Durham Lecturer Sets Atlantic Rowing Record
A Durham lecturer has set a new record for the quickest time to row across the Atlantic. Two other Durham alumni joined her in a six-person crew. 'Team Hallin' smashed the previous record by 20 hours and 14 minutes.
Naomi Hoogesteger, 29, who teaches Modern Languages was the only female on board the 31 day, 23 hour and 31 minute voyage, but she was treated as one of the boys.
It took just 3 days for the men to strip off to avoid blisters. One day later she was joining them.
“I had some big sores on my bum and just had to do it. My crew had stripped off the day before and were just getting on with it,” she said. This was just one of the many sacrifices made to become world record holders. “I’ve seen enough manly dangly bits to last me a life time,” she added.
Flying fish, 30ft waves and a Russian cargo ship were amongst the other hazards the crew had to negotiate, a far cry from the meandering River Wear.
But the most physically and emotionally demanding challenge was sleep deprivation.
The crew rowed around the clock in two teams of three. Each team had just two hours to eat, sleep and run repairs on the boat before another gruelling two-hour stint. The voyage cost each rower 2 stone.
Team Hallin took advantage of January’s trade winds and settled currents to make the 3,000-mile journey from Tenerife to Barbados.
But their boat was their secret weapon. The 40 foot long boat has a revolutionary tri-hull design that was built for both speed and stability - an important feature if they all wanted to keep dry.
For ex DUBC rower, Chris Covey, the journey provided plenty of time to consider his next challenge: how to pop the question to his girlfriend.
Fortunately it went as successfully as the voyage. Let’s hope his next journey is plain sailing.
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