HMS Oardacious on course to break record on World's Toughest Row using new method
Royal Navy team HMS Oardacious are currently leading in the World's Toughest Row and are on course to break the record - attributing their success to a new rowing technique.
The team, who are currently 743 nautical miles into the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, aim to set a new record for completing the 3,000-mile distance.
And so far HMS Oardacious are on track to accomplish the record thanks to their five-row approach.
Commander Michael Forrester told Forces News: "It's really exciting, but it's also scary."
He explained: "We row as a five, not as a four. There are three rowing positions on the boats that are the majority of the race classes.
"What that means is we can have all three rowing positions with somebody at them pulling all the time. So 24 hours a day we’re pulling.
"If you were a four-boat crew with three rowing positions that's not sustainable. It does mean we have to work a bit harder.
"Roughly it's an hour and a half in the cabin to try and sleep, then you get two and a half hours on the oars. It's pretty punishing."
In last year's event, HMS Oardacious became the fastest military team to take part in the race, covering the distance from the Canary Islands to Antigua in 35 days, 17 hours and 19 minutes.
The conditions HMS Oardacious are facing this time round were described as "fast and furious" by fellow team member Lieutenant Rob Clarke.
They are expected to face waves up to 20ft high and Commander Forrester described how the boat could be hit by four tons of water during the night.
"When you get to see the progress, and when you're doing it together as a team, you're relying on each other and doing it for each other, which is a common thing we used to do in the forces, then actually it kind of makes you smile," he said.
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