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10 things that could have gone wrong with the body…

Jul 06, 2010

...but on the whole didn't. Atlantic Rowing Race 2010

84 days at sea, rowing for 12 hours a day, with minimal sleep and limited protection from the elements is pretty tough on the body. Chuck in food rationing and social isolation and you have a real recipe for physical and mental breakdown.

This is my top 10 of what could have gone wrong and how we minimised the damage. This is how we coped at sea and what worked well for us but won’t necessarily work for everybody.

1. Bum blisters, bruising, muscle soreness & pressure sores

Sitting on the same wooden seat sliding backwards and forwards for weeks on end was uncomfortable and although we suffered a little we combated any real issues by using camping mats and sheep skin rugs as padding.

2. Hand blisters & claw hand

Blisters on the hands were one of our main concerns before leaving but the hundreds of hours spent on ergs beforehand had clearly strengthened the skin as I didn't have any issues with blisters. I planned on wearing gloves at sea but after the first few days realised that this was causing more issues than it was solving as my hands were constantly damp, instead I preferred to row without gloves. The solution was to keep my hands as dry as possible and regularly dose them in white spirit.

Claw hand as a result of holding oars for 12 hours a day wasn't painful, but was rather annoying and at times amusing. It mainly meant struggling to open water bottles and pick things up. It probably took three weeks back on land for it to go completely.

3. Feet blisters & rubbing on heels and toes

We used standard Concept 2 footplates for the row which we covered with neoprene to provide protection to our bare feet. Keeping our feet dry with talc and using white spirit to harden the skin we only experienced a couple of notable blisters. My feet did become painful and bruised as a result of the constant pressure placed on the heels but this only lasted a couple of days.

4. Weight loss

A combination of seasickness in the early days, a lack of food and burning off a boat load of calories a day ensured that all the weight I put on before the race was soon lost. I think any of the calories I did take in went to feeding the beard rather than my body.

5. Upper body fatigue general wear and tear of the arms, shoulders, back and neck

Although the lack of recovery time meant that I constantly felt tired, my upper body soon adapted to the daily physical demands and the small aches and pains of the first week died out pretty quickly.

6. Lower back pain

Again as my body adapted to the routine and my lower back strengthened I had no issues.

7. Sleep deprivation

Lack of sleep caused numerous hallucinations and sensory distortions.

8. Sun burn

Approximately 10 hours of direct sun per day, reflecting off the sea from all angles ensured that we both always managed to burn our right thighs in the same place. Generally though I didn't get any serious sun burn or sun stroke, probably because of the lack of washing which meant many layers of dirt and sun cream to protect my skin. I did end up with some funky tan lines though!

9. General Fatigue due to a shortage of recovery time, sleep and inadequate nutrition.

Not a lot to say on this. I was tired and fatigued but the only option was to row on.

10. Emotions: emotional instability, fear and panic

Fear and panic are in the imagination. Block them out and you will be absolutely fine. As my sister told me before I left 'do what all men do best and block out all emotions'. As well as this I isolated myself from home and normal life and focused on the task in hand getting across the Atlantic as quickly as possible.

All in all, training, preparation and strength of mind ensured that there was minimal physical damage endured during the race.

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