To celebrate the unique achievement of the first
four-man crew to row an ocean anywhere in the world,
this book which records the race, will be launched at
the 2005 Dartmouth Royal Regatta. In their 26 foot boat,
'Queensgate', four men set out on 20 January 2004, to
take part in the John Fairfax Regatta, by rowing from
the Canaries to Barbados -- a distance of over 2907
miles. Shaun Barker, Jason Hart, Phil Langman and Iain
'Yorkie' Lomas, from the Royal naval town of Dartmouth
in Devon, played Russian roulette for hour after hour
with 40 foot waves, in the middle of inhospitable seas,
thousands of miles from land. Day and night, they rode
each breaking wave which would take them closer to their
destination -- but each one was potentially fatal. With
the constant threat of capsizing, and a near miss with a
trawler, the dangers of rowing an ocean became more than
a reality when one of the crew was knocked overboard.
With temperatures in excess of 35-c and in conditions
resembling that of a sauna, they were forced to row
naked -- with the exception of strategically placed
socks!Flying fish, dolphins, Nigel the bird and Man OWar
Jellyfish would be their only other company, with a
brief respite to indulge in some extreme ironing! Would
friendships survive as they all pursued their dream to
become the first four-man crew to row an ocean anywhere
in the world? Their adventure is told through their own
personal diaries, and photographs taken at the time,
along with recollections from the crews own family and
friends. It tells of their struggle just to get to the
start line, and their trials and tribulations as they
rowed into the history books -- their adopted motto,
pain is only temporary, failure lasts a life
time. |
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