Why row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic? The answer can be quite simple
An intrepid trio will battle 40ft waves, sleep deprivation and salt sores as they row across the Atlantic
When mountaineer George Mallory was asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, he famously said “because it is there”. This enigmatic reply clearly struck a chord and helped provide an explanation, of sorts, for those who found themselves at a loss to explain why anyone would attempt such a feat.
Now three friends, Jenna Volpert, Ellen Clark and Lauren Wilde-Arnold, are about to undertake a physical challenge that many people may find almost equally inexplicable. They will battle 40ft waves, sleep deprivation and salt sores as they take turns to row around the clock, for up to three hours each, on a 3,000-mile journey across the Atlantic, starting in December.
Clark said that they’d done their “fair share of endurance sport events” but also admitted “none of us are rowers”. Despite their novice status, Volpert expressed commendable optimism, saying: “We’re hoping for less than 40 days. We’re hoping to break the world record.” And, on why they were doing it, Wilde-Arnold said simply: “We love adventure.”
Some people are just built differently – the rest of us can only applaud.
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