Latest news with #TaliskerWhiskyAtlanticChallenge
Scottish Sun
12-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
I'm braving shipwreck graveyard & Europe's largest WHIRLPOOL in bid to be 1st person to row solo around Britain
OAR-SOME I'm braving shipwreck graveyard & Europe's largest WHIRLPOOL in bid to be 1st person to row solo around Britain Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A SHIPWRECK graveyard, Europe's largest whirlpool, vicious tides and the world's busiest shipping lane. These are just four of the hazards facing intrepid adventurer Angus Collins when he starts his mission to row around Britain in less than three weeks' time. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Adventurer Angus Collins will brave deadly seas solo in an attempt to become the first to row unassisted around Britain and raise £250k for suicide prevention Credit: Times Media Ltd 4 Angus and pals Joe Barnett, Jack Mayhew and Gus Barton win 3,000-mile Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge in 2016 Credit: ©Ben Duffy If successful, his challenge will raise £250,000 to save lives — and he will be doing it solo, with no assistance, in a boat just 20ft long. As well as his own 6ft frame, Angus's specially designed craft will have to carry 60 days' worth of food, a desalinator to turn sea water into drinking water and all his tech equipment to plot his route and monitor the weather. No one has ever managed to row solo and unassisted around the British coastline before, although many have tried and failed. But not only is the 35-year-old the country's most successful ocean rower, he also has a powerful motivation. Angus, who has broken records when crossing the Atlantic — twice — as well as the Pacific, said: 'Five years ago it looked like I had it all. Suicidal crisis 'I'd broken records, I had a successful boat-building business and I was travelling around the world to work with elite rowers and their teams. 'It was all I'd dreamed of, but inside I felt empty. Nothing I'd achieved gave me any happiness and I couldn't work out why. 'I started experiencing anxiety and panic attacks, and began to isolate myself from my friends and family, not replying to messages or answering their phone calls. 'I was living on a boat in Essex, and on my 30th birthday I told my family I was celebrating it with my friends, and told my friends I was with my family. 'What I actually did was attempt to take my own life, because I couldn't see a way that things would ever get better.' Mystery as huge WHIRLPOOL appears off the coast of Britain as everything from spawning fish to explosion blamed Angus was subsequently diagnosed with depression. He is now taking on one of the world's most dangerous rowing challenges to raise £250,000 for the charity James' Place, which offers immediate, free therapy and support to men in suicidal crisis. Angus, who lives in Hampshire, said: 'After I'd planned to take my own life I saw a psychiatrist who told me I had nothing to worry about, as I had a good support network, a good business and good friends. 'It just reinforced all the guilt I felt at having depression, when on the surface it looked like I had nothing to worry about. 'It wasn't until I met my partner Elsa that I finally found someone I could open up to, and she encouraged me to talk honestly about my mental health with a couple of close friends. 'I also found a psychologist who I could work with, and got medication to help with my depression. 'But talking honestly about how I was feeling is what really helped me, and that's exactly the kind of expert and essential therapy that James' Place provides immediately to men at risk of taking their own life.' This is Mental Health Awareness Week, which provides a moment to reflect on the fact that suicide is the biggest killer of men under 35 in the UK, and that the male suicide rate in England is three times higher than the rate for females. 