2007 Atlantic Rowing Race   

The 2007 Atlantic Rowing Race began on 2nd December 2007 and will finish some time in January or February 2008 depending on the time taken to cross the finishing line.  Most pairs aim to complete the race in under 60 days.

The race itself is incredibly hard but there is a lot of truth in the old adage that says the hardest part is actually getting to the start line itself.  This can only be achieved once the financial side of entering the race is secured, and rowers have reached a suitable level of fitness to ensure they can cope with the task ahead.

The race starts from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, and crosses the Atlantic east to west, finishing in the historic setting of English Harbour in Antigua.  The journey will cover approximately 2,936 miles (2,552 nautical miles) across the Atlantic Ocean and will be attempted by up to forty ocean rowing vessels.  The unsupported rowers enter various classes including Woodvale Pairs, the Woodvale Fours, and open classes.  More information can be found at www.woodvale-events.com

Approximate Route To Be Rowed

Windjammer

The land breeds and supports all kinds of human beings

Wise men and fools, brave men and cowards

Sharks and simpletons, bustling grabbers and weary slackers

But the sea only breeds one sort - the virile sort

The sea is the great maker of men, men of courage and grit

Men of authority and resource, men of nerve strength and muscle fitness

For fools she has no use, nor for slackers, nor yet the timid

These she either breaks or casts aside. And it has always been so

From the days of Noah, the sea has never bred a wastrel

Her men have bone and character, the firm lips of responsibility

And the far-seeing eyes of the distant horizon

Salt water produces nothing small, nothing petty, nothing insignificant

(The Last of the Windjammers by Basil Lubbock, written 1927)