After 46 days, 22 hours and 30 minutes, Rosalind Chaston and Andy Hodgson rowed into Barbados, fulfilling a dream they'd conjured up two years previously over a pint.
"Atlantic Escapade" took a lot of organisation, training and fundraising. In addition to over 500 hours of on-water training, Rosalind and Andy were in the gym three days a week preparing physically, and worked with a sports psychologist to prepare mentally. They studied navigation, sea survival and emergency first aid to get themselves ocean-ready.
YB Tracking were delighted to support their efforts with the award-winning YB race viewer, so that their sponsors, friends and family could track their progress. Starting from Gran Canaria, the pair saw a huge amount of wildlife in the first two weeks: daily visits from dolphins, whales, turtles, marlin, seabirds and sharks.
But rowing across the Atlantic is far from plain sailing. After 15 hours a day of effort, they suffered from hallucinations, sore hands, and aching backs; adverse weather conditions added substantial time to the journey, and the wildlife dwindled to flying fish and seaweed!
"We had to work for every mile, and the Atlantic didn't let us go easily! The big side swell was replaced by currents affecting our course... And a 23 kt headwind when approaching the finish line! But we enjoyed every last sunset and night sky with the same excitement as the first... We were very lucky to have YB Tracking support the expedition."
As well as an incredible feat of human endurance, Rosalind and Andy raised £10,000 for the RNLI and BLUE Marine Foundation, and inspired school children to think about issues affecting the ocean, like climate change and biodiversity loss.
The YB race viewer (pictured) was an integral part of Atlantic Escapade's pitch to sponsors: their logos would ultimately be seen by over 3,500 individuals, many of whom checked in repeatedly to watch the pair's progress.
Not content with rowing across the Atlantic, Rosalind and Andy are now investigating being the first mixed pair to row around Britain, and other human-powered adventures!
Congratulations Team Atlantic Escapade!