An oxymoron, you may think – an ocean rowers’ social. Surely ocean rowing has to be one of the most antisocial sports ever invented – three months of mid-Atlantic solitude. But believe me, ocean rowers make up for it the … Continued
Monthly Archives: February 2005
Dame Ellen – an inspiration
Posted in: Atlantic Row
It was the crack of dawn on Sunday morning, and I was a whisker away from dashing down to London to see Dame Ellen MacArthur sail up the Thames and talk onstage at Greenwich. I’m reading her autobiography at the … Continued
Luddite rant
I remember an optimistic era (around the time of the Sinclair ZX 81) when technology was being hailed as the global panacea. More leisure time! The paperless office! Freedom from the drudgery of repetitive chores! But instead of making us … Continued
Show Reels
This morning I got a copy of the showreel from OR TV – this is the 3-minute pilot video that they’ve sent to the BBC and ITV to try and get a commission for a documentary about my preparations for … Continued
Four Hour Ergs and How To Survive Them
Posted in: Atlantic Row
I wish I could say that I enter a Zen-like trance and elevate my mind to a higher plane, contemplating matters of great magnitude and cosmic significance while my body gets on with the job at hand. But I’d be … Continued
Fourth Element
Posted in: Atlantic Row
Boils on the bum, and how to avoid them: lesson I. Many an ocean rower has been brought low by salt water boils on the backside. It may not affect boat speed but it can certainly affect morale. Determined to … Continued
Steamy Windows
Posted in: Atlantic Row
Yesterday someone asked a very good question – won’t I lose all my hard-earned fitness if I spend April swanning around on the yacht Steamy Windows? I’d been worried about this, so I’d done some research. Apparently endurance fitness is … Continued
It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it
‘It doesn’t matter so much what you decide, it’s the way you apply your decision.’ Alasdair McGregor was talking at the Olympia Adventure Show about lessons learned from his Atlantic rowing experience in 2003, when he and Andrew Vinsen were … Continued