4 Angus' route around the UK, leaving from Portsmouth on the south coast James' Place estimates that one life-saving intervention costs the charity £1,800, which means that by hitting his £250,000 target, Angus will save almost 140 lives. The charity was set up in 2018 by parents Clare Milford Haven and Nick Wentworth-Stanley in memory of their son James, who took his own life aged 21 in 2006 after he reported feeling suicidal following a minor operation. Specialist team It now has three centres, in London, Liverpool and Newcastle, where men receive six to eight free therapy sessions focused on helping them through a period of suicidal crisis. Angus first became aware of James' Place when he met James's brother Harry when they were competing for different teams in an Atlantic rowing challenge. He recalled: 'Harry's team was rowing to raise funds for James' Place. Each morning a bird would come and land on their boat, all the way to Antigua. 'I've probably seen three birds do that in over 300 days at sea, and it felt like something special was going on. I knew I wanted to do something special for them too.' A year ago, Angus began planning the challenge, named A Great British Odyssey, and designed and commissioned his rowing boat, which was built over the winter by a specialist team in the village of Millbrook, near Saltash in Cornwall. He said: 'The main reasons other people have not succeeded in this challenge before are the wrong boat and not managing the weather. "My boat has been specially designed for this challenge — for example, at 89kg it's very lightweight, and every kilogram counts, as I have to power it around the coastline. 'And while I can't control the weather I have a lot of experience in what's known as 'weathering' for other rowing teams. 'That means plotting the quickest and safest route, taking into account storms, tides, winds and other weather conditions.' Angus will set off from Portsmouth Harbour on June 1, and plans to complete the row in 30 to 60 days. He will be rowing almost 2,000 nautical miles clockwise around the coastline, and one of the first major dangers he will face is the shipwreck graveyard of Portland Race, a treacherous stretch of water off the coast of Dorset. One of the most feared tidal rapids on the British coastline, Portland Race is where several tides meet, causing monstrous waves. Consequently it is a notorious shipwreck site, with more than 400 documented sinkings. At almost the opposite end of the country, Angus will also have to negotiate the Corryvreckan whirlpool off the Isle of Jura, on the west coast of Scotland. Depending on the weather and the tides, Corryvreckan — meaning cauldron — has whirlpools up to 50m wide, waves which can reach 9m tall, and a roar that can be heard up to ten miles away. Angus said: 'I know it's going to be hard and there will be points when I'll definitely regret being out there, but I'm not fearful. Haribo sweets 'If there isn't a phone signal then I have satellite communications, so if something goes wrong I can always call for help.' He aims to row for up to 18 hours a day. He will row for eight hours, drop anchor and sleep for around four hours, then start again. Depending on tides and weather patterns, he will often be rowing through the night, which he prefers, as the temperature is cooler. The rules of the challenge mean he cannot accept any help with navigation or supplies, he can't come ashore, and at no point during the voyage is another boat allowed to touch his vessel. Before he departs, Angus will load up his boat with freeze-dried, protein-packed food, along with bags of Haribo sweets for quick energy, as he will be burning more than 6,000 calories and rowing 15,000 strokes per day. He said: 'At times during the row I'll be so close to the coastline that I'll be able to see families having a picnic on the beach, or people having a pint in a clifftop beer garden. 4 Angus's wife Elsa helped him open up to friends about his depression Credit: Instagram/anguscollinsbe 'It's at those moments that I'll really wish I was on dry land.' Angus comes from a seafaring family. He was born on the Pacific island of Guam, as his parents were setting up a scuba diving school there. His sister Bella has broken records rowing the Atlantic and mid-Pacific, and his grandfather was a world champion sailor in the Flying Dutchman world championships in 1965. Angus continued: 'I often say that my family are better on the water than we are on the land. 'I've taken on a lot of endurance challenges before but this will be the hardest 60 days of my life. 'But knowing that every stroke I row has the potential to save the life of a man like me is the best motivation I can imagine.'
