OAR & PEACE
DEFYING 40FT WAVES, TERRIBLE BLISTERS AND HALLUCINATIONS, A TEAM OF FOUR BRITISH ROWERS RECENTLY SET A NEW WORLD RECORD FOR THE FASTEST EVER ATLANTIC CROSSING IN HISTORY WORDS: IAN FAULCONBRIDGE
lives in attempting to conquer the waves. For four British seafarers, however, even the perils of the Atlantic Ocean weren’t enough to match their almost inhuman determination. And with an eventual crossing time of just 29 days, The Four Oarsmen – George Biggar, Dicky Taylor, Stuart Watts and Peter Robinson – not only beat the longstanding record for the ocean’s crossing by a remarkable 11 days, but also managed to raise a quarter of a million pounds for charity along the way.
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And the foursome’s feat proves only the more incredible when you consider they only set out with the ambition of making the crossing in a “respectable” time of 40 days. Add to that the fact that the group’s first-time outing on their vessel, Aegir, saw them get in a mix-up around Exmouth harbour which ended in a visit from the coastguard, before the group misplaced their rudder-cuff, and it’s clear these are the most unlikely of record-breakers.
By the time the competitors finally set off, however, it quickly became evident to them that no amount of preparation would truly match the unpredictable Atlantic.
“The first evening, the weather really set upon us – but we’d expected that to a degree,” says Biggar. “In some ways, it was a good experience to have to face rough seas so early on, because we knew that the Atlantic wasn’t about to get any easier. Pete and Dicky both got pretty sea-sick, but carried on regardless which was good to see, and I think that steely determination really filtered through all of us.
“I think it was during those first two days that we really started to realise the magnitude of the task. The massive importance of things like regular sleep and maintaining our correct course began to hit home too.”
ONBOARD | SPRING 2018 | 77
cean rowing is widely hailed as one of the toughest sports known to man. The capriciousness of our planet’s vast seas is well known, and there have been many who have lost their
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