It is time to get the oars excited. The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge 2022 is just one month away. On 12th December 2022, this year’s fleet consisting of 43 boats and 147 athletes, start their journey 3000 miles across the Atlantic!
Every year, the teams start in La Gomera, end in Antigua, and are expected to complete between 30 and 80 days. The duration of the most formidable rowing challenge in 2022 depends on currents, the weather, and the crew sizes. As expected, teams of four or five are usually the fastest.
- Follow the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge 2022
- Final Preparations of the Teams
- Implications for Team Not Today
Follow the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge 2022
The teams can be followed in our live ticker. There you find a link to the race tracker provided by YB Tracking. Another starting point is following the official social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube). As well, each team has its homepage and social media channels. Listing them would be rather tedious, but you can find the information on the race entrants’ website. But the best solution is to follow us and subscribe to our newsletter, as we will provide you with the most important news, and we will be around one more year 🙂 All information on how to do that can be found on our support us page.
Final Preparations of the Teams
Currently, the teams ship their boats to La Gomera, and the preparation heads into the final phase. Before the start, the teams will make final adjustments as well as a final check of their inventories. Aside from food, the mandatory items list contains hundreds of safety-related pieces. In addition, teams bring their individual “feel good” items. They are constantly balancing comfort with speed. A heavy boat is a slow boat.
After arrival in Antigua, the race directors will brief the teams extensively, and Atlantic Campaigns will double-check the equipment.
The grab bag is a stellar example of the tedious process of getting the equipment on point. Its contents include everything necessary in case of a significant incident. Technically, you could survive until help arises. At least when there is a dry floating device left. For a crew of two, this bag contains around 132 items. And the following image is an excerpt of roughly half a page of the 21-page-long mandatory equipment document.
In addition, mental and physical preparation starts. The contestants are getting ready to battle sleep and the storms by getting into their respective shift systems. Each team has set its own schedule from two to four-hour shifts.
Fun Fact: One of the most important things is to log into Spotify right before the start as it only allows you to listen to it offline for 28 days.
Implications for Team Not Today
We, as Team Not Today, follow the same procedure next year. Hence, we will follow this year’s teams closely. Each year the teams innovate and change the status quo while learning from the past. Pressing questions are: Which kind of seating do they use? How long are their shifts, or which color is the toilet bucket?
Apart from following the preparations, we are excited to see the toughest rowing challenge in 2022 start as it marks the 365-day countdown. Only thirteen months left until we can embark on the Atlantic Challenge 2023 and raise funds and awareness for children’s education.
And we need your support. Read through this page or consider donating right away.
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