Solo Atlantic Rowing Adventure: Gael de Crevoisier’s Atlantic 4800 Project

I am Gael de Crevoisier, French frog living in Helsinki since 2019 and HSS member since 3 seasons. Later this year, in December, I will start rowing solo the Atlantic from La Gomera (Canarie Island) to Antigua (The Caribbean). You might already have spotted a strange dolphin shape rowing boat around Liuskasaari.

The rowing will be one facet of the project Atlantic 4800 (www.altantic4800.com), which has actually 3 main goals:

– the adventure: rowing solo the Atlantic. This will be done while participating to a race, the World Toughest Row (https://www.worldstoughestrow.com). It is an unsupported and unassisted journey, which is to the Ocean Rowers what is the Vendee Globe for sailors.

– the protection of the oceans: I will raise money for 2 projects aiming to protect the Oceans by getting a better knowledge of them: One Ocean of Alexis Rosenfeld/Unesco (https://www.fondation-1ocean.com/en/) and Polar Pod from Jean Louis Etienne  (https://www.polarpod.fr/en)

– Space exploration: I will be subject of some experiments to better understand human brain, sleep, metabolism, in case of long isolation exposed to the element. Somehow the rowing boat is the space station on Earth. 

Finland doesn’t have a long list of ocean rowers, but they are all great ones. In 2021, the pair 2 Rowing Finns, Markus Mustelin and Jolle  Blassar, won the Talisker Atlantic Race. Last year, Jari Saario just became a legend with his epic round trip on the Atlantic… until his next project Horn to Hope next year. They are all inspirational, but they each miss one thing, to be part of HSS!

From my side, I am not aiming to win the race nor to compete with Jari beard, I am just aiming to reach the other side of the pond while accomplishing one my old dream that I am carrying since I am 15. Stories from Gerard d’Aboville, Maud Fontenoy or Peggy Bouchet were all inspirational to the little me.

Before jumping on the rowing boat, I first cycled Europe and Asia for 3 years, crossing Himalaya, Gobi or the Siberian winter. I also tried to reach the stars, being subject of experiment for the European Space Agency and eventually failed on the latest stage of the 2022 Astronaut selection. It was now time to be at sea, and build the project Atlantic 4800, mixing all of my interests.

The project kicked off 18 months ago, starting with choosing the boat, passing the proper certifications and looking for sponsors. The latest is still ongoing, being truly the hardest part of the crossing! Thanks HSS to have come onboard without hesitation and supporting me since the beginning!

The dark Finnish winter was actually perfect to focus on physical training, rowing up to 8h a day on a rowing machine on the freezing balcony, the perfect way to build up my Sisu. I am now enjoying the summer nights to train extensively on water, around Helsinki and down to Tallin. Later in July, I will attempt to row to Stockholm and back, followed by a row from Gdansk in Poland to Helsinki to fully become one with my boat.

The boat is a D12 made by the Ocean Rowing Company, from Wasenaar in The Netherlands. She is state-of-the-art rowing boat, full carbon and weighing hardly 200kg – empty. She has a 7.3m waterline and a beam of 1.8m, for a draw of 25cm. She is a new build, derivative from the prototype Maria which made an historical crossing in 32 days in 2022, establishing a new pair world record. For solos, the world record is an astonishing 30 days (made by Mark Slats, the D12 boat builder), while the absolute record was made by a team of 4, in 29 days.

As a solo, my routine will be 3h rowing / 1h rest, with 4 hours sleep in the night. I will eat 5000cal/day minimum to insure I am enough fuelled to row through the waves. I will pull my oars roughly 1.5 million times, jump at sea every week to clean the boat, while fighting exhausting isolation and lack of sleep to row the 2600nm of the Atlantic.

Rowing solo the Atlantic is a love affair with the sea, the winds and the boat. More than strength and equipment, the mindset and ability to remain happily suffering on the oars after 40 days at sea is the secret to a successful crossing.

Sounds like something you want to try? To hesitate to pass by and come row with me. I’ll be around when not at sea.

Ahoj! Row must go on!

Thanks to my sponsors: HSS, Pelle P, Ursuit, Moonlight, FNZ

Follow the adventure: www.atlantic4800.com and on Instagram: @crevoise.atlantic4800

Help the project: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-gael-in-his-atlantic-crossing