment never arrives. I have heard of a similar tool being used on railway timetables!
Survival skills
Should I encounter insurmountable problems with the boat, I will reluctantly have to abandon to the liferaft which carries plenty of equipment for survival, such as a hand operated desalintor (to make fresh water from the sea) and emergency rations, along with an emergency beacon to alert passing ships. I could be in the raft for some time though and will have to ration my stores according to the barest minimum to stay alive. Water is the key to survival. We can live without food for about three weeks, but only for a few days without water. When anyone abandons their vessel for a life raft, it is essential that they take as many supplies as time allows before it actually sinks.
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