Yesterday started with an hours yoga and core workout in the local park in the sunshine along with the dog walkers, dancers and other exercisers.
After some work back at the apartment we headed out to do the shopping for our snack packs with the amazing Anna from Svendsens Boat Yard. After experiencing the nightmare Friday afternoon traffic in San Fran we finally made it to the massive Costco and loaded up 3 large trolleys with dried fruit, nuts and chocolate. We made it to the checkout and were mortified when none of our UK cards were accepted by the Costco system (note to anyone shopping in the US!) To our embarrassment we had to accept Anna’s offer to use her card and then pay her back. Now we just have to pack them up into 220 individual day packs and then fit it all onto Doris.
We also heard from the customs brokers over here in San Francisco today and it seems like there’s going to be a little bit of a delay getting hold of Doris. Her container has been selected for inspection by customs but we hope to have her at Alameda Marina on Tuesday. We’ll keep you posted if this is likely to affect our departure day.
An early 6am wake up and we found ourselves no longer Coxless as we chatted to Sara Cox during the Radio 2 breakfast show!
We headed to GSK Human Performance Lab for a day of testing: Dexa Scans (to check our bone density), final measurements of skin folds, weight gained and a V02 max test (to measure if our bodies burn fat or carbohydrate during varying levels of exercise).
We then rushed to the One Show and spent the evening showing the viewers around a boat that is similar to Doris and meeting Alex Jones, Matt Baker and the very entertaining Sir Bruce Forsyth!!
After 24 hours of travel, we arrived into San Francisco at 2am.
We’re staying in an amazing apartment that is also a children’s day care and art & craft centre during the day and have been very kindly hosted here by the amazing Jules whose energy and creativity is firmly imprinted in the space.
We woke up this morning at 7am to begin doing our recce of the areas we will be spending time in and to put faces to the names of the contacts that we have made over the last few months.
It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, we all fell in love San Fran and the last preparations for our journey have begun!!
We headed to Alemeda Marina to meet Anna, Hart, Tim and Brock who have all been unbelievably generous with their time and offering us free berth and services for a few days. Doris will be arriving out of customs on Monday the 13th (if all goes according to plan), and Svendsens Boat Yard will be taking her out of her container and placing her into the water for us.
We then need to begin packing her up before our sea trials. That’s going to be an interesting exercise!! Getting everything we need to be self sufficient for 2 months into a very small space. We’ll keep you posted…
We then made our way to Pier 39 to meet Sheila, Marta, Charlotte and Alyssa. We couldn’t have had a warmer welcome! We had our first proper glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and checked out the sea lions and the area that we will be heading to prior to launch on the 18th.
As it’s very difficult to row with the wind and tide against us our actual launch time is looking like it will be at midnight when the conditions are more favourable.
The last week has been full of training for our team. On Monday Izzy and I caught up with Alex Wolf, head strength and conditioning coach at the English Institute of Sport who has been writing our training program to get us big and strong. It was good to know that significant progress has been made in both the big and strong departments!
Tuesday was time for a trip down to Southampton for a day of medical training with Medical Support Offshore who will provide our medical cover whilst we are out on the Pacific. We spent a full day brushing up on our first aid skills with a focus on situations which are more likely to occur on the boat and how and when to use the different medications which we have in our med kits. It was amazing to have such a bespoke training course which has increased all of our confidence with medical situations and how to keep things simple and not allow minor issues to develop into bigger problems. It is also great to know that the MSOS team will be on the end of the phone or email whenever we need them for advice or a second opinion.
We stayed down South on Tuesday night and even managed to have a pub dinner with a well-deserved glass of wine with almost no row chat.
Wednesday was a different type of training as we headed over to Raymarine to do some training with Alan on our E7 chart plotter and Evo autopilot. Although we have used this equipment during our training rows it was really useful to get some in depth knowledge about how it all works and how to set it up personally for each of us. The Raymarine kit will play an important part in our everyday rowing and it is fabulous to have the confidence in how to use it. We also managed to catch up with the rest of the Raymarine team who are hugely supportive of our project and it was great to see them all before we leave.
All in all a great week and we are feeling more prepared every day for our imminent departure. Exciting times!
As we head into the final couple of weeks before we leave the UK for San Francisco and the start of our row, it is full steam ahead on all fronts. Our friends and family witness us rushing around like headless chickens day in day out. But what is it that we are actually doing? Well, I thought I’d shed some light on it all by listing just a few of the things that we are getting on with every day.
