For many it would be unthinkable, but two friends will set off tomorrow rowing across the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Ireland, a trip that will last almost two months and cover more than 3,000 miles (4,931 kms).
“I think I’m the most normal person I know,” Damian Brown modestly told ABC News. played professional rugby for 15 years, but now he is an extreme adventurer. In recent months he has been preparing with his friend Fergus Farrell to row from the Hudson River in NYC to their hometown of Galway, Ireland.
“We’re going for the world record, which is 55 days and 13 hours,” Farrell said. In other words, almost eight weeks on the open sea, in a boat just 19 and a half feet.
They will take turns two hours rowing, two hours napping in a small cabin, while consume 10,000 calories a day in freeze-dried foods, stored among all kinds of equipment to keep them safe.
“You only have one life, you realize that you can also make the most of it and do what you can”
Damian Brown
“The biggest risk in ocean rowing is separation from the boat, because if I fall, if Gussie falls and we’re not tied to the boat, that’s it, that’s it,” Brown summed up. “There’s no ‘I’ll paddle back and catch him,’ that just doesn’t happen.”
The tiny boat was built by hand in England and is packed with technology, such as solar panels to help power the various navigational equipment. Also have a desalination machine, which converts ocean water into drinking water. Everything is specially designed to keep Brown and Farrell alive.
“You only have one life, you realize you can also make the most of it and do what you can,” Brown said. For Farrell, this is actually his second chance: less than four years ago, a spinal cord injury left him paralyzed. The doctors said he would never walk again, but he proved them wrong.
The friends have been training for this journey for two years. Farrell and Brown will have a satellite link and plan to document their journey in real time. You can follow them through their portal Project Empower.
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