Four British soldiers sail almost 3,000 miles across the Atlantic in 41 days, a record
Leonard T. Koonce
5 min read
Four British soldiers set a new world record for the fastest 3,000 mile line across the Atlantic.
Captain Scott Pollock, 39, Warrant Officer Victoria Blackburn, 39, Sergeant Phillip Welch, 37, and Sergeant Laura Barrigan, 29, all members of the Royal Army Physical Training Corps, made the crossing from La Gomera to the Canary Islands at English Harbour, Antigua.
The mixed team, called Force Atlantic, completed the trip on Saturday in exactly 41 days, breaking the previous record of 33 hours.
Left to right: Captain Scott Pollock, Sergeant Laura Barrigan, Staff Sergeant Phillip Welch and Warrant Officer Class 1 Victoria Blackburn celebrate their record time
The mixed team, called Force Atlantic, completed the trip on Saturday in exactly 41 days, breaking the previous record of 33 hours.
They slept about three hours every night for 41 days, but still managed to break the world record
The Force Atlantic team represented the Royal Army Physical Training Corps
The team have chosen to support the Royal British Legion as their chosen charity
The four soldiers rowed to highlight the opportunities available to everyone in the military
They were up against 34 other teams that were competing in the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge
The challenge is to travel thousands of kilometers across the Atlantic Ocean, which usually takes more than a month.
More people have summited Everest than successfully rowed the Atlantic
They were up against 34 other teams competing in the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge.
Rowing the world’s second largest ocean is recognized as the ultimate endurance race.
More people have summited Mount Everest than have successfully rowed the Atlantic.
Captain Pollock said the team enjoyed seeing a variety of wildlife in the ocean, although he admitted the trip was difficult to manage.
Force Atlantic arriving in English Harbour, Antigua, more than a month after departing in December
The mixed army team ventured out on a training trip to St Kilda, Scotland, in preparation for their row
The brave team took on the challenge in a 7m long rowing boat, unsupported for the entire crossing
“Sleep deprivation is probably the biggest challenge,” he told the Express.
“We’ve slept about three hours every night for the past 40 nights and it’s hard to get over.”
The team left in December and was Fund raising for the Royal British Legion.
It is the country’s largest armed forces charity, with 235,000 members, 110,000 volunteers and a network of partners and charities helping members of the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force, veterans and their families.
Three Britons, including one with terminal cancer, smash the world rowing record across the Atlantic: the trio complete a 3,000 mile journey in 42 days
Three Britons, including one with incurable cancer, also smashed the women’s world record for the same challenge.
Kat Cordiner, 42, who has secondary ovarian cancer, and her teammates Abby Johnston, 32, and Charlotte Irving, 31, arrived in Antigua on Sunday evening.
The women completed the crossing in 42 days, seven hours and 17 minutes, breaking the women’s trio record in the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge by seven days.
Kat Cordiner, 42 (right), who has secondary ovarian cancer, and her teammates Abby Johnston, 32 (left) and Charlotte Irving, 31 (centre) arrived in Antigua on Sunday evening.
Doctors spotted Ms Cordiner (pictured) was diagnosed with cervical cancer in March 2019, while having her eggs harvested in hopes of having a baby in the future
The women were given a touching welcome at the dock by family and friends who had flown in to celebrate with them.
As they stepped ashore for the first time since December 12, they said they felt “vibrant, overwhelmed and happy”.
Ms Cordiner is believed to be the first person to take on this challenge as a cancer patient.
The women were Fund raising for Cancer Research UK, Macmillan Cancer Support and The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.
The trio were on a 25ft boat called Dolly Parton and rowed two hours straight and two hours straight without assistance.
When they left, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, sent them a handwritten good luck message wishing them “fair winds and fair seas”.
During their epic journey, they experienced scorching heat, huge nighttime waves, sleep deprivation, blisters and calluses on their hands, and sharks dragging their little boat.
However, they succeeded with sheer determination and created their own entertainment.
Doctors spotted Ms Cordiner was diagnosed with cervical cancer in March 2019, while having her eggs harvested in hopes of having a baby in the future.
She was ‘distraught’, although she said she was more upset about not being able to carry a child than cancer.
Kat had a radical hysterectomy, but the doctors left her ovaries because she wanted to do another round of egg freezing. Once her eggs were harvested, she had her ovaries removed.
After the operation, everything seemed to be fine. Yet, in June 2020, she started experiencing stomach pains and instantly knew the cancer was back.
Ms Cordiner was concerned that resuming treatment would reduce the crew’s chances of participating in the Atlantic Row.
The women completed the crossing in 42 days, seven hours and 17 minutes, beating the women’s trio record by seven days.
Yet despite training with chemotherapy, doctors discovered a lump on his heart and told him to stop exercising immediately.
His medical team first treated the cancer, then operated on his heart to remove the tumor.
She was treated with carboplatin, paclitaxel and the targeted therapy drug avastin, along with six sessions of radiation therapy.
After intensive cancer treatment, heart surgery and six months without training, she got back on the boat.
She said: “It floored me a bit at first and more than anything I was irritated because I couldn’t exercise. But when I got back in the boat I was strong enough, I knew I could do it!
The 42-year-old is now in remission and only taking medication to cope with the effects of early menopause.
She said: “Doctors told me I don’t have decades, I have years, so I really want to make the most of it.” I don’t want to have fun doing things that don’t matter – I want to do challenging and fun things.