The Irish Sun
12-05-2025
- The Irish Sun
I'm braving shipwreck graveyard & Europe's largest WHIRLPOOL in bid to be 1st person to row solo around Britain
A SHIPWRECK graveyard, Europe's largest whirlpool, vicious tides and the world's busiest shipping lane. These are just four of the hazards facing intrepid adventurer Angus Collins when he starts his mission to row around Britain in less than three weeks' time. 4 Adventurer Angus Collins will brave deadly seas solo in an attempt to become the first to row unassisted around Britain and raise £250k for suicide prevention Credit: Times Media Ltd 4 Angus and pals Joe Barnett, Jack Mayhew and Gus Barton win 3,000-mile Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge in 2016 Credit: ©Ben Duffy If successful, his challenge will raise £250,000 to save lives — and he will be doing it solo, with no assistance, in a boat just 20ft long. As well as his own 6ft frame, Angus's specially designed craft will have to carry 60 days' worth of food, a desalinator to turn sea water into drinking water and all his tech equipment to plot his route and monitor the weather. No one has ever managed to row solo and unassisted around the British coastline before, although many have tried and failed. But not only is the 35-year-old the country's most successful ocean rower, he also has a powerful motivation. READ MORE UK NEWS Angus, who has broken records when crossing the Atlantic — twice — as well as the Pacific, said: 'Five years ago it looked like I had it all. Suicidal crisis 'I'd broken records, I had a successful boat-building business and I was travelling around the world to work with elite rowers and their teams. 'It was all I'd dreamed of, but inside I felt empty. Nothing I'd achieved gave me any happiness and I couldn't work out why. 'I started experiencing Most read in The Sun 'I was living on a boat in Essex, and on my 30th birthday I told my family I was celebrating it with my friends, and told my friends I was with my family. 'What I actually did was attempt to take my own life, because I couldn't see a way that things would ever get better.' Mystery as huge WHIRLPOOL appears off the coast of Britain as everything from spawning fish to explosion blamed Angus was subsequently diagnosed with depression. He is now taking on one of the world's most dangerous rowing challenges to raise £250,000 for the charity James' Place, which offers immediate, free therapy and support to men in suicidal crisis. Angus, who lives in Hampshire, said: 'After I'd planned to take my own life I saw a psychiatrist who told me I had nothing to worry about, as I had a good support network, a good business and good friends. 'It just reinforced all the guilt I felt at having depression, when on the surface it looked like I had nothing to worry about. 'It wasn't until I met my partner Elsa that I finally found someone I could open up to, and she encouraged me to talk honestly about my mental health with a couple of close friends. 'I also found a psychologist who I could work with, and got medication to help with my depression. 'But talking honestly about how I was feeling is what really helped me, and that's exactly the kind of expert and essential therapy that James' Place provides immediately to men at risk of taking their own life.' This is Mental Health Awareness Week, which provides a moment to reflect on the fact that suicide is the biggest killer of men under 35 in the UK, and that the male suicide rate in England is three times higher than the rate for females. 4 Angus' route around the UK, leaving from Portsmouth on the south coast James' Place estimates that one life-saving intervention costs the charity £1,800, which means that by hitting his £250,000 target , Angus will save almost 140 lives. The charity was set up in 2018 by parents Clare Milford Haven and Nick Wentworth-Stanley in memory of their son James, who took his own life aged 21 in 2006 after he reported feeling suicidal following a minor operation. Specialist team It now has three centres, in London, Liverpool and Newcastle, where men receive six to eight free therapy sessions focused on helping them through a period of suicidal crisis. Angus first became aware of James' Place when he met James's brother Harry when they were competing for different teams in an Atlantic rowing challenge. He recalled: 'Harry's team was rowing to raise funds for James' Place. Each morning a bird would come and land on their boat, all the way to Antigua. 'I've probably seen three birds do that in over 300 days at sea, and it felt like something special was going on. I knew I wanted to do something special for them too.' A year ago, Angus began planning the challenge , named A Great British Odyssey, and designed and commissioned his rowing boat, which was built over the winter by a specialist team in the village of Millbrook, near Saltash in Cornwall. He said: 'The main reasons other people have not succeeded in this challenge before are the wrong boat and not managing the weather. "My boat has been specially designed for this challenge — for example, at 89kg it's very lightweight, and every kilogram counts, as I have to power it around the coastline. 