Team Pacific Dragon endeavors to cross the Pacific
Ocean using only human power. In what is described as one of the toughest
endurances races in the world, it is a true testament to the very essence of
human spirit, we will be pushed to both our physical and mental limits.
Starting in Monterey California, we will race 2,500 over open ocean to Hawaii.
The team, consisting of Cameron Cannings, James Count, William Cornish, and Ben
Hodge are all students at Aberystwyth University and member of the British Army
Wales University Officer Training Corps. With such a great opportunity we
intend to raise £150,000 for the Prince’s
Trust and SSAFA
We
are competing in the Great Pacific Race, organized the New Ocean Wave. After
seeing great success in 2014, the organization is running the race again in
2016. We will leave Monterey on June 5th and hope to complete the
race in just over 40 days. Along the way we hope to set a few world records.
Despite aiming to beat the current speed record of 43 days, we will be the
youngest to ever row across the pacific and James Count will be the youngest
person to ever row across the pacific.
Life
of the boat is simple. The crew of four will row and sleep on a 25ft boat with
not much space to much else. At any one time, there will be two people rowing. When
not rowing, the other two will be eating, sleeping and doing general admin to
ensure all the equipment is working. We change rowers every 2 hours, 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, for 40 to 60 days. Our bodies will be pushed to their
limits both mental and physically. There is no escape from the challenge once
you are in the middle of an ocean.
Why
would someone want spent 6 weeks rowing across an ocean if you can just fly?
It’s the challenge that draws us in. The opportunity to experience something
that only a few people have and finish with a story that will last a lifetim. More people have been to outer space or climbed Mount
Everest than have crossed an Ocean by rowing boat! On a clear night,
when you are 1000 miles off shore, completely alone on calm seas, the sky is
clear and you can see a billion stars in the sky. At that moment you feel
privileged to be experiencing a beaty very few people will ever get opportunity
to. Equally, when the seas get rough you are scared out your mind as the little
boat is being tossed around while huge waves crash over the side. Yet part of
you still relish the thought that your friends back at home are warm and
comfortable. They don’t get to experience what you are experiencing. The pure
awesomeness of adventure. They don’t get to test their spirit in the face of
adversity. Every adventurer has their own battlefield, a place they can push
their limits as they attempt to find something that can’t be found in the
ordinary. The Pacific Ocean is ours!
