The Human Spirit, Rowing Across the Atlantic

[thelerner]

Talisker Whisky has an amazing race.  Rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic.  Small boats by definition.  An amazing feat.  They had 28 entries.  I was reading about 3 brothers who finished in 30 days 9 hours,  a new world record for a 3some. 

 

There's a short 5 minute film on the site that is inspiring to watch= https://www.taliskerwhiskyatlanticchallenge.com/

 

I'm inspired to grab a glass of Talisker whisky, drink to the brave hardy sailors and.. uhmn, well thats about it at the moment. 

isn't that sad, cause I see one boat is the Granddads of the Atlantic; which I believe are grandfathers who made it.  Here's 4 middle aged mums who did it- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwVrYWHjqLI  Watching the 44 minute video now.  The ladies were making good time, hoping to finish in 40 days, until Hurricane Alex hits.  Doing -4 to 5 knots per hour, there attempt to outrun the storm is.. impractical.  They finished in 67 days 4 hours!

 

Many facinating videos on the race over the years.

 

RACE FACTS

Each team will row in excess of 1.5 million oar strokes over a race.

Rowers will row for 2 hours, and sleep for 2 hours, constantly, 24 hours a day.

More people have climbed Everest than rowed an ocean.

Over €6million has been raised for charities worldwide over the past 4 races.

At its deepest, the Atlantic Ocean is 8.5km/5.28 miles deep.

The waves the rowers will experience can measure up to 20ft high.

There are two safety yachts supporting the teams as they cross the ocean.

The 2013 winning Team Locura arrived in Antigua with a blue marlin beak pierced through the hull of the boat.

Each rower is expected to use 800 sheets of toilet paper during their crossing.

The teams are supported 24/7 by two land-based duty officers.

In the 2016 race, solo rower Daryl Farmer arrived in Antigua after 96 days, rowing without a rudder to steer with for nearly 1200miles/40 days.

Each rower needs to aim to consume 10  litres  of water per day.

Rowers burn in excess of 5,000 calories per day.

There is no toilet on board – rowers use a bucket!

 Each rower loses on average 12kg crossing the Atlantic!

 

Rowing the Atlantic, what mythical feat to accomplish.  Chicago To Mackinac Island is a mere 315 miles.  I believe its the longest fresh water sailing race.  If you hug the coast you add another 120 miles to it.  

 

I could probably row there. 

If I had a boat. 

Experience. 

Endurance. 

Guts. 

Life Insurance..

 

It'd probably take me longer then 30 days too.  Depending on how well the restaurants and hotels along the coast were doing.

 

Edited January 27, 2020 by thelerner

[moment]

7 hours ago, thelerner said:

Talisker Whisky has an amazing race.  Rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic.  Small boats by definition.  An amazing feat.  They had 28 entries.  I was reading about 3 brothers who finished in 30 days 9 hours,  a new world record for a 3some. 

 

There's a short 5 minute film on the site that is inspiring to watch= https://www.taliskerwhiskyatlanticchallenge.com/

 

I'm inspired to grab a glass of Talisker whisky, drink to the brave hardy sailors and.. uhmn, well thats about it at the moment. 

isn't that sad, cause I see one boat is the Granddads of the Atlantic; which I believe are grandfathers who made it.  Here's 4 middle aged mums who did it- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwVrYWHjqLI  Watching the 44 minute video now.  The ladies were making good time, hoping to finish in 40 days, until Hurricane Alex hits.  Doing -4 to 5 knots per hour, there attempt to outrun the storm is.. impractical.  They did it 67 days 4 hours!

 

Many facinating videos on the race over the years.

 

RACE FACTS

Each team will row in excess of 1.5 million oar strokes over a race.

Rowers will row for 2 hours, and sleep for 2 hours, constantly, 24 hours a day.

More people have climbed Everest than rowed an ocean.

Over €6million has been raised for charities worldwide over the past 4 races.

At its deepest, the Atlantic Ocean is 8.5km/5.28 miles deep.

The waves the rowers will experience can measure up to 20ft high.

There are two safety yachts supporting the teams as they cross the ocean.

The 2013 winning Team Locura arrived in Antigua with a blue marlin beak pierced through the hull of the boat.

Each rower is expected to use 800 sheets of toilet paper during their crossing.

