Pacific world record rowers forced to think to earn ‘brotherhood’, crossing from San Francisco to Hawaii
- The four men who set the world record for rowing across the Pacific meet variable conditions that need constant adjustment
- A clear mission statement creates a lasting bond with the team putting empathy and honesty at the forefront of their rowing
Team Latitude 35 – comprising Duncan Roy, Angus Collins, Jordan Shuttleworth and Jason Caldwell – arrived in Hawaii after 30 days, five hours and 37 minutes. It was nine days faster than the previous record. They were part of the Great Pacific Race.
Roy has rowed the Atlantic twice and around the UK mainland; Collins has rowed the Atlantic twice, the Indian Ocean, also setting the world record, and around the UK mainland; Caldwell has also rowed the Atlantic twice and set the record with Collins.
“The Pacific seemed to have a mind of its own,” Roy said. “The key thing was that the conditions would change. On the Atlantic, you’d have fairly consistent conditions. But on the Pacific, you might only have 10 knots of wind, but the current would be steam rolling. There would be this huge energy in the water and you’d have to adjust for the variables. Then two hours of rowing later, you’d have swells beam on, the wind would change and the current would magically disappear and it would feel like you were rowing through concrete.”
The constant adjustments sapped their mental energy.