02/10/2015

Today is an EXTREMELY exciting day!  3 Men and A Little Lady are meeting Ian Rowe from Atlantic Experience for our first open water rowing lesson.

Having never rowed on open water before, all of us were a little nervous.

Ian is a Personal Performance Coach offering inspirational talks and workshops to corporate businesses.  In 2012 he was part of a team of 6 who attempted to cross the Atlantic Ocean in world record time.

Here we are stood with him and his boat ‘Lisa Too’ on the bank at Rutland Water.  And one of the best bits? Lisa Too (formerly known as Spirit of EDF Energy) was the boat that double Olympic rowing Champion James Cracknell and Ben Fogle used to row across the Atlantic in the 2005 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge!

Already my day was incredible and we hadn’t even done anything yet.

The weather was on our side, with the sun shining as we helped Ian get the boat in the water.

The team, Karl, Ben, Matt and I were strangely quiet which is most unlike us! I think we couldn’t believe this was all happening.

I was first to row and I have to admit, it was frustrating. The oars were challenging to control, the seat uncomfortable in an instant and my legs were bashing against the boat. Welcome to an ocean rowing boat!

Ian was fantastic, his sense of humour ticked all the boxes and his instructions and advice kept us focused.

He talked us through the beginner mechanics of how the boat works and how best to move it through the water.  He analysed our technique whilst entertaining us with remarkable stories of his journey across the Atlantic.

In the 2 hours we were on the water, we rowed 6 miles. Check us out!! We were ocean rowing professionals at our best!

I’m always amazed at how quickly the body adapts. Starting the session was frustrating and cumbersome and, although far from an expert, at the end we were moving with far more ease and power.

We all look forward to meeting Ian & ‘Lisa Too’ again for more rowing, comedy and exciting stories!

Thanks a million Ian for an incredible day!!!

Atlantic Experience’s “core belief that there are only ‘ordinary’ people in the world and that it is ordinary people that do extraordinary things.”