The teams are supported 24/7 by two land-based duty officers.

In the 2016 race, solo rower Daryl Farmer arrived in Antigua after 96 days, rowing without a rudder to steer with for nearly 1200miles/40 days.

Each rower needs to aim to consume 10  litres  of water per day.

Rowers burn in excess of 5,000 calories per day.

There is no toilet on board – rowers use a bucket!

 Each rower loses on average 12kg crossing the Atlantic!

 

Rowing the Atlantic, what mythical feat to accomplish.  Chicago To Mackinac Island is a mere 315 miles.  I believe its the longest fresh water sailing race.  If you hug the coast you add another 120 miles to it.  

 

I could probably row there. 

If I had a boat. 

Experience. 

Endurance. 

Guts. 

Life Insurance..

 

It'd probably take me longer then 30 days too.  Depending on how well the restaurants and hotels along the coast were doing.

 

Well, I am truly humbled!

[Nungali]

14 hours ago, moment said:

Well, I am truly humbled!

 

Try reading what Shackleton  did  during the Trans-Antarctic Expedition .     Gobsmackingly phenomenal !  Surviving disaster after disaster ... somehow .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Trans-Antarctic_Expedition#Expedition

 

Talk a about endurance  against all odds , and not only did he survive it, he did it all to save his men , and eventually did . It went on for years .

 

For those that dont know, it involved the original journey, the boat being first locked in by and then crushed by ice . Back then , with no relief.  They floated on ice, getting smaller and smaller , eventually struck for land . Camped on a tiny beach up against cliffs on Elephant Island . Shackleton and some others, leaving the main party on the beach ,  rowed in a small boat  to South Georgia  Island  to the whaling station to get help . This was after the hardships of being marooned on the ice , sick and near malnutrition.  But then they ended up on the wrong side of the island and had to cross ice mountains and glaciers. It took three attempts to get back to the island  due to bad conditions and other factors . Eventually he returned and saved his men, as he promised .

 

 

Here is the boat they did it in ;

 

 

Numerous good quality photographs survive from the Expedition

 

What faced Shackleton , after the shipwreck, the ice journey,  , the walking and dragging boats over ice, and the rowing to South Georgia .... now, walk over this ;

 

 

 

[moment]

8 hours ago, Nungali said:

 

Try reading what Shackleton  did  during the Trans-Antarctic Expedition .     Gobsmackingly phenomenal !  Surviving disaster after disaster ... somehow .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Trans-Antarctic_Expedition#Expedition

 

Talk a about endurance  against all odds , and not only did he survive it, he did it all to save his men , and eventually did . It went on for years .

 

For those that dont know, it involved the original journey, the boat being first locked in by and then crushed by ice . Back then , with no relief.  They floated on ice, getting smaller and smaller , eventually struck for land . Camped on a tiny beach up against cliffs on Elephant Island . Shackleton and some others, leaving the main party on the beach ,  rowed in a small boat  to South Georgia  Island  to the whaling station to get help . This was after the hardships of being marooned on the ice , sick and near malnutrition.  But then they ended up on the wrong side of the island and had to cross ice mountains and glaciers. It took three attempts to get back to the island  due to bad conditions and other factors . Eventually he returned and saved his men, as he promised .

 

 

Here is the boat they did it in ;

 

 

Numerous good quality photographs survive from the Expedition

 

What faced Shackleton , after the shipwreck, the ice journey,  , the walking and dragging boats over ice, and the rowing to South Georgia .... now, walk over this ;

 

 

 

 

I remember the awe I felt the first time I read about this account.  The will, required to do that, has been an inspiration of mine for a long time.  Thank you for reminding me.

[silent thunder]

My son, wife and I recently read the biography of this trip aloud together, in turns... wow.wow.wow!

 

Three years!  Every single man came survived... gob-smacked is the term I used too throughout the harrowing account, particularly when they realized they were going to have to kill, butcher and eat their dogs.  I can't imagine the fortitude involved in that process.

 

no. fucking. way. 

 

And then, after it was done... Shackleton made the rounds and asked the men if they wanted to accompany him  back there for another go, some years later!

 

stone cold crazy mate... stone cold.

[Nungali]

did you have the new version with the Hurley photography in it ?

