All Systems Row

Jess Plail

Age: 33
From: Tunbridge Wells
Years Rowing: 10
Club: Bexhill Rowing Club

1) Why GB Row Challenge?

There are quite a few reasons actually. Firstly, one of the guys from my local rowing club (Bexhill) brought his ocean rowing boat to Bexhill, about 8 years ago, prior to setting off to row the Atlantic. He later went on to row the Indian Ocean too. After seeing his boat that day I knew I’d one day like to try an ocean row myself. Coupled with this I have a great sense of adventure and love of the outdoors and what better way to experience both than rowing around GB! It was also an opportunity to learn new skills, skipper a boat and to test my mind and body to its limit.

2) What was your best and worst experience of the Challenge?

There were so many great moments it’s hard to choose! Some of the highlights include; the wildlife - dolphins, seals, jellyfish and all the birds, seeing the coast line from a different angle, the colours of the sunsets and sunrises, having only to think about rowing and not having to worry about the daily routine of life on land, the peace and quiet of the ocean, chatting to friendly skippers on other boats as you pass by, swimming in the crystal clear waters at Lulworth Cove, flying across Lyme bay in 19 hours and all the fun times and laughs with the team. Probably my most memorable moment was rowing on the 9-11pm shift, on glassy sea, watching the blood red sun set off our bow and then staring up at the sky littered with stars with the odd shooting star. There were not many places in the world that were as tranquil and peaceful as the Celtic Sea that night.

There weren’t many bad experiences but if I had to choose it would be breakfast! There wasn’t one day I could stomach a full breakfast ration pack due to the sweetness of the muesli so I often settled for something from the snack bag. I also found it quite difficult to judge distance in the dark. It can be quite disorientating with lights from other boats and from the land so judging distance could be a challenge. Luckily there are lots of navigational aids out there to help.

Of course, the hardest experience was rowing while the storm, which ultimately resulted in our rescue, got worse and the winds became stronger and waves ever higher. My ultimate concern as the weather worsened was for the safety of the crew and with the ever growing realisation that we were not going to make our intended anchorage with worse weather conditions to come, and drifting towards a TSS, the only decision remaining was to call for the RNLI rescue. Not a decision taken lightly but absolutely the right decision.

One of the most frustrating times came after we rounded Land’s End. It was the summer solstice and a beautiful sunset as we passed around Land’s End but as we turned to head north, we were met by a stronger northly wind than we had expected. By this point we’d been rowing continuously for 3 days and were beginning to feel somewhat fatigued. We rowed through the night, but our speed slowed considerably until we were unable to make any forward progress. The wind, coupled with a change in the tide, meant we were also being taken towards a Traffic Separation Scheme. It was clear the lack of progress, fatigue, high tension levels were making this night the hardest yet, mentally, and physically. Thankfully, the sun did come up and so did our speed and spirits!

The happiest time was rowing towards Land’s End, in the warm sunshine and Lia had handed us out a surprise from Odd Balls, one of our sponsors. We all put our new funky sports bras and pants on, donned our colourful summer hats and sang and danced while we rowed!

3) What experience or qualifications did you have before undertaking GB Row Challenge?

I have been coastal rowing for 10 years and had a small amount of dinghy sailing experience but I’d never done anything like this before. All the qualifications needed for GB Row I’ve learnt over the 18 months leading up to the race.

4) The collection of scientific data is an instrumental part of GB Row Challenge, did you find this a hinderance or was it motivating.

Without doubt a motivation. It didn’t take too much to work it into our daily routine. Lia was mainly responsible for collecting the samples for the eDNA and Steph for the microplastics, but we all chipped in at times. To be part of the ground breaking research, and not only that but to be able to collect the first round of samples, was a real privilege. As we all know, climate change is affecting all of us and our oceans. Helping to mitigate these effects is something our crew all held close to our hearts and so being able to collect samples certainly spurred us on.

5) How hard is GB Row Challenge? Is it really the World’s Toughest Rowing Challenge.

I’ve never taken part in any other ocean rowing events but regardless, this goes down in my book as the hardest one. With little to no ocean sea experience we spent 18 months preparing for this row, nothing can fully prepare you for the race. Unfortunately, our sixth member of the team had to withdraw a month or so before the race started. We weren’t able to find a replacement to fill the spot, so we went as a five. This meant we either had two or three people on the oars and made shift patterns more difficult. Fatigue also played a big factor. Getting used to the two hours on two hours off shift pattern was quite a challenge. Some of the team were able to manage this better than others while Steph and I had the additional challenge of making sure our navigation was done during our 2 hour off periods, further reducing our sleep time.

Managing team expectations with adverse weather conditions approaching wasn’t easy either. Understanding that it’s better to wait out bad weather and take shelter early, was quite frustrating for those members of the team eager to plough on!

The early morning shifts, 3-5am and 5-7am. These were killers for us! You’d often find at least one of us on the oars would be failing miserably to keep our eyes open. We’d still be going through the motion of rowing, but our blades might not be in the water, or we’d be talking absolute rubbish, or hallucinating but we’d still be out there doing our shift!

At the end of the day, we knew this wouldn’t be an easy race, but we loved the challenge!

6) What surprised you? What is the most important thing you have learned?

What surprised me the most was just how tough this race actually is. It’s one thing doing the practice rows but doing the actual race is a totally different experience. Teamwork and communication are by far the most important aspects to get you round this race. Living on a 10 meter boat is never going to be easy but can be made so much smoother by working well together, understanding each other, having mutual respect for each other and supporting each other through the ups and downs.

7) What would you do differently if you were to do the Challenge again?

We did a lot of physical fitness prior to setting off and were all quite fit to begin with which certainly helped. We also had our psychological and leadership coach who worked with us for the 12 months leading up to the race.

If I were to do this again, I’d look more closely at rations. We went for variety and had so many different options of meals. Whilst this sounds fantastic it was hard to source food that each rower would eat. Also, taste buds change when you’re out on the water and many of us really struggled to eat the breakfasts. I’d say choose three to four basic meals that everyone will eat and just stick to those. Don’t try and make the meals fancy. You can take extra, more enjoyable treats in your snack packs.

I’d also look at the packing of the boat in more detail and make sure food packages are parcelled up more simply, I.e. breakfasts in one hatch, lunch in another and dinner in another all in bundles with the number to represent the number of crew, eg. 5 for our crew. Ensure the food is distributed equally across the hatches to prevent the boat becoming unbalanced as you eat through the food.

As a crew, we were all new to the world of being out on the open ocean. We’d completed all the necessary training and hours and had done some additional sailing during the preparation. Although we had fantastic support and help from the GB land navigation crew, I would highly recommend having someone in the crew who has more sea fairing experience, both with respect for weather and navigation. Not to say we wouldn’t have completed the race with the training we had but just that it would have been very helpful!

8) What advice would you give to future crews

Ensure the team respect each other and share a common goal. That might sound obvious but if, for example, you have one person who wants to get round safely and another who wants to get round as fast as possible you might find you have different approaches and not see eye to eye.

Passage plan and ensure you know how much/little communication and input you will have from the land team. This helps both parties.

Take enough food to allow for unexpected events that might mean you’re at sea a lot longer than anticipated.

Respect the skipper’s decision. Of course, have your input and team discussions, but at the end of the day someone must make the final decisions.

Always make your shift on time. Have a routine so you know where all your kit is and how long it takes to put everything on so you’re ready for each shift with a smile on your face. Even when you’re feeling your most tired.

We had a ‘no whinging’ rule!

Look out for your teammates. A buddy system could be helpful. Pairing up so you can have someone to check in with you, to laugh with you and recognise when you may need a bit of extra help and support.

Ultimately have fun and enjoy it! It’s not every day you get to do something like this!

9) What are you missing most now back? What did you miss most when on the water?

The things I miss the most now I’m back is the freedom of being out on the water. The simplicity of life. The feeling of being out there knowing you are raising money for worthy environmental causes as well as collecting valuable date for Portsmouth Uni. Seeing the stars, the dolphins and seals, the challenge of balancing navigation, rowing, sleeping, eating and trying to keep the boat moving, and of course the fun times we had as a team.

There wasn’t a huge amount I missed when out on the water. I suppose a shower would be the main thing and clean clothes.

10) What insights or learnings have you gained from the row that you will take back to your normal life?

I’ve learnt a lot about leadership during my time as skipper. As well as learning how to deal with failure. I’ve also learnt practical skills like how to build a website.

Fundraising and gaining sponsors proved quite challenging but try and make the most of any connections you may have.

11) Would you recommend others to give GB Row Challenge a go and why?

Yes, absolutely. Although we didn’t get all the way round, the skills we learnt and experiences we had will last a lifetime. For anyone thinking of doing an ocean row this one will certainly test you to your

limits. The British coastline is stunning and the challenge of tidal currents, fast changing weather, rip tides and navigating hazards will rival any other ocean race out there. It may not be the longest ocean race but it’s certainly the most challenging.

One quote to inspire others?

Oliver Wendell Holmes

‘’What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us".