SA rowers to tackle Atlantic
Brad Morgan
18 August 2006
Only about 300 people have ever rowed the 2 500 nautical miles covered in the Atlantic Rowing Race - roughly one-fifth the number of people who have reached the top of the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest.
Two South Africans have set their sights not merely on completing the race in 2007, but on winning it. Now they're looking for a sponsor with the kind of vision and self-belief that they have.
Bill Godfrey has teamed up with Peter van Kets to take on the might of the Atlantic Ocean. They will be competing under the team name Gquma Challenger - "gquma" is isiXhosa for the roar of a lion, or the sound of a breaking wave - facing a field of 30 to 40 entries.
The 2007 Atlantic Rowing Race - the sixth edition of the event - will cover 2 500 nautical miles from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua in the West Indies, a journey that could take anywhere from 40 to 110 days to complete.
The current race record, set by New
Zealand in 2003, is 40 days, five hours and 31 minutes.
Physical challenge
The physical challenge will be enormous. Apart from the non-stop, 24-hour grind of rowing, sleep will be at a premium. While one crewman spends two hours catching some shut-eye in the small cabin, the other rows.
The teams must battle ever changing weather conditions, switching from sunshine to storms, big sea states and heavy rain.
During this time, the teams survive on ration pack food and water produced using a desalinator (a unit that turns salt water into drinking water).
Considering the amount of time to be spent at sea, it is an incredible ultra-marathon, testing both one's physical and mental strength.
Godfrey believes he and Van Kets have the mental attitude to win the race. "We are very proudly South African," he says, "and I feel it our duty to promote our country on the international stage."
Financial
challenge
But the first challenge Godfrey and Van Kets will face is a financial one. Godfrey estimates that the costs of competing will run to approximately R1-million.
For starters, the boat they will be using is no run-of-the-mill boat. It is a purpose-designed Woodvale Pairs boat, measuring a sizable 7.1 by 1.9 metres.
Safety, obviously, is of the utmost importance. The boat will be equipped with sophisticated instruments, a satellite phone, and a laptop computer for monitoring weather patterns and finding out the latest news.
Three support vessels, equipped with medical and rescue crews, will track the rowers, ready to assist should they be needed.
Apart from the boat, other costs need to be factored in. These include travel expenses, a registration fee, a race entry fee - R210 000 - basic rowing equipment such as oars, seating and clothing, compulsory race equipment, food and supplements to last 80 days, shipping costs for the boat,
accommodation, insurance, training expenses ...
It is easy to see how quickly the costs add up.
Media exposure
Godfrey, though, is determined not only to complete the race, but to win it. That is why he is looking for a sponsor.
He believes it would be well worth a sponsor's support in return for the television coverage that will be offered on the race.
The BBC recently featured a five-part series, broken into half-hour programmes, covering the crew of BBC television presenter Ben Fogle and double Olympic gold medal rower James Cracknell, who lined up alongside 25 other boats in last year's race. They ended up winning the event.
There are plenty of opportunities for potential sponsors, including naming rights for the team, deck graphics, branded kit, endorsements, motivational talks, and branding on a proposed website.
Any interested sponsors can contact Godfrey on 083 469 2930.
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