Rowing the Pacific Ocean! An introduction to our challenge.

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 5^th 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!