Challenge has been ultra tough

ROWING:FIVE HUNDRED kilometres out into the Atlantic Ocean, and baking under the blazing sun, solo oarsman Seán McGowan was in good spirits – helped by the fact that he had fresh water to drink after going days without, and a friendly whale all but nuzzling his boat.

The Limerickman, who is 14 days into the Woodvale Atlantic rowing race from the Canaries to Antigua, told The Irish Times that the challenge so far had been “really, really tough”.

“Anything that could go wrong has gone wrong,” he said.

On the morning of his fourth day at sea, a giant wave, which he estimates could have been 60 foot (18 metres) in height threw him out of the boat, broke his oars and one of the gates which holds the oars.

The incident “took a lot out of me,” he said, noting how difficult it is to deal with such things while alone.

While he had replacements for the gate and the oars, the new gate lasted only a short time, and he is now using a structure which he has made from padding and tape.

“It’s a new design,” he joked.

McGowan has also managed to mend malfunctioning batteries and get his watermaker back on track. “I spent two days without any water to drink. Yesterday was the first day it was working again.”

His satellite phone has also been malfunctioning, and will also not accept incoming calls.

Being tossed around by such adversity has affected his progress, but not his determination to reach Antigua, thus becoming the first Irish person to row solo across an ocean.

“I haven’t once thought about not completing it,” he said. “I just want to finish this thing.”

A pod of dolphins accompanied him for a while, but they were – literally – dwarfed by another visitor.

“A grey whale went under the boat. You could see its massive form looming below. I don’t want to exaggerate, but it was about three times the size of Tess (his vessel) – about 70 feet (21 metres). The boat was like a little speck on top of it.”

Back home in Limerick, supporters of McGowan are organising a concert in Dolan’s pub.

The proceeds of the event will be split between the Soweto Connection charity for which McGowan is raising funds, and charities alleviating suffering in Haiti.