Remember Team HODL, the three Norfolk friends preparing to row across the Pacific to combat ocean pollution? Luca Feser, Cutu Serruys and Matt Siely are setting off from Monterey Bay in California today! Here, they provide Folk Features with a last-minute update
The last few months have been good, consistent and steady. We have focused on being out fittest and healthiest versions this means ensuring we did not get injured- low impact, long endurance training has been key for us in the last few months.
We got here on the 1st of June, so we have had 10 days of preparations. We were reunited with the eEnergy boat after it had been in transit since late March, we had a boat inspection, food inspection and equipment inspection prior to the race to ensure all things working correctly and safely. Of course, this comes with some challenges as we had to fix a few bits on board that got damaged in shipment – once sorted we then launched the boat into the sea allowing us to have a handful of practice runs out in the Pacific Ocean before the race start.
From Monday onwards we will be setting to cross the Pacific Ocean, safely and in hopes to set a world record at the same time as reaching our goal of raising £50,000 for @theoceancleapup…
The first week out at sea will be the most intense and challenging, with the first 100 miles coming out of Monterey Bay, California – the winds, and currents are known to be very unpredictable, making it extremely hard to push past this first bit. After this we will encounter challenges like sea sickness which we expect to take up to a week to get used to. But we hope and we know we will push on past these and other various challenges to make our way through rough seas, all the way to Kauai, Hawaii.
The purpose of the challenge is simple, to raise money and awareness for @theoceancleanup. This charity is doing the most to help clean up and preserve our oceans by ridding our oceans of plastic pollution. In the Pacific Ocean there is a known area of rubbish called “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch” (GPGP) which is said to be three times the size of France. Our charity is working continuously to clean this up and we thought what better way to raise awareness of this than by rowing it.
Now we are really trying to push these donations as we are going to see first-hand how plastic pollution can affect marine life.
People can support us by following us on Instagram @team_HODL and on Facebook by sharing our page and spreading the word of what we are doing. But most importantly, people can support us by donating. This will be a hard and gruelling journey for us, and we will be pushed mentally, physically and emotionally – this is something we have prepared for two years in the making, and all the support, donations and people following our journey will be so unbelievably appreciated and help us stay motivated to get safely to Hawaii. Thank you everyone!
Team HODL set off at 3pm UK time (7am local time) and will be rowing 45 days non-stop in the eEnergy boat, from California to Hawaii. They start from the historic harbour of Monterey in California, following the path of many adventurers and explorers of yesteryear, and row 2,800 miles to the finish line in Nawiliwili Bay on the stunning island of Kauai. Once they launch, they will row non-stop and unassisted for around 45 days: 4 hours on the oars and 2 hours off. They will sleep in cramped quarters, cross two time zones, consume 850,000 calories, and experience all the weather and waves the Pacific throws at them. To donate, visit Fundraiser by Luca Feser : Pacific Ocean Row for Ocean Plastic Pollution (gofundme.com). Follow Team HODL on Instagram and Facebook. For the Race Start Livestream · World’s Toughest Row – Pacific 2023 visit YouTube. To track Team HODL’s journey, visit YB Races on the App Store (apple.com).
All featured images by World’s Toughest Row (@worlds.toughest.row)
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