So far, I have successfully completed four ocean rowing expeditions, 3 ocean crossings and the circumnavigation of Great Britain. Two of my ocean crossings were of the Atlantic Ocean, the other crossing was of the mid Pacific Ocean and all of which were in Rannoch R45s. However, that is where the similarities end. My three ocean rows were completely different to one another. My first row was independent (outside of the Atlantic Campaigns race) from Portugal to French Guiana (mainland Europe to mainland South America), my second row was in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge 2018 with team Row4Victory and my third row was in the Great Pacific Race 2021 with team Latitude35. My round Britain row was in a Rannoch R25 and was an unsupported, independent pairs row.

Everything from crew dynamic, team size, route selection, weather, campaign management and fundraising have been widely different and in cases completely polar opposite. This has given me a strong depth of knowledge and experience of ocean rowing, how to do it and more importantly how not to do it!

‘The First ROw’ - Mainland europe to mainland south america, Dec 2017 - Feb 2018

On my 65 day, 5 man crew, independent Atlantic crossing, everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong, including a shattered rudder only 5 days in to our 3,800 mile row and then continual power issues throughout. We had to hand pump water for the majority of the crossing and spent over a week of our expedition on parachute anchor. We ran out of spare wheel bearings and had to row the last 1,000 miles arms only with no leg drive. We experienced a lot of big conditions with 8 metre waves and force 8 wind right through to flat calm seas, with the majority being somewhere in the middle. Due to all of the technical issues we experienced we were forced to stop twice on our crossing to make essential repairs, once in the Canaries and then again in Cape Verde.

After suffering the technical issues, the social dynamic on board deteriorated considerably but as a team we managed to pull together in the face of adversity to complete the expedition and to achieve the seemingly impossible by setting two Guinness World Records for our final leg from Cape Verde to French Guiana.

This is undoubtedly the most challenging endeavour I have ever undertaken. It was challenging for reasons that I hadn’t foreseen or mentally prepared for, such as the sheer amount of technical issues that we faced. However, I wouldn’t change a single thing about that expedition because it taught me so many valuable lessons and skills. I learnt a lot about myself, both good and bad, I learnt about the importance of being prepared, about teamwork and high pressure environments. I experienced life or death situations, built resilience and ultimately learnt a hell of a lot about ocean rowing. I also came away from that expedition with friends who are as close to me as brothers, friendship that we forged through hardship and shared adversity.

‘The second row’ - Talisker Whisky Atlantic challenge, Dec 2018 - Jan 2019

My second row was with Team Row4Victory in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge 2018 and was a complete contrast to my first row. Firstly, the campaign was built over a 2 year period, the team consisted of 4 close friends from Yorkshire and together we worked relentlessly to gain the backing of our generous sponsors and supporters as well as training and preparing.

During our 39 day crossing our boat was so well prepared she never skipped a beat, we always had an abundance of power and didn’t have to ration it at any stage which was a huge morale boost, especially knowing that we could row through the night without the threat of losing power and potentially having to deploy the parachute anchor. The weather conditions were completely different too, our race was dubbed as ‘the rowing race’ due to the lack of winds. We only had one day of beneficial 25 knot ‘trade winds’ where we were flying along and surfing waves but the rest of the crossing we experienced a series of high pressure systems and wind holes that made for difficult and arduous rowing, It was like rowing through treacle a lot of the time, there was no wind to assist the boat and no reprieve from the searing heat of the sun. Unfortunately, a couple of decisions with regards to route selection didn’t go in our favour early on and ultimately defined our race. Also, 2 weeks in, a crew member suffered an injury and was unable to row for 6 days which was a testing time for the team but we all pulled together really well and proved we were a strong and high performing team.

A lot of ocean rowing teams opt for a routine of ‘2 hours on, 2 hours off’ with 2 people rowing and 2 people resting for their entire crossing but for us this wasn’t the case. We had promised to each other that we would do whatever it took to try and win the race and regardless of the setbacks we had faced we weren’t going to give up. So, we adapted our routine every day which was exhausting. We capitalised on the third rowing position for 12 hours a day adopting a routine of ‘2 hours on, 40 mins off’ with 3 people rowing and 1 person resting, then we would do ‘2 hours on, 2 hours off’ with 2 people rowing and 2 people resting through the night in order to recover, and then we would do it all again the next day.

Despite our setbacks the crew dynamic stayed strong throughout our crossing and we finished in a very respectable 5th place overall in the race. We were all good mates going on to the boat but having successfully rowed across an ocean together and putting 100% effort in together towards a common goal for 39 days and sharing some truly unique and amazing experiences together we came away as brothers. What was once a dream became a reality and in the process, thanks to all of our amazing sponsors and supporters, we were able to raise an incredible £30,000 for our charities; the Royal British Legion and Soldier On.

