ROWERS BUILD UP TO ATLANTIC CHALLENGE
Rowing across the Atlantic takes not only bravery and a serious amount of training but also a huge logistical commitment, as the Get Busy Rowing crew are finding out.
Long-term Matt Hampson Foundation supporter Greg Collins and his Get Busy Rowing team-mates Elliot Collins, Will Towning and Chris Betts have taken another step forward towards December’s challenge with their boat inspection.
“It is, without doubt, a huge undertaking and could be dangerous if you don’t follow very strict safety protocols,” said Greg.
The team are part of The World’s Toughest Row Atlantic which covers 3,000 miles from La Gomera off the African coast to Antigua in the Caribbean, and supervised by organisers Atlantic Campaigns.
“We have to prove that we are totally prepared for the event and all of the many incidents that can happen,” says Greg. “We have to undertake at least 120 hours of sea trials and provide video evidence of carrying out emergency drills.”
A major milestone is the pre-shipping inspection where the boat and all of its equipment has to be laid out and inspected by the safety team. This has to be done prior to shipping the boat to La Gomera in the Canary Islands for the race start in December. The boat is then totally stripped down again and another inspection is scheduled to ensure that everything is in order.
“We are happy and relieved that we passed our inspection,” said Greg. “We still have a lot of training to do but it’s been a massive team effort and we are all raring to get out and get started.”
The team have a Send-Off Party at Racquets Fitness Centre in Thame, Oxfordshire, on Sunday 5th October (2-8pm).
Find out more about Get Busy Rowing or make a donation to their fundraising by clicking here.
