#coxless crew

When I picked up the newspaper today, the leading article read “School children burned out from comparing lives on social media”. Another full page article talked about a hat that Bella Hadid (a model) was wearing to a party, alongside her bandaged ankle. Are these really our heroes?

This blog is very much a brain dump. It is the result of reading too many stories about people taking up too much…

Losing Sight of the Shore

Today a team of women completed their 9200 mile row across the Pacific in a pink boat they named Doris. They spent 257 days at sea, got battered by storms, circled by sharks and set two world records! They did it all in aid of two charities: Breast Cancer Care and Walking With the Wounded.

Ocean rowers are ten to a pound these days (which isn't to diminish the achievement of a crossing) but now and then a trans-ocean project comes along that is worth really taking notice of.

On Monday night I was privileged to attend a fundraiser for the Coxless Crew, to speak alongside paraympian Danny Crates, Walking for the Wounded athlete Martin Hewitt and ocean ambassador Emily Penn.

The stars of the evening though, were Laura Penhaul, Nat Miles, Ella Hewton and Emma Mitchell. The girls talked us through the immensity of their proposed challenge, to row 8500 miles across the Pacific from California to Australia. 

En route they'll stop in Hawaii and Samoa to both re-provision and magnify media for their efforts and fundraising work for Breast Cancer Care and Walking for the Wounded. 

They'll be rowing two-on, two-off constantly for the best part of 160 days on board their currently nameless 29 foot ocean rowing boat (I think they should call it YES, myself). Danny had the idea to tape out the footprint of the boat in the middle of the room, which really brought to life the living quarters the girls will experience. 29 feet for four people in the middle of an ocean isn't that much!

It's important to note that none of the girls have extensive rowing experience and yet they're still gunning for three world records, including the fastest crossing of the Pacific by rowing boat. 

They're slowly chipping into arguably the toughest bit of the entire project; getting to the start line. Fundraising (both to cover the trip's costs and raise for the charities), logistics and psychological evaluations are now par for the course.