The Impossible Row: Colin O’Brady part of elite team’s world first by rowing treacherous Drake Passage, where ‘10 days feels like a month’
- The six men overcome some of the most dangerous stretches of ocean in the world in 12 days, suffering from near frostbitten hands and feet
A team of six men gave themselves the best Christmas present when the pulled up on the shores of Antarctica on December 25. They had just achieved three world firsts by rowing from South America to Antarctica.
They are the first to row across the Drake Passage, considered the most dangerous stretch of ocean on earth because of its massive swells and unpredictable weather; the first to row to the Antarctic continent; and the first to row in the Southern Ocean. The expedition took 12 days. They rowed in shifts – 90 minutes on, 90 minutes off – all day and all night.
Captain Fiann Paul of Iceland was joined by explorer Colin O'Brady, from the USA, fellow Americans Andrew Towne and John Petersen, South African Cameron Bellamy and Scot Jamie Douglas-Hamilton.
“In polar conditions, 10 days feels like a month,” said Douglas-Hamilton, 38. “Very rarely in life you get the chance to experience something so amazing. As tough as it was, and it was really tough, and there was so much doubt, but as soon as you get into that last 150 miles (241.5km) in Antarctica, all the pain disappears.”