Scraping your bottom may not sound like fun, but on an ocean row boat it can be a pleasant change. Let me explain. The crews have painted the hulls of their boats in antifoul paint. This slimy paint discourages algae and barnacle growth but the most determined barnacles still break through. They attach themselves to…
How do you navigate across the Atlantic Ocean? It’s a frequently asked question by those new to the sport. In simple terms the crews have a GPS unit which provides the rowers with a bearing (direction) to row in. But the crews aren’t just heading directly towards Barbados. The weather patterns are such that there…
We expect our rowers to take a week before they really get used to being at sea. Now they’ve got their feet under the table, we asked for their best and the worst bits of their first week. Cockleshell Endeavour are obviously enjoying the nature of the challenge. When asked about the best bits they…
We think we’ve been pretty clear that Mission Atlantic isn’t a race or an event. We supply support to crews who want to row the Atlantic independently. It’s actually a happy coincidence that both crews were ready and wanted to leave together. I mean who doesn’t love a bit of company on the ocean, even…
From the title you may expect this update to be about the rower’s clothing, but you’d be wrong. Atlantic Dagger have reported that they’re all rowing naked all the time. We expect the same to be true on Cockleshell Endeavour. Rowing naked prevents clothing from chaffing the skin which gets significantly worse when salt spray…
It’s only natural to look over your shoulder from time to time. Despite the vast distances involved there’s always that nagging feeling that you may be able to see something just up ahead. It’s fascinating that in the last 24 hours both crews have asked for contact details for the other crew. One benefit of…
Happy Christmas 🎄 The crews have been battling with some troublesome waves over the last 24 hours which has seen their pace slashed almost in half. As the crews travel more to the south we can expect the waves to start coming more and more behind them but it will take at least a week…
After all the excitement and adrenaline of the first day at sea it’s only natural that the crews start to bed down into the serious job of rowing the Atlantic. The minor aches, pains and blistered hands will start to make apparent the scale of the task being undertaken. As long as they open up…
Wow, what incredible progress both team have made during their first day rowing the Atlantic. The Atlantic has been kind with her weather with very light following winds and seas of around 2m high. Atlantic Dagger are staying frosty commenting that “The weather seems perfect. We’re being spoilt but we’re making sure we don’t get…
This morning (22nd December 2021) at 10:10 UTC the two crews of four, soon-to-be ocean rowers pushed off from their moorings at Pasito Blanco on the southern shores of Gran Canaria and started to heave their boats towards the horizon and the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Ahead of them lies more than 2600nm…