How a Barry man rowed the Atlantic!
The Probus Club of Penarth held its monthly meeting on Tuesday 21st June. The speaker was John Haskell and his subject was Rowing the Atlantic – Again.
A former Barry Boys’ Comprehensive School pupil, John became a firefighter in Barry. After a career spanning 23 years, he retired from the fire service with a diagnosis of PTSD. This prompted him to take up the gruelling challenge of ocean rowing as a way of raising awareness of mental health issues.
Preparation for his first Atlantic row took two years and he was joined by his close friend Jamie Windsor. John had to bulk up to 18st as it is normal to lose 25% of your body mass during this type of challenge, even when consuming 8,000-calories a day by eating rehydrated food – and flapjacks provided by Marco’s.
In 2012, John and Jamie entered the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge race along with 17 other boats, using the name Atlantic Dash. They came a very creditable fourth having spent 45 days 22 hrs and 19 minutes at sea, rowing 2,615 nautical miles. They raised more than £100,000 for four charities: Firefighters Charity, Breast Cancer Care, Help for Heroes and the WRVS.
During the crossing, John survived a near-capsize, a knee-injury after waves smashed an oar, sleep deprivation, broken cooking equipment, searing heat, horrific boils, agonising blisters and extreme weight loss. To ensure the boat did not drift at least one crew member had to be rowing at any given time, normally rowing in two-hour shift patterns for the entire journey.
This rowing pattern, coupled with the heat and the relentless waves, proved to be exhausting. John explained how he had hallucinations at night because of sleep deprivation. He remembered chatting to an imaginary elderly woman cycling next to the boat. He also had been seeing Scottie dogs on the waves and – snakes!
John reflected: “If there is one enduring memory it is the pain, the relentlessness of it, and the massive waves. The night skies were also something to behold. It was all worth it. It’s usual to come upon pods of dolphins and whales which provided a welcome distraction from the constant pain of rowing.
“Wildlife such as sharks weren’t always a pleasant sight, but other underwater creatures provide a once in a lifetime moment”. John explained how on one occasion he put on a dive mask and jumped into the water to video a whale coming past. John said “As a natural experience in my life, I will never beat it”
John’s second rowing challenge was to cross the Indian Ocean in 2020, from mainland Australia to mainland Africa with team members Rachel Hearn and Billy Taylor. Unfortunately, Covid intervened and the trip was cancelled. This led to an attempt to row the Atlantic Ocean, with the same team, setting off from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands and rowing to Antigua, to raise awareness of mental health.
However, the conditions were so bad during the crossing – they had to battle against Force 8 to 9 storms – one crew member became so seriously ill with dehydration, due to sea sickness, the attempt was curtailed so the crew member could receive medical attention.
John has a second opportunity to row the Indian ocean in 2024 as part of a four-boat crew ‘Monkey First Adventure Team’, in aid of the European Parkinson’s Disease Association. In preparation for this crossing John will undertake a solo row of the Atlantic which he hopes to complete in 2023.
At the end of the presentation, David Wiltshire gave a well-deserved vote of thanks to John on behalf of all the members present.
There will not be a members’ meeting in July as the club will be holding its annual summer luncheon at the Plymouth Rooms in Penarth on Tuesday, 19th July.
The next members’ meeting will be on Tuesday, 16th August, when Andy Reid will give a talk on the History of the Police.
New members are always welcome to join the club. It is open to both retired and semi-retired men of any age. The meetings are normally held every third Tuesday of the month at the Sports and Social Club, South Road, Sully. The Club meets at 10am for a 10.30am start with guest speakers on varied topics of interest. Light refreshments are provided and meetings finish before 12 noon. There are also occasional visits to places of interest and special lunches at various times of the year.
Anyone interested in joining Probus should contact David Wiltshire by email on
JL
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