Perfect preparation and planning prevents….
After delays of shipping and weather the Mission Atlantic rowing crews of 2021 have been spending the last week or so making final preparations to their boats. All in all it’s been fairly smooth sailing with a few surprises thrown in for good measure and which have helped to validate the benefits and reasons for completing our safety and boat checks. Now the boats are all packed, the kit and equipment lists have all been ticked off and the crews are ready for the adventure of a lifetime.
They carry with them ballast water to help keep the vessel stable and also serve as a water reserve if their electrical watermaker and handpump watermaker both stop working. They have enough food with them for nearly 2 months at sea and they have enough music, audiobooks and podcasts to last for a decade, if not more. In case of broken equipment the teams are supplied with multiple spares including rowing specific spares such as oars, gates, pins, seats, foot-straps, foot-clips, wheels and tracks; safety equipment including liferaft, lifejacket, harness, survival suits, flares and a hefty medical kit; communications kit including VHF radios (x3), Satellite phone, InReach tracking and SMS devices. They are prepared and ready for action.
On Tuesday 22nd December 2021 at around 09:00 UTC both boats will slip their moorings and head out from Pasito Blanco Marina into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Next stop Barbados! Follow their progress on the tracking section of the front page.