'And while I can't control the weather I have a lot of experience in what's known as 'weathering' for other rowing teams. 'That means plotting the quickest and safest route, taking into account storms, tides, winds and other weather conditions.' Angus will set off from Portsmouth Harbour on June 1, and plans to complete the row in 30 to 60 days. He will be rowing almost 2,000 nautical miles clockwise around the coastline, and one of the first major dangers he will face is the shipwreck graveyard of Portland Race , a treacherous stretch of water off the coast of Dorset. One of the most feared tidal rapids on the British coastline, Portland Race is where several tides meet, causing monstrous waves. Consequently it is a notorious shipwreck site, with more than 400 documented sinkings. At almost the opposite end of the country, Angus will also have to negotiate the Depending on the weather and the tides, Corryvreckan — meaning cauldron — has whirlpools up to 50m wide, waves which can reach 9m tall, and a roar that can be heard up to ten miles away. Angus said: 'I know it's going to be hard and there will be points when I'll definitely regret being out there, but I'm not fearful. Haribo sweets 'If there isn't a phone signal then I have satellite communications, so if something goes wrong I can always call for help.' He aims to row for up to 18 hours a day. He will row for eight hours, drop anchor and sleep for around four hours, then start again. Depending on tides and weather patterns, he will often be rowing through the night, which he prefers, as the temperature is cooler. The rules of the challenge mean he cannot accept any help with navigation or supplies, he can't come ashore, and at no point during the voyage is another boat allowed to touch his vessel. Before he departs, Angus will load up his boat with freeze-dried, protein-packed food, along with bags of Haribo sweets for quick energy , as he will be burning more than 6,000 calories and rowing 15,000 strokes per day. He said: 'At times during the row I'll be so close to the coastline that I'll be able to see families having a picnic on the beach, or people having a pint in a clifftop beer garden. 4 Angus's wife Elsa helped him open up to friends about his depression Credit: Instagram/anguscollinsbe 'It's at those moments that I'll really wish I was on dry land.' Angus comes from a seafaring family. He was born on the Pacific island of Guam, as his parents were setting up a scuba diving school there. His sister Bella has broken records rowing the Atlantic and mid-Pacific, and his grandfather was a world champion sailor in the Flying Dutchman world championships in 1965. Angus continued: 'I often say that my family are better on the water than we are on the land. 'I've taken on a lot of endurance challenges before but this will be the hardest 60 days of my life. 'But knowing that every stroke I row has the potential to save the life of a man like me is the best motivation I can imagine.' To donate to Angus's challenge visit
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ocean Rowing Roundup for April
Since our last ocean rowing roundup, all the crews on the Atlantic have completed their rows, and two fresh teams have taken to the Pacific. Atlantic Dash: The Atlantic Dash calls itself an ocean-rowing regatta. Four teams took part in the 5,000km row from the Canary Islands to Antigua this year. Starting on February 1, all four boats had crossed the finish line by March 26. The event organizers stressed that it was not a race, but the four crews were neck and neck to the finish, and all finished within 26 hours. Waves to Awareness, with the pair Ruby Coates and Steffan Evans, finished first. Three hours later, soloist Gary Hutching landed in Antigua's Jolly Harbour. Row For It, a four of Neil Glover, Peter Ross, Darren Smith, and Nick Southwood, finished the next day, followed by the all-female crew Cruising Free, consisting of Sophie Pierce, Janine Williams, Polly Zipperlen, and Miyah Periam. Annasley Park (UK): Solo rower Annasley Park completed her Atlantic row on March 28. The former professional cyclist rowed from the Canary Islands to Barbados in 54 days, 14 hours, and 14 minutes. At the start of her row, she battled sea sickness, strong winds, capsizes, and dust on her solar panels. As she rowed into March, conditions improved, and she picked up speed. This lasted a few weeks before it became clear that a weather system was going to start pushing her north. To counteract it, she took a more southerly line. This helped, but Park still ended up on her para-anchor, trapped in her cabin. "For safety reasons, the cabin door needs to be shut, but that means that Annasley [Park] is sitting inside a sealed fiberglass box, under the hot sun. Much like leaving someone in a car on a hot day with the windows shut," her team wrote. Once finally off the para-anchor, things went