Six desert marathons down, one single-handed TransAtlantic row to go!
An ‘amateur superman’ today unveiled the revolutionary new boat that will take him across the Atlantic Ocean to complete his challenge to become the first person ever to run 151 miles in six days in the Sahara Desert and then row the Atlantic single handed within the same year.
Charlie Pitcher, 46, was at HMS President next to Tower Bridge in London to publicly unveil the one-of-a-kind ‘InsureandGo’ – named after his main sponsor – which is the first boat of its type in the world.
The boat, which has been specially designed for this challenge, has a canoe-like hull to promote surfing on larger waves, and the cabin is unusually on the front of the boat in order to concentrate the displacement further forward and help propel the vessel in following winds. The boat is made from carbon kevlar and cost £60,000 to build.
Charlie is aiming to raise £100,000 for the renal unit at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, in memory of his friend Shaun McLeod Jones, who died in 2003 after spending 13 years on dialysis at the hospital.
Charlie sets off to compete in the Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race in early December, starting in the Canary Islands and finishing in Antigua.
He will be completely alone at sea for two to three months, and is likely to suffer from sleep deprivation, salt sores, and waves of up to 30 feet in height which he expects to make him capsize several times.
The boat will store all the food and water Charlie will consume during his time at sea, such as dehydrated spaghetti bolognese and scrambled eggs with ham, and the boat is equipped with a desalination machine to make sea water drinkable.
Charlie will need to consume approximately 7,500 calories a day to give him enough energy to complete what is considered the ultimate test of physical strength and endurance.
Earlier this year Charlie – who runs his own London-based property company – completed the first part of his challenge in the Sahara Desert, coming an impressive 182nd out of 850 competitors in the Marathon des Sables despite a serious knee injury which affected his iliotibial band.
He was 33rd out of the British runners in the race, 15-20% of which is run on sand dunes in the Moroccan desert, where temperatures can reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit. He lost 4kg in weight during the event.
Charlie said: “For me, the Marathon des Sables was a valuable training run for the mental and physical battles I will face rowing the Atlantic. Far more people have climbed Mount Everest than have successfully rowed an ocean in a rowing boat, so this is no easy task. I have spoken to James Cracknell about it and he thinks I’m crazy for attempting the race solo.”
“Fortunately, my boat has been designed specifically with this challenge in mind, and though its design makes me more likely to capsize, it should make me faster. I am looking forward to the challenge immensely.”
Perry Wilson, founder of InsureandGo (www.insureandgo.com), the travel insurance company which is sponsoring Charlie, said: “Charlie has done very well to even finish the first part of his challenge, given the injury he sustained on the first day of it. We are incredibly excited about his Atlantic crossing and we’re very confident that he has the mental endurance to come through it successfully.”
To sponsor Charlie, and find out more details about his efforts to become the first person to complete the Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race and the Marathon des Sables in the same year, visit: www.transatlanticsolo.com.
To read Sport.co.uk’s first interview with Charlie Pitcher conducted prior to his epic Marathon Des Sables click here.