Oar-Some - Jennifer Brumham

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 35c 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.