from bad to worse: Her autohelm (the link between her chart plotter and rudder) broke. After a day fiddling with the equipment and some frantic calls, she managed to fix it and start the final week of her row. For the last few kilometers, Park whipped round the northern tip of Barbados in a huge squall. Seas the Day (UK): Jessica Rowe and Miriam Payne are rowing from Peru to Sydney, Australia. The pair started on April 8 and hopes to make it 14,000km across the Pacific in six months. Rowe and Payne met in 2022 while taking part in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge (now called The World's Toughest Row). Payne was taking on the race as a soloist, Rowe in an all-female four. Having connected before the row, they stayed friends and decided to embark on a joint project. They were originally going to start their challenge in the middle of March, but this was pushed back to April 8. There were delays getting their boat and food through customs, and they then found a stress fracture in the hull. The first few days felt like "rowing through treacle" because there was little wind. Then conditions changed dramatically, and they ended up on their para-anchor. Assessing the boat after the bad weather, they noticed that the storm had damaged the rudder in four places. Days after leaving, the pair turned their boat around, and a rescue team towed them back to Peru. They will make repairs and restart as soon as possible. The Maclean Brothers (UK): Three Scottish brothers, Ewan, Jamie, and Lachlan MacLean, are also rowing across the Pacific Ocean from Peru to Sydney, Australia. The trio crossed the Atlantic in 2020, breaking the speed record for a three-man crew. On that expedition, they rowed from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua in 35 days. Now they hope to do the same across the Pacific. They aim to cover 14,000km in 120 days by rowing in two-hour shifts around the clock. If they manage this, they will cut 42 days off the current record. At just 280kg, their carbon-fiber boat is one of the lightest ocean rowing boats in the world. In true Scottish style, they ate a haggis dinner the night before their departure, and packed haggis, neeps, and tatties to celebrate Lachlan's 27th birthday while at sea. Setting off a few days after Seas the Day, they are one week into their row. Already, they've had to contend with the usual early struggles, including seasickness and sleep deprivation. After a few days, they have regained their appetites but are struggling with salt sores on their backsides and a finicky autohelm.
The Independent
03-04-2025
- The Independent
‘We got bored of real life' – UK women ready for pioneering row across Pacific
Two UK women are aiming to become the first team to row the Pacific Ocean non-stop and unsupported. Miriam Payne, 25, from East Yorkshire, and Jess Rowe, 28, from Hampshire, are planning to set off from Peru on Friday as they look to complete an 8,000km journey. The duo hope to raise £50,000 as part of the mission for Outward Bound Trust, a UK-based charity which helps children develop lifelong skills through adventure. 'I think we got bored of real life,' Ms Payne told the PA news agency. 'At this point we're so ready to get out there and get away from this chaos and all the packing and planning – it's been a long process.' Ms Rowe added: 'We absolutely love being at sea and the simple life as well – I think we might even get a bit more sleep out there!' Ms Payne and Ms Rowe plan to row in alternating two-hour shifts, and predict it will take around six months to reach Australia, aiming for Sydney Harbour. The pair met in 2022 in the Canary Islands when they were preparing for The World's Toughest Row – previously known as the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge – for which they rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic. Ms Payne broke the race record for the fastest female solo row, which was also her first sea race, while Ms Rowe participated with a team of four women called Full Throttle, winning the female race and Murden Cup. 'Coincidentally, we both signed up to row the Atlantic the same year, and we chatted a bit online beforehand and then met at the start line, and became really good friends through that,' said Ms Payne. 'Jess was working on yachts at the time, so I did it solo, she did it as part of a four, and she was there in Antigua for my arrival. 'I think it was the sole reason why I had a really good arrival party, because she brought all her friends and stuff like that and within a few days we were sat on the end of my hotel bed figuring out 'what's the next big adventure we could do?'' Alongside working full-time office jobs, both women have spent two years preparing for the expedition, driving around the country on weekends to train in Hartlepool and Chichester. Challenges will include sleep deprivation, large waves, potential injuries, capsizing, and sea traffic in areas such as Lima, where there will be large container ships. 