Ocean rowers ready for Atlantic

Waiting in Agadir, Morocco hoping for a start date of 8 January is Big Blue. The boat is the world’s largest ocean rowing catamaran with 15 rowers on board. Skippered by American Paralympian and ocean rower, Angela Madsen, the crew hopes to cross the 5094km distance from Morocco to Port St Charles, Barbados in a world record time. The current record is 33 days.

Big Blue is designed for up to eight people to be sweep rowing at any one time and their aim is to go after the record to win the Blue Riband Trophy for ocean rowing. The crew is made up of a mixture of nationalities including Canada, Austria, Great Britain and the United States.

Also hoping to break 33 days is Hallin Marine. Starting in San Miguel Marina in Tenerife, the crew of six are rowing a 40ft trimaran. The trimaran is equipped to have three people sculling at a time and the crew is planning to do two hour shifts with room in the cabin for three to sleep. On board is World Rowing Championships bronze medallist, Naomi Hoogester of Great Britain. Hoogester, 29, is the sole woman on board and all of the crew are from Great Britain.

At the entrance to the cabin of Hallin Marine is a handwritten statement; “You put yourself here for one reason: To pull bloody hard every watch.”

Hallin Marine is heading for Port St Charles, Barbados and the crew has been waiting in Tenerife since late December for favourable weather. Their start date currently stands at 7 January, 4:00am.

In La Gomera, Canary Islands Britannia III is getting ready to depart on 12 January. The mono-hulled Britannia III has a crew of 15 and works with eight people sweep rowing at any one time. It is racing as part of the Atlantic Allum Cup which celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Allum cousins crossing from Las Palmas, Canary Islands to Barbados – the first pair to row across the Atlantic Ocean. It took the cousins 73 days.

Britannia III is led by ocean rowing regular, Simon Chalk and includes crew from Great Britain, the United States, Oman and Canada.  The crew hopes to break the current speed record for crossing the Atlantic, set in 2008.

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