‘The Third Row’ - Round Britain Row, 15th June - 29th July 2020

My third row was with Gus Barton. The aim was to circumnavigate Britain, 1,800 miles (1,564 nautical miles) unsupported as a pair and to break the world record of 41 days, 4 hours and 38 minutes.

We experienced the very best and the very worst that the British coastline could throw at us, we got to witness truly incredible sights; hidden beaches, dramatic landscapes, beautiful sunrises and sun sets, we had numerous visits from Royal Naval vessels, coldwater swimmers, dolphins, seals, whales and even a helicopter flypast. We also experienced strong rip tides, huge overfalls, enormous whirlpools, dangerous and rocky outcrops, busy shipping lanes to name just a few. Though, the recurring theme for Gus and I’s row was the unrelenting, unpredictable and ever changing weather. We continually had to battle headwinds and regularly rowing against the tide, dragging our amazing boat Lily into the onslaught day in and day out. Only ever anchoring in small bays for brief moments of rest and for 7 weeks never being out of the fight. It was truly relentless.

On 29 Jul 2020 after 44 days, 18 hours and 2 minutes, Gus and I had completed 1,279 nautical miles of the hardest rowing imaginable but simply we had run out of time. Our round Britain row had to come to an end in Amble, Northumberland. We only ever had a finite window to complete our expedition as Gus was due to be best man at his brothers wedding on 1st August 2020. Therefore, we packed the appropriate supplies, chartered our boat, secured insurance, blocked out our work calendars etc for that period. This left us agonisingly short, just 283 nautical miles (18% of the circumnavigation).

Neither of us wanted to have unfinished business with this expedition so both undertook our own challenges to complete the circumnavigation in our unique way.

On 12th Aug 2020 Gus returned to Amble, this time on his bike. Over 5 days Gus cycled 550 miles (highlighted by the blue line below) to Ramsgate. Bearing in mind he had only been back on dry land for 2 weeks. He absolutely demolished this cycle and proudly arrived in Ramsgate on 16 August 2020 having circumnavigated Britain in a unique, human powered, 7 week row and 5 day cycle! Truly incredible.

On 5th Oct 2020 I went into my local village hall, marked out the shape of our boat Lily on the floor with tape and then wheeled in my indoor rowing machine to complete the remaining 283 nautical miles of the circumnavigation with a ‘4 Day Erg’ (highlighted by the red line below). 283 nautical miles is 524,116 metres which works out as 12.4 marathons. I rowed 2 hours on, 2 hours off for 3 days, 20 hours and 21 minutes until 0821hrs Friday 9th Oct 2020 when I finally arrived in virtual ‘Ramsgate’ and joined Gus having successfully completed our circumnavigation of Great Britain!

We were extremely fortunate with all of the support and generosity we were shown throughout our expedition. Thanks to all of our amazing sponsors, family and friends we were able to raise an amazing £15,240.48 for our two chosen charities Sport In Mind and NHS Charities Together.

Neil Harris, Sport In Mind Founder: "Sport in Mind would like to express our gratitude to Gus and Duncan for taking on such an epic challenge in aid of Sport in Mind and the NHS. We would also like to say a massive thank you to all the people who supported Gus and Duncan so fantastically throughout with their donations and overall support. As a charity that helps people experiencing mental health problems the money raised will have a huge impact on our organisation during these strange and uncertain times when more people than ever are struggling mentally. Thank you everyone!”

‘THE FOURTH ROW’ - OVERVIEW

In June 2021 I rowed across the mid Pacific Ocean east to west as part of Team Latitude35 in the process we set a new world record for the fastest team in a time of 30 days, 7 hours and 30 minutes breaking the previous world record by over 9 days.

Latitude35 are a well known team with many accolades, ocean crossings and world records to their name. They have truly amazing athletes and adventurers who have raced for them in previous races and to be a part of their phenomenal Great Pacific Race 2021 team has been the pinnacle of my athletic career so far.

My team mates were as follows: Jason Caldwell US - Skipper, Angus Collins UK - Navigator, Jordan Shuttleworth UK.

More details to follow…

Conclusion

I am very fortunate to have experienced four very different ocean crossings/expeditions with four very different crews. These experiences have enabled me to learn a lot of different lessons and skills that I can now pass on to new and experienced teams by helping them to prepare, become resilient, be safe and make informed decisions based on proven methods.

My round Britain row was the hardest expedition, physical challenge and/or undertaking I have ever experienced. It might not have gone quite as planned and it was truly relentless, though I wouldn’t change a single thing about it as it provided the greatest challenges and biggest tests and for that I am extremely grateful. Gus was the best rowing partner I could have asked for and I could not be more proud of what we achieved around Britain, doing battle with Mother Nature and Neptune. Not only that but it has without doubt made me a better coach, taught me so many valuable lessons, up skilled my coastal and ocean rowing knowledge, given me great insight in to a pairs and solo set up for rowing but most importantly I have gained a friend and brother for life in Gus.

Banner Photo Credit: Ben Duffy