Atlantic challenge: Now it’s getting real
With seven months to go to the greatest physical challenge of their lives, the fourman Lessons From a Boat team of rowers are deep into their training programme.
An intensive week in Devon, with a number of fellow competitors entered in the 2024 World's Toughest Row, ‘has started to make things feel real’, say Dell Quay SC members Steve Potter, Jon Wilburn and Jason Howard.
The trio, with long-term friend Dan Dicker, will set off on December 12 to row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic, lining up alongside some 40 other crews.
The week covered everything from ocean rowing techniques, navigation and radio use to sea survival - for that, they launched a life raft into a swimming pool while buckets of water cascaded down on them.
They returned to West Sussex with a large and many-paged purple folder - the "rule book" for annual challenge from the Canary Islands to Antigua.
As well, they've learned the importance of the three Bs - bums, bowels and batteries.
For the first, they will be fitting camping mattress sections of different thickness and texture onto the thwarts of their 28-foot self-righting ocean rowing boat Saltie.
For the second, it will be a matter of adapting their digestive systems to a diet almost entirely based on dehydrated food. And they know they will need to take extra special care of the batteries aboard Saltie, which will store solar power and most importantly keep their drinking water maker and communications systems running.
Ongoing intensive personal fitness training is essential, and Steve and Jon – both of Chichester - are spending many hours every week on rowing machines and in the gym, working with Dr Andy West of Chichester University on fitness plus nutritional programmes, team building and the psychological aspects of looking after themselves and their fellow rowers.
As the name of the project implies, education is a vital aspect of the initiative. As teachers, Jon and Steve are perfectly placed to stream unique live lessons from mid-ocean to primary and secondary pupils, in Sussex and way beyond, bringing alive environmental issues and many aspects of science.
They have already started on that, attending an assembly at Jessie Younghusband School in Chichester. "There were great questions," says Steve - many about the second B. "Bucket and chuck it" much impressed the young audience, he adds.
He and Jon are happy to talk to more schools and can be contacted via the details below. There is much more local activity planned, now that Saltie is berthed at Chichester Marina, with presentations to sailing and other sports clubs and Rotary groups on the agenda. Sponsorship is key and the team aim to raise £300,000 for Diabetes UK, Cancer Research and the Final Straw Foundation.
For more and to donate, go to lessonsfromaboat.com or email jonathan.wilburn@ springfield.uk.net or steven. potter62@icloud.com