'There's lots of things that can go wrong out there, it is a very dangerous environment,' said Ms Rowe. Meanwhile, although the trip is expected to take around six months, Ms Payne acknowledged that they do not have control over the elements. 'I think ultimately it's that respect for the ocean and it is up to Mother Nature to decide,' she said. 'There's a lot of people saying you conquer the ocean but you absolutely don't.' The pair will be entirely self-sufficient during the expedition and have learned to fix things on the boat including their water maker, electronics, seats and oars. Both women completed first aid training to deal with any injuries and also have the support of a TeleMed service, a remote healthcare service which will give the crew 24-hour access to a doctor. They aim to eat 5,000 calories a day, and they will use a desalinator, a device which removes salt and other minerals from seawater, to create fresh drinking water. The duo have been in Peru for a month and wanted to set off earlier than their start date, but their boat was delayed in customs for two weeks. They said they will return to their jobs at the end of the expedition, but the campaign will not end there as they plan to carry out talks at schools and to continue working with the Outward Bound Trust.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
‘We got bored of real life' – UK women ready for pioneering row across Pacific
Two UK women are aiming to become the first team to row the Pacific Ocean non-stop and unsupported. Miriam Payne, 25, from East Yorkshire, and Jess Rowe, 28, from Hampshire, are planning to set off from Peru on Friday as they look to complete an 8,000km journey. The duo hope to raise £50,000 as part of the mission for Outward Bound Trust, a UK-based charity which helps children develop lifelong skills through adventure. 'I think we got bored of real life,' Ms Payne told the PA news agency. 'At this point we're so ready to get out there and get away from this chaos and all the packing and planning – it's been a long process.' Ms Rowe added: 'We absolutely love being at sea and the simple life as well – I think we might even get a bit more sleep out there!' Ms Payne and Ms Rowe plan to row in alternating two-hour shifts, and predict it will take around six months to reach Australia, aiming for Sydney Harbour. The pair met in 2022 in the Canary Islands when they were preparing for The World's Toughest Row – previously known as the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge – for which they rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic. Ms Payne broke the race record for the fastest female solo row, which was also her first sea race, while Ms Rowe participated with a team of four women called Full Throttle, winning the female race and Murden Cup. 'Coincidentally, we both signed up to row the Atlantic the same year, and we chatted a bit online beforehand and then met at the start line, and became really good friends through that,' said Ms Payne. 'Jess was working on yachts at the time, so I did it solo, she did it as part of a four, and she was there in Antigua for my arrival. 'I think it was the sole reason why I had a really good arrival party, because she brought all her friends and stuff like that and within a few days we were sat on the end of my hotel bed figuring out 'what's the next big adventure we could do?'' Alongside working full-time office jobs, both women have spent two years preparing for the expedition, driving around the country on weekends to train in Hartlepool and Chichester. Challenges will include sleep deprivation, large waves, potential injuries, capsizing, and sea traffic in areas such as Lima, where there will be large container ships. 'There's lots of things that can go wrong out there, it is a very dangerous environment,' said Ms Rowe. Meanwhile, although the trip is expected to take around six months, Ms Payne acknowledged that they do not have control over the elements. 'I think ultimately it's that respect for the ocean and it is up to Mother Nature to decide,' she said. 'There's a lot of people saying you conquer the ocean but you absolutely don't.' The pair will be entirely self-sufficient during the expedition and have learned to fix things on the boat including their water maker, electronics, seats and oars. Both women completed first aid training to deal with any injuries and also have the support of a TeleMed service, a remote healthcare service which will give the crew 24-hour access to a doctor. They aim to eat 5,000 calories a day, and they will use a desalinator, a device which removes salt and other minerals from seawater, to create fresh drinking water. The duo have been in Peru for a month and wanted to set off earlier than their start date, but their boat was delayed in customs for two weeks. They said they will return to their jobs at the end of the expedition, but the campaign will not end there as they plan to carry out talks at schools and to continue working with the Outward Bound Trust. To find out more about their fundraising, visit:
