Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
WE ALL BECOME a bit disillusioned with our situation at some point in our lives – get sick of the same routine, feel stuck in a rut, and go on a hunt for adventure.
But very few of us would react to that feeling the way Thomas Browne would – to pick up two oars and join a team of experienced rowers on a trip across the Atlantic.
Ahead of their plan to set sail on 12 December, Thomas told TheJournal.ie that this was something he really felt he had to do.
“I was caught in this rut where I was seeing the same people on the same bus, doing the same thing everyday. I love what I do but I did miss being scared, if that makes sense. I needed to do something that I’ve never done before.”
He got it into his head that he wanted to row across the Atlantic, and a mutual friend put him in touch with three doctors from Cork, who were already planning to undertake the journey.
Junior doctors Seán Underwood and Patrick O’Connor, podiatrist Eoin O’Farrell aim to raise at least €20,000 for Cork University Hospital’s children’s unit. But they had some experience at it, while Thomas had none.
“I literally came in from scratch, I knew absolutely nothing about rowing.”
The 5,500km journey in the 28-ft ocean rowing boat will involve no outside assistance, and they’re aiming to finish the journey in 35 days to beat the world record (but it will probably take 60 days).
He says he came into it fairly “Bambi-eyed” and had some catching up to do.
“I kind of thought rowing was just putting the oar in the water but there’s a lot of technique to it.”
During during the week he does weights, goes for a swim, and does cardio training in the evening, but he says the mental aspect will be the toughest part.
We did a 24-hour practice row at the weekend where we went to Kinsale and back. You realise it by doing these 24/48-hour rows, the lack of sleep and doing the same thing over and over again, you start hallucinating.
There are two hulls you can lie down to sleep in. When the sea is rough you strap strap yourself in, and claustrophobia starts setting in. You can’t see anything for miles and miles and miles.
When you’re 27 years old and fit and active, you feel invincible, but during these rows it really hits home that humans aren’t made to be on the water, and shows how vulnerable we are.
He said that being out at sea by yourself and feeling a bit lost seemed like a good metaphor for depression, which he had suffered before. That’s why Thomas wants to raise awareness of Pieta House through his journey.
Sean Underwood acknowledged the momentous task that they were about to embark upon:
“Fewer people have crossed the Atlantic than have climbed Everest, so we’re well aware of the challenge we’re undertaking, but quite simply, we believe that you only get one shot at life, everybody dies but not everybody lives.
In the hospitals we work in, we are faced almost daily with the fragility of the human condition.
“If we can make a difference to just one child in the CUH Children’s Unit by competing in this race, then it will all have been worth it.”
The “Relentless Rowers” as they’re called, are urging businesses to support their journey with a sponsor package. Enquiries can be made to sclunderwood@gmail.com. You can also follow their journey at www.relentless.ie or on their social media.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Closing my account next week :) Received a letter saying they were closing my cashsave account leaving me with only my current. I need both. With the charges etc coming in it gives me great pride to close my account after 17 years and say “F*ck you AIB” :)
There’s apparently a flood of peeps closing their accounts… what gobdaw (or committee) thought this was a good strategy? Probably the same shmuck who thought up the campaign about how Ann Glynn had cracked it all those years ago!
Really??? Good! I don’t think any thought is going into these decisions at all. The banks are not being run like a business anymore. They have adopted the same attitude of “F*ck’em we are the best, we dont need anything crazy like a good service etc” its all falling around them now.
My rule of thumb is anytime I hear Hobbs speak I turn the tv or radio off.
Denmark winds up two banks. Burns the bondholders and the markets love them.
What kind of morons do we have running this country and who the f*ck is advising them?
Unfortunately finna fail decided to turn banking debt into sovereign debt, we can’t do what denmark did without defaulting on our national debt meaning no return to the markets for a long time. God I hate Bertie and the 2 Brians soo bad.
Perhaps Noonan might address where the money given to the banks (more widely) has gone, because it hasn’t been used to get lending going/ write-off customer debts… I heard Eddie Hobbs claim (on Pat Kenny’s radio show last week) that banks have put huge volumes of cash on deposit with the ECB where higher interest can be earned… that wasn’t what the bailout was for, was it? Can anyone shed more light on Hobbs’s claim?
The money is required to pay for Greek feta for baldy Noonan!
Just accept that the money is GONE and when it’s GONE, it’s GONE!!
Amazing that after 4 years of public interest, the banks asset quality and transparency cannot be assured or even quantified. How many millions wasted on consultants, nama etc and still noone really knows how much of a mess is in there.
“No body wants to buy it at present ”
The foresight of this man is astounding he’ll be up for Nobel prize for economics if he keeps this brilliance up
One half of the chuckle brothers at play
Totally agree with you John! Noonan is only interested in collecting as much cash as possible! No long term thinking is going on here! The bastards in government think that if they keep Europe sweet, nothing else matters! They don’t give a shit about people’s living standards! As long as it doesn’t affect the elite! We the common people are only a necessary evil in their eyes. We supposedly own AIB, but you would never know by the way they’ve been allowed to do as they like. Do Noonan and his cronies think that there’s no limit as to what we are prepared to tolerate? It’s disgusting to hear them beg for a yes vote! Oh how I wish enough of us would vote no on Thursday. Can’t pretend I know for sure what would happen to Ireland if this were to happen, but I know that the common people can’t possibly be any worse off! As for being starved of funding, if what our so called leaders are telling us is true, then our only option would be a complete default! I really don’t think our European friends would accept that scenario! As far as I can see, a no vote would almost certainly force Fine Gael/ Labour out of office! I mean how could they possibly continue after all the effort put into getting the people to vote yes?
The recent sunshine has addled his bald head! Well, addled it more than it was!
How many kilos of feta would buy AIB, Mr Noonan?
Bank of Ireland debt is still guaranteed by the taxpayer. That was a condition for private investment.
As far as I know AIB and BOI bought a lot of Irish bonds at a cut rate to make a profit ,,,,with Irish tax payers cash !
have your say