Ocean rowers are ten to a pound these days (which isn't to diminish the achievement of a crossing) but now and then a trans-ocean project comes along that is worth really taking notice of.
On Monday night I was privileged to attend a fundraiser for the Coxless Crew, to speak alongside paraympian Danny Crates, Walking for the Wounded athlete Martin Hewitt and ocean ambassador Emily Penn.
The stars of the evening though, were Laura Penhaul, Nat Miles, Ella Hewton and Emma Mitchell. The girls talked us through the immensity of their proposed challenge, to row 8500 miles across the Pacific from California to Australia.
En route they'll stop in Hawaii and Samoa to both re-provision and magnify media for their efforts and fundraising work for Breast Cancer Care and Walking for the Wounded.
They'll be rowing two-on, two-off constantly for the best part of 160 days on board their currently nameless 29 foot ocean rowing boat (I think they should call it YES, myself). Danny had the idea to tape out the footprint of the boat in the middle of the room, which really brought to life the living quarters the girls will experience. 29 feet for four people in the middle of an ocean isn't that much!
It's important to note that none of the girls have extensive rowing experience and yet they're still gunning for three world records, including the fastest crossing of the Pacific by rowing boat.
They're slowly chipping into arguably the toughest bit of the entire project; getting to the start line. Fundraising (both to cover the trip's costs and raise for the charities), logistics and psychological evaluations are now par for the course.
Here's a short video that should give you a flavour of the evening, and I fully recommend you support them where you can and follow the journey via www.coxlesscrew.com, Facebook and Twitter.