\n<\/p>\n
\nDUBAI: Toby Gregory, alongside crew members James Raley and Raimundo Tamagnini, set out on Dec. 12 on a journey to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a rowing boat slightly bigger than your average car.<\/p>\n
\nAs the 43-year-old Brit, who founded the Arabian Ocean Rowing Team in 2021, reminds us, more people have ventured into space or conquered Mount Everest than completed what he calls one of the last great adventures on Earth.<\/p>\n
\nSo, with 5,000 km to row over what could be 50 to 60 days, just what will their Spotify playlist look like?<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThere are all sorts of songs that come to mind. And when you\u2019re out running, you have a certain type of song; when you\u2019re in the gym, you have a certain type of song,\u201d said Gregory, who is the trip\u2019s project director.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cAnd really, I\u2019ve never been out in the middle of an ocean. I\u2019ve never been that tired, never been that fatigued. So it\u2019s actually quite difficult to know what music would motivate you on a crossing like this.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe mind plays such an important role in the adventure we\u2019re about to take. Your body will give up long before your mind does. With that in mind, it\u2019s one where music\u2019s a big concern of ours. We\u2019re probably going to leave it for a couple more weeks, just until we\u2019re in the right mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nOnce out in the middle of the ocean, the soundtrack to the crew\u2019s unique endeavor might have to be paused occasionally.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI think it depends where you are mentally at that time,\u201d Gregory added. \u201cI hear the sunsets are just incredible, hear the sunrises are amazing. The stars at night, as you look up, you can almost reach and grab them. And I think in those moments, you probably wouldn\u2019t want music, you just want to be very present.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cBut there are times we will need to come together; there are times that we\u2019ll need cheering up and motivating as a team. And I think it\u2019s certainly one where I\u2019ll let the others choose the music that they play. As long as they are OK, as they have the right headspace, I\u2019m cool with whatever happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe journey starts in La Gomera in the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa, and ends in Antigua. Gregory and his colleagues have been training for months, but nothing will quite prepare them for the real thing.<\/p>\n
\nGregory added: \u201cThe closest I\u2019ve ever done is a kind of four-day row.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cDistance wise, it\u2019s a drop in the ocean compared to what we\u2019re about to take on. It really is one of those projects that is so significant in terms of the planning, in terms of the preparation, that actually it\u2019s almost impossible to properly prepare for it.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhat exercises do we do? Is it strength? Is it conditioning? Is it core? Is it mental? In terms of time on the water, you can\u2019t set off and do these massive rows, because that\u2019s like doing the actual challenge itself. I think the closest I\u2019ve come in terms of distance is probably about 500 km, if that. We just can\u2019t replicate the conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nEven energy-sapping endurance events, for which Gregory and Tamagnini have a passion, are easier to prepare for.<\/p>\n
\nGregory said: \u201cI did Marathon des Sables, which is over a number of days, and you\u2019re carrying all your own equipment. You can replicate a lot of those conditions, but the conditions that we\u2019re going to face out in the ocean are so varied, and so extreme, that\u2019s just impossible to replicate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nGregory will share the small space with 47-year-old Tamagnini, from Portugal, and fellow Brit Raley, 42, and says that a certain degree of tolerance and understanding will be needed on the crossing.<\/p>\n
\nHe added: \u201cI think ocean rowing is notorious for people getting to the other side and never speaking again.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIt\u2019s notorious for being such a hard mental challenge that there can be issues out on the water. From our perspective, the training that we\u2019ve done has really taught us the importance of empathy.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHow you treat each other has to be true and honest, and that wouldn\u2019t matter if they were a friend or not, it\u2019s irrelevant.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cBecause there will be times out in the water when I\u2019m tired, a bit grumpy, but how I deal with that has to come from the heart, and how I deal with the other people on the boat has to come from the heart.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cSo does it matter if we\u2019re friends? I think it certainly helps, but I think going into situations with a great deal of empathy for other people at all times is absolutely critical.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nA typical day will see a shift pattern of two hours on, two hours off, or two on, one off, for 24 hours.<\/p>\n
