Vivaldi Atlantic 4: Defying the perfect storm
Apr 18, 2005 15: 48 EST
Remember the movie “The Perfect Storm?” The cold seas, huge waves and extremely rough conditions portrayed in that film paint a pretty forbidding picture of the North Atlantic. But it wasn’t enough to scare off the Vivaldi Atlantic 4 crew.
George Rock , Robert Munslow, Nigel Morris and Steve Dawson make up the team Vivaldi Atlantic 4. Their aim is to break existing Atlantic rowing records and to create a new one for rowing directly to mainland UK. They’ll set off from Newfoundland, Canada in June 2005 and they intend to finish in Falmouth, UK less than 55 days later. The route is 2100 miles long!
Escaping dangerous currents
It certainly won’t be a leisurely row on a glassy lake. According to the team’s website, “The Grand Banks and the ice flows will work against the team, pushing them back towards the North American coast. The first week of rowing is most crucial, as this is when the team must escape those dangerous currents before reaching the Gulf Stream which will help to carry them home.”
“The team expects to pick up the dominant wind and currents coming from the Southwest to help them home. Once in the Gulf Stream, the sea should average between 7 and 10 feet, but they will no longer have to battle against the force of the sea.”
A self-sufficient expedition
The 29 foot long boat will be faster than traditional ocean rowing boats because it has been designed with a radically streamlined hull that has a minimum wetted hull area. And since the team will be self-sufficient for the entire expedition, all supplies including food will be carried on board the boat. That doesn’t leave much room for shuffleboard.
In a shower of champagne, the Atlantic 4 team christened their boat, “NATURALLY BEST.” The boat will be fitted with a GPS system that will run the auto tiller pilot which will steer the boat. This allows the crew to concentrate on the rowing, the GPS display will give position, course and speed. “Naturally Best” has been designed to be a safe and competitive ocean rowing boat, rowed by a maximum of three crew members at any time in varying sea conditions. In 1997 crew member George Rock competed in the first Atlantic Ocean rowing race, from Tenerife to Barbados completing the journey in 64 days, covering a distance of 3,000 miles.
At least two west-east Atlantic crossings are scheduled for this year: the Ocean Fours team, and Oliver Hicks, alone.
The Atlantic 4 team will be using Contact 3.0 software to provide live images and updates from their expedition.
Image of “Naturally Best” test run courtesy of atlanticfour.com.
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