Media – we want to raise as much awareness for our charities as possible, so we are busy sending out press releases and arranging and attending radio and TV interviews. We were on BBC London the week before last. If you missed it, you can see it here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OzpmXB9pH1Y
Presentations – we are speaking at conferences, schools and corporates to share the story behind our row and hopefully inspire others to follow our progress on the water, fundraise for us, or to take on their own challenges.
Logistics and equipment – sourcing last minute bits of equipment, arranging for the boat to be wrapped with our sponsors’ logos, applying the graphics for our Buy A Mile inspiration wall in our cabin, arranging shipment of food out to Hawaii and Samoa….There is a lot going on!!
Fundraising – we are working with our amazing charities, Breast Cancer Care and Walking With The Wounded to set everything up so that we can raise as much money as we can for them while we are out at sea.
Accounting, legaland project management – a project of this scale needs to be run properly and the fantastic teams at Accord Accountants and Redd solicitors are very generously offering us invaluable accountancy and legal support. We have been working with Andrew Duncan from New Level Results to ensure that we are setting clear goals, running our project efficiently and making 2015 our Best Year Yet.
Support team plan – the outstanding Tony Humphreys will be providing us with 24-7 shore support during our row. We are meeting with Tony in the run-up to launch to finalise our communications and operations plan. We are also working with our team of supporters in the UK to make sure that our website, Facebook and Twitter will be regularly updated with the messages that we send back from the Pacific so that people will be able to follow our progress.
Psychpreparation – we are continuing to work with the amazing performance psychologist Keith Goddard to make sure that individually and as a team we are in the best possible mental shape when we are on the start line in April.
Training – over the course of this week and next week we are doing medical training with MSOS, training on our navigation equipment with the fantastic team at Raymarine and training on our ocean safety equipment with the amazing Crewsaver. We will also be running over our ‘what if’ scenarios one more time to make sure that we are prepared as we can be for the different scenarios that we might face while at sea.
Physiological testing – we have just had health checks with Cardiac Risk in the Young and just before we depart will be returning to GSK Human Performance Lab, who are helping us to prepare as best we can for the physical challenges we will face.
Physical training – we’re fitting in a heavy program of weights prescribed by Alex Wolf from the English Institute of Sport, pilates with support from Josie at Urban Cave and, of course, a little bit of time on the rowing machine.
Eating – we’re likely to be calorie deficient when we are out on the water, so we are busy piling on the pounds!
Sponsorship – we have some incredible sponsors supporting us and we need to keep them updated with how preparations are going. We are also still looking for additional corporate sponsorship, so we spend lots of time researching, emailing and meeting with potential sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring our row, please get in touch.
Farewell drinks – we’re making the arrangements for the drinks reception that we are hosting on Thursday 26th March at 7pm at London Rowing Club to say a big thank you and farewell to our friends, family, supporters and sponsors. We would love to see as many people there as possible! Email info@coxlesscrew.com if you want to join us.
We were very fortunate last month to have the opportunity and the pleasure to meet Kylie Minogue. “How did you get Kylie?” is the question we often get asked, so here is the simple answer.
Belief and perseverance!
We had approached the pop icon to be part of our epic journey a few months ago as we truly believed that she aligns perfectly with our ethos and values. This is what we told her:
Why Kylie?
We are looking to align ourselves with an amazing patron who we feel fits in with our ethos and reason for doing this incredible challenge.
We have all grown up with you in our lives. From our daily Neighbours after school watching days, to your fabulous music, ability to entertain and then the inspirational role model that you have become from your own personal experience and self-development of fighting and overcoming breast cancer. You continually empower women, which is what our expedition is all about. We also love that fact that you have a presence in the UK, Australia and also the US, meaning that you have a connection with every step of our journey.
We are implementing a schools project and allowing children (girls and boys) to reach for their dreams and allow themselves to be inspired to do anything they want to do.
We were simply overjoyed (I’m not going to lie!) when she made contact to say that she was happy to support such a worthwhile cause. We managed to coordinate an opportunity for us to meet her and get a group photo and have a little chat.
(Short video edit is by Dean Alexander and his colleagues at TimecodePro)
All photos are copyright Dean Alexander
In the private meeting between Kylie and us we discussed the practicalities of such a huge undertaking as well as the reason why we are so thrilled to have her support in creating awareness of women that have had to fight and overcome adversity. She expressed her genuine interest in following the journey and the total wonder in how the 4 of us will remain sane and connected during such a long time separated from the usual home comforts and loved ones.
