Dan Howie and Will North came close to death more times than they care to remember during their mammoth row across the Atlantic. “We always aimed to prepare for the worst and we certainly got that,” Dan Howie tells me.
It’s been over a week since their glorious arrival in Antigua, but Howie can still feel the force of the ocean bearing down on their small, overexposed rowboat. “I was shocked by the size of some of the waves. Past rowers always mentioned they got to 50ft but I thought they were lying to scare me. They weren’t.” It’s certainly a far cry from the day-job – Dan earns a living as a chartered-surveyor working in London, and remarkably plans to return to the job within weeks. His teammate Will, the man with whom he spent almost two months alone at sea, will aim to return to his day-job as a headhunter in Sheffield once he’s recovered.
The two rowers, who met whilst studying at Oxford Brookes University, finished the race in 53 days, 9 hours and fifty minutes, after having set out in November. The pair started training in 2011 for the biggest challenge of their lives, but nothing could have prepared them for what they faced in some of the toughest conditions the Atlantic race has ever seen. Sharks juddering the boat weren’t irregular occurences, and, it was impossible to have contingency plans for everything. “We only had one rudder. So if this snapped we would be in a bit of trouble.”
Given the immensity of the task before them, and the fact that their very lives hung at the mercy of the weather, it is amazing to question how the two of them stayed motivated. “We thought of home a lot, the charities we were helping and also listened to motivational music all the time. We also kept motivated by checking our race position daily and working hard to win our category.”
Charity clearly played its part in the race. Both Dan and Will have family members affected by illness, and have raised over £70,000 for Cancer Research UK, Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and St. Anna’s. Dan’s father was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2009, and Will’s father discovered he had Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
The race took on even greater poignancy following the death of Dan’s original race partner Gareth Crockett left him stunned. Gareth was killed while cycling to in the Isle of Man on a charity intiative of his own. “I thought about Gareth a lot. I only knew him for a couple of years but I loved his sense of adventure (he was planning to go to the South Pole) and he was just generally an all round legend whom I could really relate to. His family sent us some nice messages and we are proud to have rowed in his memory.”
Gareth was in Dan’s thoughts as they crossed the finish line in Antigua late on 26th January. “That was the highlight for me,” Dan says fondly. “The welcome we received at Nelsons Dockyard… I was gobsmacked by the turnout. There were hundreds all cheering us in and we felt very humbled. That moment will never be beaten.”
The elation of finishing, and winning the pairs class, came in stark contrast to the nadir of the race. The 17th December was the day that the two of them came closest to death. “We had nearly capsized about 8 times that day already and when we finally did it really shook me up.” The conditions were so rough that Dan tells me they actually had to slow themselves down by trailing a 40-feet long rope behind the boat. “I thought we may well have to get rescued that day but we got through it and here I now sit in Antigua.”
Where next for the duo? Married life, for Dan – he proposed to girlfriend Jo upon arrival in Antigua. “She has done all our PR and been a legend throughout this whole campaign. Thankfully she said yes!” And has the Atlantic seen the back of him? “For now…maybe my view will change over time when I forget the bad bits and only remember the good.” Watch this space…