\nGregory said: \u201cWithin that short period of time, obviously sleep\u2019s a premium, sleep\u2019s critical.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIn terms of taking on board fuel, we each need to have 6,000 calories a day; that\u2019s 18,000 calories in total for the boat. So in terms of what a typical day might look like, I can really isolate into the gaps a list of things that need to be done to the boat.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cAre they critical? Are they going to stop us from continuing our crossing?<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIf they\u2019re not, how quickly do they need to be done? But most importantly, while we\u2019re making these assessments, we take our nutrition.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe 60 minutes or 120 minutes we have off is nutrition, fixing the boat, rest; nutrition, fixing the boat, rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThere is one more layer of complexity, or perhaps duty, for the mission. The Arabian Ocean Rowing Team have partnered with the UN Environment Program Clean Seas initiative to raise awareness about sustainability, combating plastic pollution and promoting renewable energy.<\/p>\n
\nOver the last six months, 20,000 people in three different countries, many of them schoolchildren and university students, have engaged with the project\u2019s #bepartofit community program, and the team spoke at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon in late June.<\/p>\n
\nGregory added: \u201cWe are trying to do what we can for science, and the environment. Our current plan at the moment is to conduct a number of surveys the whole way through, looking at microplastics, looking at pollution in the ocean, and doing science experiments on behalf of students who have given us experiments to take.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nWhile every precaution will be taken to ensure the crew\u2019s safety, with harnesses being worn at all times, unpredictable weather conditions and wave patterns mean emergencies are possible.<\/p>\n
\nGregory said: \u201cWithin the first day we\u2019re out of range of any helicopter. So we\u2019ve got roughly 48 days where we\u2019d rely on other boats, and our proximity to those boats the further into the ocean we go, becomes slightly more challenging.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIn our practice scenarios, and the drills we\u2019ve undertaken to date, we\u2019re working on the assumption that we\u2019re roughly 48 hours from help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe building of the boat was commissioned two years ago, and it was completed last year.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve had this boat built specifically for this journey,\u201d said Gregory.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI worked with a team while they built it. It\u2019s wonderfully robust. It\u2019s got a number of different air pockets and chambers, so I have extreme confidence in the boat, but issues do happen.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe\u2019re well drilled, well prepared and if something goes wrong, it\u2019s not about panic, it\u2019s about process. And we just get on with the tasks that we need to do to ensure our survival.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nGregory has personally funded 90 percent of the entire project and is now reaching out to potential sponsors and partners to support the team\u2019s efforts.<\/p>\n
\nHe said: \u201cI started seriously saving for this type of adventure about five years ago, and really dedicated a significant amount of time to putting money away for it. It has cost a significant amount of money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nAlong the way, the team decided that this mission can be a force for good, one in which contributions would be welcome.<\/p>\n
\nHe added: \u201cWe are doing what we can for the environment and for science, and at the same time we\u2019ve got a unique opportunity to showcase brands.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cFrankly, if\u00a0 people wish to sponsor the boat, or have a logo on the boat, then that certainly helps with the financing of the project.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe team will have access to Wi-Fi throughout their crossing, and Gregory says they will be selective in how they use it.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe\u2019ll be able to watch England win the World Cup,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I wonder if we\u2019ll get a Guinness World Record for watching it in the most remote part of the world.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cBut outside of that, we do have global connections. And we will be connecting with scientists with schools throughout our journey.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWith regards to families, it\u2019s an interesting one because you have to keep a clear head; you have to keep focused. Emotional vulnerabilities are not something that you can let creep in.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe will have Wi-Fi, we will have full sat comms to send videos, to be in touch with people, no matter where we are on the ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nAnd what awaits the team in the future?<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI think I wish to continue this journey, to kind of campaign and to promote the environmental elements of it,\u201d Gregory said.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI\u2019m expecting to conduct experiments in the middle of the ocean, where I\u2019ll find microplastics. And from a personal perspective, I just don\u2019t see how that can be OK.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIt\u2019s really lit something inside me. I wish to continue this journey.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n