She is so genuine, down to earth and truly humble. It was a wonderful experience in itself to meet her, let alone the fact that she is now supporting our expedition.
The Australian born singer-songwriter recently named Australian of the year in the UK, also has had a strong presence in both the starting and ending points of our journey, as we’ve mentioned before, so let’s see if we will not only have relief and elation when we hit Cairns around October time, but also Kylie welcoming us back onto dry land!
Unfortunately Izzy was not available on the day that Kylie could meet us and so we had Ella (one of our support team) step in to be in her place for the informal chat and photo opportunity.
The photos were taken by the amazing Dean Alexander and the short video edit is by Dean and his colleagues at TimecodePro
A HUGE thanks to them for coming and capturing the day for us.
We also love our Adidas hoodie’s and even Kylie wished she was in her tracksuit!!
It is one of those surreal moments that is such a perfect example of how incredible our journey has been so far… x
This weekend was a busy one for the team. It really all started on Friday when we had a super exciting meeting with a super exciting new supporter of the Coxless Crew. Stay posted to find out what that was all about!
Early doors on Saturday morning we arrived at Rossiters in Christchurch to face one of our fears for the row – the capsize! We got into the cabins, Nats and myself in the stern cabin and Laura in the bow cabin and strapped ourselves in. The Rossiters team used the crane to tip us over manually. Inside the cabin it felt like a slow tipping sideways and she sat for quite a while at 90 degrees before needing an extra tip to get her to go over. This was actually quite comforting as we now know that she can be thrown around in the waves a lot before capsizing. The roll from 90 degrees back up to upright was surprisingly quick and smooth and before we even had time to think about it we were back the right way up. The exercise was really useful as we can now have total faith that Doris definitely does self-right and we can also reflect on the experience to help us imagine how it will feel when it happens for real in the middle of the Pacific.
The rest of Saturday was spent in a team session with our performance psychologist Keith. We thought about how to recognise our warning signs that stress is getting to us before, during and after an event and shared this around the table to help us to recognise the signs in others in order to be able to support the other members of the team as much as possible. We also completed a separate questionnaire which highlighted to us the importance of keeping social and task related activities separate when we are on the boat as well as making sure that we make time to socialise with each other in a non-row related way before we leave (easier said than done).
Our day ended in what is now becoming a bit of a habit – food and wine in front of The Voice which has replaced the X Factor as the Coxless Crew Saturday night entertainment of choice.
Sunday started windy and cold and after a good breakfast we headed off to visit Doris again. Top of the list for the day was practising deployment of the para anchor. After carefully reviewing the instructions (men take note this actually works) and our notes and photos from a previous session with Tony we had a go ourselves. As it was so windy we just deployed it where we were moored up. Seemed easy enough but our opinions might change in 40ft waves and high winds!
The afternoon we spent running through our ‘what if’ scenarios. This is a really important part of preparation ensuring that we have thought through all the possible problems and situations and know what to do. As well as the obvious safety requirements of knowing what to do if one of us falls overboard or our water maker stops working it also brought home to us all how real this all is and got us thinking about what life will be like for us aboard the boat. A useful exercise and the start of some interesting psych homework!
Next weekend we start packing Doris ready for shipping! So exciting! Stay posted to see how you fit 6 months of kit into a 29ft boat!
On Saturday we brought Doris on a little road trip to Marlow to go for a row on the Thames and introduce her to the town. She arrived on Friday evening and with a little help from Ella and the Knill family we got her on the water and over the river to the Compleat Angler hotel who had kindly offered her a safe home for the night.
Sunday morning arrived with sunshine and blue skies. Our beautiful pink Breast Cancer Care gazebo and the rowing machine were installed in Higginson Park and Doris was rowed over to join in the fun. With the strong stream and Doris being so much heavier than my usual rowing boats it was the slowest I’ve ever rowed up this stretch of river but pretty special to be showing off Doris where I learnt to row.
First up was the chance to take some prize winners out for a paddle and the chance to experience life in the aft cabin. Martin was up first followed by Katie and Ewan and all three had a go at rowing the boat. It was great to be able to show some of our supporters what life will be like for us when we are out on the ocean.
For the rest of the day we were inundated with visitors including Suzanne Brown, Mayor of Marlow, the local press and lots of friends, family and supporters. We were also treated to a visit from Olympic and paralympic rowing stars Naomi Riches, Heather Stanning, Katherine Grainger, Beth Rodford and Sarah Winckless. Heather kindly christened Doris with some champagne in an official naming ceremony and then came for a row with us. It was so great to have so much support behind us and we had a really fantastic day talking to so many interested people.
