SEATTLE (KING) – When most folks think of spending time in a rowboat, it’s for a nice afternoon on a river, pond or lake.
However, one group plans to take their rowboat on open waters for almost three weeks.
Crew member Adam Kreek, an Olympic gold medal winner, and Jordan Hanssen are two member of Oar Northwest. The group wants to be the first to row around Vancouver Island for 20 days straight.
“This rowboat is safest out at sea. It’s a really, it’s small, it’s uncomfortable, but when it’s out at sea, it’s safe. That’s where it’s made to be,” Hanssen, the Captain of Oar Northwest Captain, told KING-TV’s Elisa Hahn.
The team will rely on their fears to keep them sharp, especially toward the end of those 20 days on the water circumnavigating the largest Pacific Island east of New Zealand.
“If you don’t have any fear for the ocean or being on the water then you have no respect for it,” said Hanssen.
Additionally, the crew will be communicating with different schools and gathering data for research during the trip.
“We have a strong research component with our boat, so sometimes there will be one person row while the other two or three persons are collecting data,” said Kreek. “We’re wearing a special monitor made by Fatigue Science that will actually monitor our sleep/wake cycles.”
Hanssen used the same vessel in 2006 to row unassisted from the U.S. to Great Britain.
