After 55 days at sea, the St Michael’s Rowing Club duo of Kevin O’Farrell and Rob Collins completed their epic journey across the Atlantic earlier this week.
Setting out from southern Portugal in early April in a small boat with a four-man crew alongside Dutch rowers Ralph Tujin and Somon van de Hoek, the Irish duo battled rough seas, technical issues and physical injuries to arrive in French Guiana 55 days later.
Using only their own strength and ocean currents, the crew worked two-hour shifts, day and night, for nearly two months. They had to take shelter in a tiny shack off the coast of Portugal when they hit a storm with a house-sized swell. Then they were almost run over by an oil tanker off the Canary Islands.
Bad luck struck them when they realized they had to repair their boat in the Cape Verde Islands because their navigational equipment had broken down. An unexpected challenge was to fight off a four-hour assault from a school of flying fish in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Rob Collins (left) and Kevin O’Farrell at sea in their four-person rowing boat
But it was worth it because on Monday May 30, they rowed up the Kourou River to reach their final destination, the small town of Kourou in French Guiana, where they were greeted with fireworks and a few good beers. deserved.
A very warm welcome awaits the “Salty Pair” of Robert and Kevin back in Dun Laoghaire, where the other members of St Michael will gather over a pint of their choice to hear their stories and be inspired by their adventures.
Robert and Kevin rowed across the Atlantic in aid of Muscular Dystrophy Ireland – inspired by Fionn, who lives with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
A voluntary organisation, Muscular Dystrophy Ireland supports children like Fionn and their families by providing a wide range of respite and support services throughout the year, advocating for their community and educating society about neuromuscular disease and helping researchers and clinicians conduct quality research into neuromuscular conditions.
Donations to Robert and Kevin’s fundraising effort can still be made through iDonate HERE.