The weekend finished off with a training session at Marlow Rowing Club on Sunday morning followed by the usual logistical fun involved in getting Doris back on the trailer and safely home to Christchurch. The next few weekends will be spent in final preparations and packing before we put her into a shipping container ready to start the journey to San Francisco. Stay posted for updates on next weekend’s capsize drills.
The next Coxless Crew event in Marlow will be a talk kindly sponsored by Court Gardens on Wednesday 11th February. Tickets are £12 and include a buffet provided by Court Gardens and a presentation about the row, the training and preparation so far and the reasons why we are doing it. To book a place contact Rotarian Sara Bowater on 07850 036236 or Sara@sbowater.co.uk.
When people find out about the row, the common response is ‘are you crazy?!’. Now ask a crazy person if they think they’re crazy and I’m sure they’ll say no. So naturally of course, we would give it that same response, however, it was pretty apparent from the start, that this row was 90% about controlling the level of ‘crazy’ you become next to the 10% that’s physical strength.
The second question is usually then, ‘how’s the training?’ and the expected response is how much volume we’re doing on the ergo (rowing machine), what’s our weights programme, what cross training do we do etc.’
It is definitely more commonly accepted for someone to go to the gym and physically train for an hour a day & that to be part of a healthy well being lifestyle, no injury or illness necessary and it’s socially accepted. However, if you were to say you were heading off to see your psychologist for an hour a day – there is an immediate sense that it’s a taboo subject, people find it difficult to talk about and there is a preconceived idea, that you have an extreme mental health issue that needs attention.
What is interesting, is that generally people don’t tend to accept, that WE ALL experience mental health problems throughout our lives, but it doesn’t have to be extreme depression or Schizophrenia for it to be labelled as that, or highlighted that it’s not a ‘normal’ part of life.
Think of it as a sliding scale, for instance, for physical illness, it’s like having a common cold at one end to terminal cancer the other. We wouldn’t wish that extreme illness on anyone, but we know it unfortunately exists and there is medical support out there to help, compared to the cold which we all now know how to minimise the risk with preventative measures such as vitamin C/ echinacea/ first defense/ adequate rest etc. & the effects (depending on if your male or female ;)!), you can cope with as you know it’ll be over with within a couple of days or a week.
Mental health is no different, the one end of the scale that everyone associates with mental health or psychology, is being sectioned and whisked off to the Priory, however the common cold end is a day or two or week, of low mood, feeling stressed, being emotionally delicate etc. Now everyone experiences it, but there are very few that actively go out to seek how to cope with those situations/ understand them/ prevent them in a better way & this is where a psychologist can come in.
Keith Goddard is our team psychologist. He works with us on a 1:1 as well as helping us to optimise our team dynamic & understanding of each other as a team. Keith to us, is our rock! He is fundamental to the success of this row (no pressure Keith ;)!). Keith helps us to challenge our thoughts, to recognise that the inner script/ chitter chatter you have with yourself, is exactly that – just a thought. He has taught us how to differentiate between what’s rational or irrational thoughts, to tap into our feelings and emotional responses & recognise how they influence our thought process. He’s shown us how to recognise an emotional response will present itself in each of us; for example, if I’m upset about something, I used to keep it to myself and not want to share it because I wouldn’t want to be an emotional burden, but that emotion has to go somewhere – it’s like energy needing to expand and get out. So in me, I would feel it in my chest becoming tight, my shoulders elevating and feeling stiff & generally my posture would just become more tense. Naturally, you would possibly then go for a massage or see a Physio for acupuncture or ‘posture’ correction – but fundamentally, all that money is wasted unless you address the thought that’s driving that emotional response. The saying and feeling of ‘a weight being lifted off your shoulders’, is exactly that & a heck of a lot cheaper than seeing one of us Physio’s/Osteo’s/ chiropracters for regular treatment and the issue still coming back.
If you take anything away from reading this blog, the main thing is to tap into your mental health and awareness of your thoughts and feelings. There are times when you get an overwhelming feeling that day to day life becomes too much but you continue to try and be a superwoman (or man) and take it all on yourself, well there’s no stronger way than to seek a bit of advice which can be the nugget of information you needed to make life that little bit easier.
What are our values and how does their importance impact our lives?
I believe that our values define us as an individual and that some are instilled and others developed. They become the underlying essence of what you are, who you will become and affect every area of your personal and working life.