 

I saw an exhibition of his work at Hobart museum , they had just run a fresh print off the glass plate photography he took on that expedition .. amazing clarity focus and detail !

 

They didnt even have proper gear , maybe TWO jumpers on and   scarf, a 'good English overcoat' and hobnail boots .

[silent thunder]

Don't think it was a new version, old school property version, but in good shape with a few harrowing photos that gave me goose bumps.

 

Utterly gobsmacked that he went back.

 

I think Shackleton knew his health was failing and he didn't want to die at home in bed, so he headed out for an Adventurer's death.

 

Chilling book.  Incredible Fortitude.

 

Now that guy was an inspirational leader...

[thelerner]

South: The Endurance Expedition by Shackleton is number two on The Art of Manliness 50 Best non-fiction adventure books to read.  Number one is Through the Brazilian Wilderness by Man of action- Theodore Roosevelt.  Gives a nice description of each book.

 

Yet 4 British Mums I linked to in a video OP, crossing the Atlantic in a small row boat, facing a hurricane, losing their electric water purifier.. is a feat imo, of bravery, guts and will that is just as inspiring, perhaps more so because they're not manly men doing it for God Country & Survival, they were middle aged regular people who set a long hard dangerous goal and never gave up til it was done.  

 

https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/50-non-fiction-adventure-books/

 

The Art of Manliness
50 Non-fiction Adventure Books
1. Through the Brazilian Wilderness by Theodore Roosevelt
2. South: The Endurance Expedition by Ernest Shackleton
3. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
4. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
5. Wind, Sand, and Stars by Antoine de Saint‐Exupery
6. The Journals of Lewis and Clark by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
7. Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose
8. Farther Than Any Man: The Rise and Fall of Captain James Cook by Martin Dugard
9. Death in the Long Grass by Peter Hathaway Capstick
10. The Man Eaters of Tsavo by Colonel Henry Patterson
11. The Four Voyages: Being His Own Log‐Book, Letters and Dispatches with
Connecting Narratives by Christopher Columbus
12. Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger
13. The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons by John Wesley Powell
14. High Adventure by Edmund Hillary
15. Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Journey by Alfred Lansing
16. Jungle: A Harrowing True Story of Survival by Yossi Ghinsberg
17. Touching the Void by Joe Simpson
18. Into the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick
19. Alive by Piers Paul Read
20. Skeletons on the Zahara by Dean King
21. Over the Edge of the World: Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the
Globe by Laurence Bergreen
22. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
23. Adrift: Seventy Six Days Lost At Sea by Steven Callahan
24. The Marsh Arabs by Wilfred Thesiger
25. Kon‐Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl
26. The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger
27. In Harm’s Way: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Extraordinary
Story of Its Survivors by Doug Stanton
28. The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry‐Garrard
29. High Exposure: An Enduring Passion for Everest and Unforgiving Places by David Breashears
30. The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo
31. Annapurna by Maurice Herzog
32. Between a Rock and a Hard Place By Aron Ralston
33. K2: The Savage Mountain by Charles S Houston & Robert H. Bates
34. The Darkest Jungle: The True Story of the Darien Expedition and America's
Ill‐Fated Race to Connect the Seas by Todd Balf
35. The Race for Timbuktu: In Search of Africa’s City of Gold by Frank Kryza
36. Cabeza de Vaca's Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America by Alvar de Vaca
37. True North: Peary, Cook, and the Race to the Pole by Bruce Henderson
38. Touching My Father's Soul: A Sherpa's Journey to the Top of Everest by Norgay
39. A Man On the Moon: Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts by Andrew Chaikin
40. Mawson's Will: The Greatest Polar Survival Story Ever Written by Lennard Bickel
41. The Vinland Sagas: The Norse Discovery of America by Anonymous
42. My Life as an Explorer by Sven Hedin
43. Of Whales and Men by R. B Robertson
44. The Kid Who Climbed Everest by Bear Grylls
45. The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
46. Trespassers on the Roof of the World by Peter Hopkirk
47. On Horseback Through Asia Minor by Frederick Burnaby
48. The Man Eaters of Kumaon by Jim Corbett
49. Brazilian Adventure by Peter Fleming
50. Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone by Dugard

 

 

Edited January 27, 2020 by thelerner