Jumping in a small plywood boat and paddling across the Atlantic Ocean isn’t considered to be ‘normal’ behaviour. As such I have been asked hundreds and hundreds of questions about my rowing adventure. Below are a few of my favourites.

What was a typical day at sea like?
Life on an ocean rowing boat is extremely simple. A typical day for us was based around 90 minute to two hour rowing shifts, rowing for 24 hours per day. After about 7 days our bodies adapted to the sleep pattern and although tiring you always knew that in a couple of hours you could go back to bed. During the day we would alternate shifts with the ‘rest’ time used for repairs, cleaning, plotting the route, phoning home, cooking, eating, reading, making water and if time a bit of sleep.We would eat three meals per day plus a pudding and then snack throughout the rest of the day trying to make a Yorkie or Cadbury’s Dairy Milk last a shift. During a shift we would normally listen to music, sing, make up songs and do an awful lot of thinking. We would also think of quiz questions for the other guy which you would ask at the beginning of a shift and then give the answers 90 minutes later. So frustrating if you didn’t know an answer.

During the night one would sleep, one would row and we would give the other guy a five minute wake up call before his shift (always went down well). At night my mind ran wild and I had some crazy dreams and thoughts and often didn’t know where I was. You would often wake up mid rest period and not know whether you were on deck, sleeping or rowing. It was the most bizarre feeling and towards the end I started hallucinating a bit too, hearing voices and sheep and also seeing a moped drive up alongside the boat.

Do you row naked?
There are many theories as to what is best to wear when rowing an ocean. Some people recommend rowing naked to prevent chafing, get a great all over tan and keep the weight down. Some opt for a more high-tech approach with fast-drying, breathable kit but rather boringly we went for a pair of rugby shorts and a couple of t-shirts. I wore the same pair of Puma shorts (shown in photo) for every day of the crossing bar two. They were amazing although should definitely be donated to science now… 

What do you eat and drink?
Lots and lots was the plan. We budgeted to eat 6000 calories a day made up of dehydrated food (just add boiling water to get a bland, rubbery yet energy packed meal), soup, flapjacks, shortbread, nuts and six chocolate bars per day. It was a fat persons dream! This was all going well until we made what we thought was a good call and chucked a load of our food overboard in a bid to cut down on weight after three weeks. This meant that during our final month at sea we were on half rations. The other big problem with food was that I managed to lose our cooker overboard when trying to wash it - this meant a lot of cold scrambled eggs and noodles.

In terms of water we had a desallinator powered by solar panels that converted approximately 18l of sea water in to drinking water per hour. We also carried 150l of bottled water for emergency use, which also doubled up as ballast for the boat. We didn’t have any problems with our watermaker but after three months of warm, tasteless water I couldn’t wait for a cold Sprite.

How much weight did you lose? 
I lost just over 2 stone (15kg). I lost a lot of weight in the early days when suffering from seasickness when I couldn’t keep any food or fluids down. I did manage to pack the weight back on pretty quickly when I hit land though thanks to the all inclusive hotel in Antigua.

How do you go to the toilet?
“Bucket and chuck it” - enough said

Why do it?
This is probably the most common question that I am asked and the simple answer is ‘why not?’ but this is too easy. For me the real appeal of the Atlantic was to complete something that very few people in history have ever done. More people climb Mount Everest in a season than have ever rowed an ocean and I wanted to become a member of this exclusive club. It was also a chance to experience life and an opportunity to test myself physically and mentally in one of the world’s most hostile environments. To a competitive person it was also the ultimate race and I genuinely believed that we could go out there and win the race.

What was the best moment?
There were so many good times and I can’t really put my finger on one best moment so here are a few: surfing down waves and hitting a top speed, covering 50+ miles in a day, seeing sharks, whales, dolphins, swimming in the middle of the ocean, hitting halfway, amazing night skies, flying fish, freedom, the simple life, daily risks and challenges, seeing land, crossing the finish line, jumping off the boat, seeing family and friends, sense of achievement.

What was the worst moment?
This one is a bit easier to answer as there weren’t many bad times at all, but there are two notable events that I would consider to be my lowest points. The first was mid way through the second week when I realised that we were out of the running for a top five position as a result of the injury to Alex. We were unable to keep the boat moving 24 hours a day and it became clear that with our progress at the time that we would fall too far behind the leading crews. This was extremely tough for me to take as one of my principal reasons for entering the race was to win. The second low point was when we spent 148 hours on para-anchor in an attempt to limit being blown backwards. The word para-anchor still sends shudders down my spine! Being stuck on the anchor at that time was basically like living in a washing machine as we were smashed around inside the small cabin in sweltering temperatures. It was hot, damp and claustrophobic and as the waves were so big we only managed to leave the cabin for 3 hours during that period and developed pressure sores and struggled to eat. It was also during this time we lost one of our ipods - probably one of the toughest moments of the row.

What did you look forward to most on land?
Seeing as my family may be reading this I probably can’t say…the safest answer is a cold beer.

Are there any material possessions that you have discovered you can live without?
Almost everything! Aside from the actual boat, all we needed to live and survive was water, food and a pair of shorts. The only luxury we had was an ipod with music and a few audiobooks. I didn’t want internet, TV, cinema etc. I enjoyed being away from everything that I associate with my normal life and it really opened my eyes to what is important in life.

How is life back on land?
Adapting to life back on land has been quite a slow process. Having spent just short of three months at sea with only one other person I became very independent and I struggled initially with people being around and people trying to help me. I became very aggressive, short tempered and easily frustrated. I loved the simplicity, routine and challenges of life on the boat - something that life in the ‘normal’ world doesn’t offer. Returning to live and work in London was initially tough; people everywhere, travelling on the tube, no open space, working in an office and so many controls but I am now enjoying it again and getting ready for my next challenges.
 

Is there anything about this expedition that you would like to know? The crazier the better! If so please let me know…

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