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An interview with the Ghost Rowers; Scott Wonenberg and Brett Sparrow, part I of II
15:41 p.m. EST Mar 15, 2004
Scott Wonenberg and Brett Sparrow wanted to race across the Atlantic in a row boat. With no money and no boat they managed to find a way. In less than a month they were off and catching up to the lead boats that had a two day gain on them. Unregistered and under-prepared they managed to make the crossing in incredible time under grueling conditions.
On March 12th ExplorersWeb had the chance to interview, the American/Zimbabweans who rowed ‘Against All Odds’ across the Atlantic Ocean in 47 days.
ExWeb: How did you guys hear about the Atlantic Rowing Regatta, where were you at the time?
Scott Wonenberg: I was cleaning boats in the Canary Islands when I saw a strange boat pull into the marina. The boat had oars instead of sails, and no motor. I couldn’t hold back my curiosity; I had to find the owners and ask: ‘what the heck is that?’ I was told by the owners, who were competing in the upcoming race, that the boat was an ocean rower and would be crossing the Atlantic Ocean. When I heard that I was hooked. The first thing I did was call my best friend Brett in Zimbabwe; “Hey man, do you wanna row the Atlantic?” Brett said “Yea!” and the deal was done; we were going to row across the Atlantic.
ExWeb: We heard there were some problems securing funding, getting a boat, getting all the necessary gear, and getting it all done in the short time you had. How did you do it?
Scott: We had less than a month before the race started and we had nothing. Our sponsors kept falling through; Brett’s girlfriend is Spanish so we were going to get sponsorship from Spain but they backed out. A lot of promises were made and a lot of promises were broken. After several failed attempts we finally found someone willing to lend us a boat. It was trashed, though, from a recent Indian Ocean crossing. No one thought we could fix it; but it was as good as new in less than two weeks. A lot of folks at the marina and friends from around the world donated gear and supplies. A fella pulled in the day of the race and when he heard we needed a water pump he gave us his spare.
ExWeb: We can see why you christened your boat ‘Against All Odds’, it is an apt name. You still didn’t have the entrance fee, 8750 GBP, on the day of the race, did you ever think of giving up?
Scott: No, never, we were in this for the adventure. But, out of respect to the rowers that paid, we waited two days and a few hours after the start before disembarking.
ExWeb: What was your motivation to make the crossing so fast? Did you ever think you would catch up to the regatta like you did?
Scott: We had no idea of the positions of the other rowers but we had a fixed map of the progress of the Kiwi’s who set the world record.
[New Zealand set the world record for rowing across the Atlantic Ocean with a time of 40 days 5 hours 53minutes].
We were also hoping to pass ‘Carpe Diem’. A couple days before, in San Sebastian, we came into the marina with our boat when all the other teams were getting ready. The Parachute regiment of ‘Carpe Diem’ just stood there and stared us down like Clint Eastwood. We knew those were the guys to beat, and I think they were a little intimidated by our presence too”.
In part two of the story on the ‘Ghost Rowers’ we talk about what it’s like to spend nearly 50 days at sea in a row boat. We will hear from Brett about hallucinations, hunger pangs, and their reception in Port Charles.
The Ocean rowing society arranged the Atlantic Rowing Regatta 2004, with thirteen official teams rowing from Spain to Barbados. ‘Against All Odds” finished at 47 days 3hours and 40 minutes.
Scott Wonenberg Age 33, grew up living in California and Zimbabwe, backpacking and mountain climbing. At the age of 20, he flew a single engine Cessna from California to Zimbabwe. He travels the world performing acrobatic slam-dunk shows for crowds of up to 36,000 people, he has also worked with the Bud Light Daredevils as team captain and in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks where he built up the Mascot department and performed as a high flying, stunt type mascot. He enjoys various other outdoor sports, but his passion is in expeditions.
Brett Sparrow; Born in Africa. Age 29. Grew up on large game reserves in Zimbabwe often hand raising dangerous orphaned animals including elephant, rhino, buffalo and hyena. Became a Whitewater rafting guide and videographer in the Zambezi River. He was also a member of the ‘Safety Team’ in the 2001 Camel White Water Challenge (world rafting championships), and has guided in numerous International white water races.
The Ocean Rowing Society’s Atlantic Rowing Regatta ORSARR 2004 celebrates the 35th anniversaries of the first East-West solo ocean row by John Fairfax and first West-East solo ocean row by Tom McClean; and 33rd anniversary of the first Atlantic East-West double row by Geoff and Don Allum. Regatta started at 11:00GMT January 20th 2004
Photo of Brett Sparrow, Stuart Boreham and Scott Wonenberg in Barbados (March 9th 2004) courtesy of the Ocean Rowing Society
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