In the last issue we chatted with local man Peter Donaldson, pictured right, who was about to set off on an attempt to break the transatlantic rowing record of 35 days 8 hours and 30 minutes which was set in 1992. There have been over 60 attempts during the past 16 years.
Peter and the other 13 lads had to arrive out in Porto Morgan on the 4th of December, two weeks before setting off, to check everything was all right with the boat, solar panels and fix a few other niggly little bits and pieces such as damage in transit and to take the boat out on a short sea trial.
On the day of departure Peter had an extra-large breakfast in the Irish Bar and at 1.05 pm gmt set off to a fanfare from loved ones and onlookers. Three days out they ran into a very bad storm, causing them to be blown backwards and they had to deploy the sea anchor and sit there for 12 hours while being blown backwards eight or nine miles.
When the storm abated it took them 12 hours to regain the ground they had lost and they had only made it up when a second storm, a lot worse, struck them.
With winds of 35 to 40 miles an hour and torrential rain they had no choice but to deploy the sea anchor for the second time and sit there for the next 18 hours while being blown backwards a further 15 miles. All in all, the lads lost three days in the storm so it wasn’t exactly the best of starts!
After that disastrous start the lads got into a routine and rowing two hours on, two hours off they started to make a steady pace and with good trade winds broke the record for rowing over 100 miles a day in nine consecutive days and the record for most miles travelled in a 24-hour period!
After spending Christmas and New Year with nobody but each other for company, the lads knew the end was in sight and on the 17th of January at 20.35 gmt Peter Donaldson and the 13 other men completed their transatlantic voyage by arriving in Barbados.
All the preparation, hours in the gym and financial sacrifice had been worth it and after a physically draining and mentally tough 33 days seven hours and 30 minutes all the hard work paid off and they beat the record by 49 hours!