These core beliefs that we have, highlight why we automatically gravitate towards certain people (as they most probably have similar values) and possibly why we choose to follow a particular career path or lifestyle.
Every one of us has values, but maybe not everyone has ever sat down and worked out what their top 5 are. There are literally hundreds to choose from and some resonate stronger than others for each person.
As the COXLESS CREW have become a new team, we have also had to re-evaluate our team dynamic and make sure that everyone has identified their own values. Collectively we need to be aligned in the things we believe in and what will keep driving us forward in our challenge.
These core values will need to be prevalent throughout our process as we work together to get us to the start line, develop our group dynamic and then help us to cross an ocean.
Although we are from varying backgrounds and have slightly different motivations, Laura, Emma, Izzy and I have one very important thing that connects us in this project. S.P.I.R.I.T
We are determined to make this adventure happen.
This S.P.I.R.I.T is the thing that we hold special and represents our key values and ethos.
SPIRIT
STRENGTH – Strength of character, purpose and mind.
– There is an inner strength and a physical strength that will be developed and fine-tuned through various training schedules and exercises.
– Strength to face our fears, enter the unknown and prove that anyone can overcome adversity and do anything they set their mind to with the right preparation, support and commitment.
– Strength to keep moving forward when most people around you fail to understand the reason.
PERSEVERANCE – The determination to get the boat to the start line. To find the sponsors and make this challenge happen so that we can raise the awareness and the support for our charities. To find the media coverage to make this story as big as it can possibly be and thereby generate the excitement for this women’s first attempt and significance for women once it has been achieved.
– That mental resolve to keep pushing through when the body has all but given up hope and the perseverance to keep moving forward however challenging or impossible the task at hand may seem.
INTEGRITY – Honesty is vital to the success of this project. There needs to be a transparency in what we are doing and how we are going to achieve it in order to capture the hearts of our followers and to ensure that we can maintain a working relationship on our boat.
– There cannot be any secrets now as they will only be exposed and highlighted in a detrimental way on the boat. We need to be truthful and authentic to whom each of us is as a person and how we are feeling at any one time through the process. We need to constantly reflect and share with each other.
RESILIENCE
– There are going to be moments on a daily basis where we will need to find the drive and will to push through.
– During the ‘getting to the start line’ phase, we need to keep pushing to find our sponsors, organise the logistics for the physical training, team meetings, events, media opportunities, mental training, fundraising, coordination of the shipping, food, sea survival skills, DIY courses, the list goes on.
– We will all have our personal fears and doubts that will surface and disappear during the next six months.
– The true test of resilience will come when we’re out on the ocean. This is when we will really have to fight out our demons and push ourselves to our physical, psychological and emotional limits.
– All the women fighting to overcome adversity from our chosen charities Walking With The Wounded and Breast Cancer Care, also show this undeniable resilience. Whether it is a woman overcoming breast cancer or an ex-servicewoman who is learning to be re-introduced into a new life, they will need to bounce back from an extreme hardship.
– Equality and diversity within the workplace and also sport has begun a shift towards change but women still have to fight to be heard and to progress.
INSPIRATION
This is another key value for us.
Life is all about being inspired by amazing people and hoping in return to inspire others. This is a huge part of what our journey is about. We have been truly humbled and amazed by the number of people so far that have willingly donated their time and expertise to the project. We would not be where we are today without them all and they will definitely be a big source of our inspiration out in the Pacific. Our existing sponsors have been amazing and we so greatly appreciate their continual support.
Obviously our charities are our major source of inspiration. They are the very reason we are putting ourselves through the challenge and their stories and journey are the ones we are hoping to share and raise awareness of.
Our Ambassadors are also key. They are pioneers, athletes and great adventurers who we admire, respect and pull great inspiration from.
As will our followers, and through ‘BUY A MILE’ we are excited to have the names of everyone that has contributed to buying a mile for our adventure to actually be there in black and white (as well as in spirit) to travel the journey with us. The more miles you buy, the larger/bolder the name
We need to put trust in ourselves, in others, in the ocean and in the universe!
We are going to have to trust each other implicitly as basically our lives will depend on it. If we don’t have this trust, within the immediate team, our support team and our followers, the project will not be a successful one.
We trust fully in this incredible yet long, challenging journey we have embarked upon and will learn from all challenges we will face every step of the way.
***
Your values are an amazing driving force in life, so don’t forget to recognise and follow them, then allow them to work their magic.
By 
By 
By 
By 
