Rowing Nude Across the Atlantic, for Charity

Welsh firemen rowed across the Atlantic
Jul 22 2010 by Ciaran Jones, Western Mail
Simon Evans and Mike Arnold tell Ciaran Jones about their 76-day Atlantic crossing in the rowing boat Pendovey Swift which is now on show at the Swansea Waterfront Museum

SWIMMING with dolphins, basking in the sunshine and eating freshly caught fish – it sounds like the ideal summer holiday.

But for two firefighters from Wales it became just part of a punishing expedition across the Atlantic which took them nearly three months to complete.

And now their exploits are being commemorated by the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea.

Mike Arnold and Simon Evans spent almost 76 days rowing across the vast ocean between the Canary Islands and Antigua earlier this year.

After raising £60,000 in just nine months to finance their gruelling challenge, they are now hoping to collect a further £10,000 for The Fire Fighters Charity.

Simon, 39, said taking on the Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race pushed them to the limit.

The father-of-four said: “We wanted to do it for different reasons. Mike was interested in the history of it as he had some knowledge of previous rowers who had attempted it. For myself it was because I like to undertake a challenge.”

The pair did not have much time to prepare for their adventure, however.

Simon, who is a crew manager in Morriston, said: “It was October 2008 when we decided to do it and the race was due to start in December 2009, and straightaway we realised we hadn’t left ourselves a lot of time.

“Most teams give themselves three years to prepare – by the time the fire service came back and said we could go, we only had nine months.”

Mike, a watch manager at Swansea West fire station, said the process had been an uphill struggle from start to finish.

“The build-up was difficult,” he said. “Finding the sponsorship meant it was like two challenges.

“We did it through things like charity events and supermarket collections.”

The pair had to raise the funds for their boat, the Pendovey Swift, as well as their equipment.

They were meant to leave La Gomera in the Canaries for their 3,000-mile voyage on December 6, but bad weather pushed the start date back to the beginning of January.

The delays left the duo fearing they would have to give up on their journey almost before it had begun.

Mike, who has two young children, said: “It was very stressful. If it had been delayed another couple of weeks we could have had to pull the plug and look to 2011.”

And Simon said the bad weather at the beginning was only a taste of things to come.

He said: “When we eventually started we found ourselves in a storm and that is how it was for the whole crossing – we suffered very badly with the weather. We had planned to do it in something like 50 to 55 days but it ended up taking 76.

“We lost sight of land within 24 hours of leaving. It’s an immense feeling not to be able to see land.”

Both men are familiar with spending time on the water, but Simon, who lives in Bryn Mill, Swansea, said the conditions were beyond anything they could have trained for.

“We are both surfers and I have been part of the Royal National Lifeboat Association for 14 years,” he said. “But within the first week there were 60 foot swells and there was nothing that could prepare us for that.”

They were rowing around the clock as they covered up to 70 miles a day.

“We would row 24 hours a day,” said Simon. “I would row for two hours and then Mike would row for two hours, on and off.

“In between you would be getting your head down and trying to sleep as much as possible, but on a good day you would only get about an hour and 40 minutes within the two hours.

“Sleep deprivation was very much an issue and we suffered the entire crossing. Very few people have really suffered it to the extent we did. It had a burden on your eating habits, on your ability to row – especially at night when you would just find yourself nodding off – and it had a bearing on our attitudes. We had a few words, which is inevitable I think. But we went out as good friends and we finished as good friends.”

At one point the conditions were so bad that both men were forced to hunker down in their cramped cabin for five days without being able to go outside.

“Everything we did had to be done inside the cabin, whether it was eating or going to the toilet,” said Simon. “All of it had to be done within the cabin.

“We didn’t have a functional toilet – just a bucket. There was no dignity on board. In the first week we tried to maintain it but it quickly went out the window.

“The breaking waves meant our clothes were constantly wet and our skin was suffering. It deteriorated quickly, and our feet and hands peeled and we had horrendous blisters on them. We also had pains, rubs and rashes on our bums. Wearing clothes just caused problems and in the end we just did away with them and rowed.”

There were two support yachts within an 800-mile radius at all times, but Mike said they relied on the radar system and radio communications while at sea. The 40-year-old, who lives in Pennard, Swansea, said: “We had one close encounter with a Russian oil tanker getting within about 500 metres of us.

“It was at night and I couldn’t raise them on the radio. We got a response after they had gone by – I think a lot of them were asleep. They just got too close for comfort.”

Their 24 foot by eight foot boat was stocked with enough food for 90 days. Simon said they resorted to catching fish from the ocean to add a bit of variety to their diet.

He said: “We were burning up 8,000 calories a day – we had to replace those, otherwise our bodies would deteriorate and we would lose muscles. The food was high calorie specialist food and was basically dehydrated.”

A special water maker took the salt out of the sea water, and a jet boiler meant they could cook some basic meals like curries and casseroles.

Simon added: “When you added the water you could have quite a palatable meal but by the end we were getting fed up of the same old things.”

They often had dolphins, whales and even sharks for company. While they would swim around with the dolphins, seeing a shark made them more fearful about entering the water.

“It wasn’t a huge thing but it was enough to keep me out of the water for a couple of weeks,” said Mike

When they arrived in English Harbour in Antigua in late March, finishing in 11th place, they received a rapturous welcome, particularly from their waiting families.

Simon – whose large beard meant his five-year-old son did not recognise him – said: “The welcome was just so special – it made you feel like a hero. To see our families after nearly three months was quite a tearful moment.”

Mike said his two daughters, Lauren and Caitlin, were overcome by his return.

“I think they were a little shell-shocked – they didn’t quite know how to take it. My eldest was quite emotional – I looked quite different with a big beard and long hair.”

And despite their gruelling exploits, both men are keen to take on more extreme challenges in the future.

Mike said he was considering climbing Mont Blanc next summer, while Simon is considering attempting the Sahara Desert Marathon. He is also tempted to do the Three Peaks Challenge for the second time – but this time by boat.

He said: “You travel by boat then hit land in Scotland and run to Ben Nevis. You sail down to Scafell Pike and then run up that and then sail down to North Wales for the last peak.

“I’ve got a few members of the fire service wanting to do it – now we just need someone with a boat.”

The exhibition charting their voyage is running at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea until November 7

Wearing clothes just caused problems and in the end we just did away with them and rowed