All going well when disaster struck

SPORTING TEACHERS - RYAN CORCORAN: Emmet Riordantalks to a coastal rower from Bray om the abandoned attempt to row the Atlantic with 13 crew-mates

AS CBC Monkstown geography teacher Ryan Corcoran sat back in class yesterday and watched the snow falling outside, he could have been forgiven for spinning the globe and letting his thoughts wander for a little while.

To the sunnier climes of Barbados to be precise, where he and 13 crew-mates had set out for at the start of January in a bid to set a record for an Atlantic crossing by rowing boat.

Yesterday would have marked their planned arrival on the Caribbean island, in time to break the previous record of 33 and a half days.

Dreams, alas, like records, are there to be broken, but for Corcoran it’s one that remains alive despite the fact their adventure was cut short after 10 days when the rudder on the purpose-built 55ft La Mondiale boat broke, leaving them stranded in the mid-Atlantic.

A pan-pan emergency call led to all 14 crew, including five Irishmen, being rescued by a cargo ship bound from Brazil to Italy, with their adventure ending when they were dropped off in Gibraltar.

It was Corcoran’s first attempt at the record, but the coastal rower from Bray has a philosophical take on the outcome.

“We came off the boat and we were obviously disappointed to an extent. But it has passed even at this stage because it was out of our control.

“We did everything we could preparation-wise, physically and with our fundraising.

“We rowed well for 10 days and it was just a freak incident,” said the 31-year-old, who also teaches science and PE at the south Dublin school.

The reasons behind the broken rudder may never be found out as a recent salvage attempt on the boat was unsuccessful, with Corcoran outlining the possible causes.

“There were three possibilities. We had seen whales that morning, but hitting one was the least likely of them all. It was either a semi-submerged container which fall off ships fairly frequently out there or it could have been wear and tear,” he admits.

Owned and skippered by Scotsman Leven Brown La Mondiale had set the previous world-record mark last year and the experienced crew were well on course to complete their sub one-month challenge.

Delayed slightly by high winds at their launch point from Mogan in the Canary Islands, the crew set out on January 4th on their 3,000-mile journey to Port St Charles in Barbados.

Rowing in two-hour shifts, they soon hit the required mark of 100 miles a day, threatening the record of 117 when they got down into the trade winds that offer great assistance at this time of the year.

For Corcoran, though, the initial stages of the journey were to prove a nightmare. Although a veteran of sea rowing in Ireland, the challenges of the Atlantic were brought into stark reality not long after the boat left dry land.

“The biggest issue I had when I got on the boat was that after half an hour I was seasick. That went on for 20 shifts, almost 40 hours. I wasn’t drinking or eating for that whole time.

“Then suddenly I just got my sea legs and was able to take a bottle of water on. After that I tucked in to a powdered freeze-dried shephard’s pie, which at the time, believe me, was the nicest thing I ever tasted.”

Ten days down and with 1,000 miles already in their oars, everything was on track for a record-breaking attempt. But just as the crew and boat started hitting its straps – getting up to 113 miles in one 24-hour period – disaster struck.

“When the rudder got knocked off we originally took off a dagger board from halfway down the boat and tried to make a makeshift rudder out of that.

“We tried it for 24 hours but it wasn’t working as we kept on going side-on to the waves which is dangerous enough,” recalls Corcoran.

With their sea anchor engaged, the decision was made to abandon their attempt, with their emergency call being answered within eight hours. Far from straightforward, the rescue created a whole host of problems in the rough conditions.

“Eighty per cent of accidents happen during rescues, but it went very, very well, even if it was the hairiest part of the whole thing,” admits Corcoran.

“It was night time, pitch-dark and it was about force four or five. There were seven to nine metre swells, but because the boat was shielding us a bit, it was probably two to three metres.

“We were brought right up alongside the tanker and there was a rope ladder thrown over. The boat was getting bashed and the oarlocks were snapped off.

“Afterwards, we were all sitting down on the tanker and the most experienced member of our crew turned around and said for that kind of rescue to take place and for 14 of us to be sitting here without as much as a broken fingernail is ridiculous,” adds Corcoran.

Corcoran hasn’t given up hope of completing the mission some time in the future, and like his four fellow Irishmen, has been offered a place by La Mondiale skipper Brown, who intends to build a new boat in an attempt to have another cut at the record.

“It’s a selfish decision somewhat as you put loved ones at their wit’s end for a while,” admits Corcoran. “You’re also looking at putting €20,000 together in order to do it. In fairness we got a lot of help from sponsors and everybody from family, my girlfriend and the school have been great.”

Not that his students weren’t going to make a little fun at his expense. “Sir, we heard you had a whale of a time”.

The school sports debate on the question “Is there too much media coverage of schools rugby?” has been held over.