The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge is well underway with some teams already past the halfway mark. Having been delayed after facing some significant setbacks, our team of rowers Nuts For The Atlantic has finally gotten into a good rhythm and are making significant progress.
You can track their journey via Yellow Boat Races app with live updates! Last time we checked (4th Jan) , they had about 1620 miles to row.
Even though they are approaching the middle of the Atlantic, they are still connected and share with us exclusive updates, which you can read below.
25th December 2017 – 8th day rowing
“The first week has been incredible and a lot better than we had anticipated. The numerous setbacks we had before the race even started has meant we’re just over the moon to be on the water!
We started three days after the rest of the fleet and in less favourable conditions. Because of these factors, we decided to take a slightly more aggressive line towards the trade winds that will take us West. After only five days into our crossing, we have already caught up with a number of boats in the race suggesting our strategy is working! While catching the concept class boats will not be possible we really believe that being the first pure class ocean rowing boat in Antigua, even with our delayed start, is achievable!
The biggest challenges on board is not the rowing or the two-hour sleep cycle. It is getting used to having no space and everything always being damp.
Moving from cabin to cabin is not possible without leaning on and walking over the two guys that are rowing. Your bed in the cabin consists of whatever space is available between the equipment inside. When you add the fact that everything on board stays damp, it means being inside is actually less desirable than rowing!
Christmas this year will be one we remember for the rest of our lives. While we’ll spend a few minutes each chatting with loved ones, our daily routine won’t differ much from the rest of the challenge. We feel that other crews may take a bit longer off the oars, so it gives us a good opportunity to make up some ground!”
Adapting the concept of Marginal Gains
In their second week, the Nuts team focused on marginal gains.They worked hard to make small adjustments which would allow them to maximise their outputs in very challenging conditions.
1st January 2017 – 15th day rowing
Towards the end of last week, the wind died completely which really slowed our progress. We have then been doing washing while wind and currents have been slow. We took this time to move stuff around the boat to improve how she sits in the water, cleaning the cabins, doing some admin and even doing a bit of fishing while we rowed.
On Saturday we got stuck in an odd current and weren’t making any progress. We took the decision to change our shift pattern to 30 mins on 30 mins off to out the power down, and it luckily worked, and it looks like we’ve overtaken a few boats! The wind and currents have picked up a bit again now, so we’re back to 2 hours rowing, 2 hours off.
We’ve heard about a few other boats capsizing; luckily our boat seems to be really stable in the water, so we haven’t yet capsized.
We spend most time in our coats because of the spray and random waves, although it’s definitely starting to get warmer over the last few days so should hopefully get a good tan by the time we get to Antigua!
We wish Jon, Steve, Mark and Dan all the best and we are looking forward to hearing from them again very soon.
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