I have yet to meet anyone who is not utterly amazed when I tell them that my brother, three of my cousins, my husband and our best man have rowed across the Atlantic Ocean. It blows the mind, so incredible is the feat.
It is no surprise that both All Relative (2005, my brother and three cousins) and QBE Insurance Challenge (2010, my husband and our best man) won their respective races. It came down to many important factors, including exceptional team spirit and long hard preparation. Importantly though, both teams had a darn good boat.
My cousin, Justin Adkin, built both. And his latest project has been to build a boat for Tom Rainey and Lawrence Walters (Team Ocean Valour) who are rowing from Battery Park in New York City to Salcombe in Devon, England.
Olli spent some time with the crew before they set off, sharing experiences and tips. He saw the boat before she arrived at Battery Park and then we went down to see them off on the morning of 3rd May.
Rowing past the Statue of Liberty