On Thursday 12th December 2019, the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge officially commenced.
Two weeks prior, the island of San Sebastian in La Gomera, Canary Islands welcomed 35 teams, a total of 103 rowers, as they arrived on the island with their boats, equipment and families to receive an array of safety and instructional demonstrations from Atlantic Campaigns, the event organisers. During the designated preparation period, all rowers utilised the time wisely as they worked together on the much needed preparation of the boat, general safety checks and a stock take of their rations and supplies.
It is estimated that each team will row in excess of 1.5 million oar strokes throughout the course of the journey. The team will rely on a desalination device built into the boat, to purify sea water for drinking, it’s estimated that each of the crew members will burn between 5,000 and 10,000 calories a day, and so the dehydrated rations on board are high in calories, to reduce any health risks any crew members may face.
The start of the event was streamed globally by Atlantic Campaigns through Facebook Live, as many of the family and friends in attendance cheered each boat as it was launched from the harbour.
Both parties have offered support and guidance with their previous endeavours over the last year, with Auctus Management Group Ltd, parent company of RSS Infrastructure Ltd, being rewarded the Armed Forces Gold Covenant Award, as a result of their strong connections and charity work with Armed Forces affiliated organisations.
RSS Infrastructure Ltd wishes all teams the best of luck throughout the challenge and will post regular updates from the Force Atlantic team on their social media channels.
To view the progress of all teams through ‘YB Races’, see the map below.
