Four men take on the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge for mental health
If you were afraid of deep water or sharks, why would you decide to row a boat 5000km across the Atlantic Ocean with three mates? Here’s why.
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When childhood friends James Samuels, Louis Hugh-Jones, Rob Wells and Sam Horsley creak and groan like old men they will know who to blame.
When their hands explode in blisters and their muscles and minds rebel against a lack of sleep and the repetitious movement of rowing every two hours for 30 plus days, they know who is the cause of their agony.
And they won’t care one whit.
It’s all for one and one for all for this adventurous foursome with an enviable friendship forged over numerous years and robust enough to endure the physical pain and mental challenges they face in the 2021 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.
This rowing race from the Canary Islands to the West Indies covers approximately 2550 nautical miles of ocean – the equivalent of around four Sydney to Hobart yacht races – and will take them just over a month to complete – if they are lucky.
For the record, it was Horsley’s idea to enter the annual endurance test but immediately embraced by this tight-knit group of mates who went to boarding school on Sydney’s north shore with three living together at Bondi.
“I grew up in Southern Highlands and went to school with Rob and James at Shore and Louis went to Riverview,” said Horsley, who eventually rowed with Hugh-Jones at the Leander high performance centre in the UK before both were accepted to study and row at the University of
California at Berkeley.
“Louis was the rival at school and I would like to note we beat him at all times. We do like to say Louis thought if you can’t beat them, join them.”
The former schoolboy rowers are competing to raise awareness and funds for the LIVIN charity which has a mission to promote wellness and positive living for young people and is creating a movement with a brand that makes mental health relatable.
The quartet, who are hoping to raise $500,000 to fund their race campaign and mental health charity goals, have also begun training and preparing their bodies for the task ahead, learning skills including navigation and organising to buy and ship a second hand row boat to
Sydney after this year’s race scheduled to start in December.
“We have joined North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club and are training with the surf boats,” Horsley said. “We were looking for something with a few waves.
“Our sweep is always being told how soft we are.”
Every iota of training and preparedness will help the aptly named This
is Livin team. The Atlantic Challenge is billed as the world’s toughest rowing event
for good reason. It is an event that provides a giant stage for ordinary people to do
extraordinary things.
For most it is a steep learning curve, a painful experience and one that will leave them stripped of energy and their bodies around 15 kilos leaner than when they first started their odyssey. It lures adventurers, rowers of note, first timers, weekend warriors
and people of all ages keen to challenge themselves with an adventure
on the high seas.
They can race as individuals, duos or in teams of four or five but must complete their journey unassisted during the crossing which could take anywhere from 35 to 96 days and is subject to the vagrancies of Mother Nature.
Their race craft – and home – is just 7m long and less than 2m wide – roughly the size of a minibus – minuscule against the big ocean they will be racing through.
The body rhythms of rowers will be upset and they will live with only the simplest of comforts – wet wipes for washing, a bucket on deck as their toilet and freeze dried food to energise and sustain them. Housekeeping will involve jumping into the water to clean the bottom of the boat and rudder to reduce drag.
And this chore is what a number of the This is Livin crew are dreading the most.
Wells, 24, studying medicine and working at Hawkesbury District, grew up at Pittwater and has rowed or sailed his entire life.
“What am I dreading? As a child I had a significant fear of deep water which is funny given we are eight metres plus deep in this race and once a week we have to get in and clean the underside,” he said. “I used to sail at Pittwater and always tried to stay inside the moored boats.”
Samuels, who suffers from Raynaud’s disease which leaves him with cold or numb hands and feet, is also nervous about any Atlantic dips.
“I’ve got a bit of a phobia about sharks so I think one of my fears is going to be getting out of the boat,” said the 23-year-old builder, originally from Dubbo.
“I love swimming. But I don’t like not knowing what might be underneath me.’’
The race starts at La Gomera in the Canary Islands and finishes at Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua. In between is a dark, potentially dangerous body of water, unknown
adventures, highs, emotional lows and physical challenges including seasickness and skin irritations.
But there will also be periods of great beauty and achievement.
“The sunsets and the sun rises will be breathtaking and I can’t wait for a smooth day when it’s just us and the ocean. Rowing along Life of Pi style,” said Horsley, 24, an environment and sustainability consultant. “I’m excited about the wildlife. One of the stories I have been told is about a pod of dolphins leading a rower out of a storm.”
The Australians could experience anything from periods of no wind to wild sea conditions, including waves rearing up to 30 feet, and if the last race is anything to go by they may have some strange encounters with marine life.
In January a crew from Bondi arrived in Antigua blistered and thoroughly exhausted but boasting the record of being the fastest Australians ever to have completed the race.
The Road Less Travelled crew finished the arduous event in 34 days 10 hours and 46 minutes and this is the mark the This is Livin team have targeted to beat.
At the end of the race in January, the Road Less Travelled team told of the toil on their bodies, of losing almost 60 kilos of weight between them, hallucinations and a nasty eye infection. But one of the most extraordinary stories they had to tell was being
stalked by a marlin.
The marlin repeatedly rammed the rudder on their rowboat for around 40 minutes.
“We’ve spoken to those guys and they have been great with tips,’’ Horsley said.
He has also made contact with Michelle Lee from Kellyville who in 2019 became the first Australian woman to row across an ocean solo. The then 46-year-old, who only took up rowing in her 40s, was at sea almost 69 days.
“I had pilot fish following me. I had the whale army, a couple of hours where whales were sharing waves with me. I had dolphins around me. I wondered who sent them, if they were my guardian angels to give me energy to continue,” she said at the end of her journey.
Horsley, Samuels, Hugh-Jones and Wells said raising funds and awareness for LIVIN is a motivating force for them all.
“Why am I doing it? First and foremost it is an opportunity to give back,” Hugh-Jones said. “I had a lot of great opportunities, studying overseas, going to a private school, but to give back to the community and raise awareness for mental health is No. 1 on my list.”
Wells is equally passionate about the charity side of the campaign.
“I think most people have had connections with people who suffered from mental health,” he said. “The more I go down the medical road the more I see friends having to take time out, drop out.’’
Horsley was the one who came up with the idea of raising funds for the charity.
“I didn’t have a specific story but being young males in Australia there is an emotional barrier to verbal communications at times, there’s not enough of that first conversation,’’ he said.
Samuels, also motivated by the charity aspect, said the crew’s goal is to achieve an Australian record but to also firm their relationships.
“If we can finish the campaign and get to Antigua and still be mates, well we’d have to call that a success,’’ he said.
Help the boys fundraise at https://asf.org.au/athletes/talisker-whiskey-atlantic-row-2021/
Originally published as Four men take on the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge for mental health