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Pete and his team entered the Talisker Whisky Challenge, which follows the southern route. “We also thought being a race format would make it more exciting,” he said.
There are only a few companies that make ocean rowing boats. They got their 26-footer from Rannoch Adventure, a boat-builder based in Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex. “Then we tried to learn how to do it,” he said. “We tried to speak to as many people who’d done this kind of thing before.
“Generally, \[in the race\] we rowed in two hours on, two hours off, shifts, with two of us rowing at any time. But at the beginning we rowed as hard as we could for the first 36 hours – so for that we rowed two
hours on, 40 minutes off, which meant we had three people rowing all the time. That put us 10 miles ahead of everyone else after the first couple of days. Then, after we’d established a lead, we dropped back to two hours on, two hours off, day and night.”
The scariest moments? “We almost capsized a number of times, especially when we were trying to cut across the swells,” he replied. Safety measures included a self- righting boat, satellite phone and rescue beacon. “If you’re within 200 miles of the shore, you can get coastal rescue services to come out to help,” he pointed out. “Outside that, you’re reliant on ships which may be in the vicinity. But the
ocean is emptier than you think. We saw only one ship the whole way across. You also have to work quite hard in 40-foot swells to keep the boat upright and oriented. And there were 40-foot swells most of the way.”
Pete said it was vital to have a satellite phone with them – just in case - and to keep in touch with friends and family. “But it’s expensive to use, so we cut using it to a bare minimum,” he added.
They kept pushing as hard as they could all the way across. “Our bodies were pretty much at the limit when we finished,” he recalled. “We weren’t really out to beat the record. We just kept pushing to win the race with the ultimate aim of raising as much money for charity as we could.” They ended up raising over £420,000 for Mind and Spinal Research, a figure which is still rising. Since the row Pete has been made an ambassador for Spinal Research.
After an achievement that Pete described as “definitely life- changing”, what does the future hold? He replied. “I’ll most probably go down the route of working for myself. But the key now, as I see it, is to be in a position where I can be part of something that creates an income but has a bit of adventure on the side too.”
With those provisos on board, Pete is looking at going back into property development in some way, both in his home area of the North- East and further afield.
Pete comes from a farming family. He attended Oundle because his father and brother had been there. “It was a major cultural shock – I’m sure it is for many – coming from a country prep school in the North- East, with a lot of farmers’ kids, to Oundle, where there’s a completely different dynamic,” he recalled. “It took time, but I got used to it. And then I enjoyed it. Oundle is very good for sport and that suited me. You make great friends, ones that last a lifetime.
“What you see looking back is that Oundle gets the balance right. You come out of it as a balanced individual.”
FEATURE
THE OLD OUNDELIAN 2017 –2018
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