#RowTheAtlantic

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Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge - The World's Toughest Rowing Race by North One Television

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Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. Merrily merrily merrily, life is but a dream.

La Gomera is nearly as far west as you can go in Europe before you get to America. There is a rock or two more which are part of the Canaries between here and the New World but we are not on those, we are on La Gomera.  Look for it on the map. You're not looking south enough.

In the UK it is cold and wet as winter sets in. it is the same time zone as London but in La Gomera it is time to buy more sun cream and more mosquito repellent. It's also humid. Scorchio!

Our days are all about the weather. Small islands are all about the weather. It is hard wired into their psyche. It is raining, it is sunny, it is windy, and sometimes it is all three. These places exist because of the trade routes, because of the weather, because of our understanding of the climate.

Christopher Columbus set off from La Gomera in 1492, to sail the ocean blue. He knew about the weather, “He sailed through sunshine wind and rain.”

We are watching the weather, we want to know what the weather will be on Monday 2nd December.

It looks fine here on the island, but it looks bad out at sea. A big depression awaits anyone leaving here hoping to head west. A depression big enough to blow anybody back to Africa.

That would be bad.

There are 15 boats at different stages of preparedness in the harbour. Their owners are grateful that this little island is as near to the other side of the Atlantic as you can get. They are prepping the boats for an Atlantic crossing. Some are ready and out on the water testing and getting their pre race hours in before the guns go boom and they set off into the deep blue yonder.

Some are waiting for their boats to clear customs.

Some of the boats have crews of four, some three, some are a pair and others are flying solo. They are all rowing their way across the pond.

Rowing.

Getting here to La Gomera is the first stage of their long arduous task. Fifteen have made it here to the start line. There were over 20 who had hoped to arrive. Money, fitness and possibly self-doubt have prevented some from making the start line.

We are here to make a documentary of the plucky endeavours of those who made it.

The director is also going to make the crossing. His boat "Miss Tick" arrived last night. He got to meet his Captain too and they got on well. This is good.

There are many plans you can make when you attempt to film an event of this scale but the one thing you can’t write for these programmes is the script. We have three main bits of filming, a big set piece at the start, multiple cameras, helicopter and on boards on every boat; we have a big set piece at the end as they stagger onto terra firma in 40 odd days time in the Caribbean and then there's the filming of the bit in-between.

This is the bit the director has no control of, the bit where he is at the mercy of the fleet. The support vehicle (a yacht) will only go where it is needed. Where there is trouble. Where the story is. That is why he is making the crossing. A big tick in the 50 things to do box.

All of the boats are fully teched up. Some have all singing and dancing live feeds but all have cameras. They are in charge of their story.

The teams are very receptive to the idea of filming and keen to help. But their thoughts right now are with the weather and the water and their boats.

These boats will be their homes for the next few months, a rabbit hutch at each end with a living room out in the open dominated by rowing seats. This is the business bit of the boat, the engine room.

The boats seem powered by ration packs and water makers, as these are the means of creating calories, and calories mean oar strokes. Each oar stroke is a step forward to the Americas. 40 days, 40 nights of rowing non stop, in shift patterns, 3 hours on, 4 hours on, 2 hours on. 40 days for the fastest, weather permitting. Could be 90 for the back of the fleet.

Filming is our job at the moment not theirs. The boats have to be scrutineered and safety checked. They have to be filled with GPS trackers, Satellite phones, back up trackers. They have to be branded with logos from Sponsors and charitable causes.

There are “Ergs” everywhere, rowing machines which seem to taunt the competitors that although they are on dry land still and have access to luxuries like fresh water, food and shelter, they can still row.

It is all about the oar strokes.

The families of the rowers arrive on the island to spend the last days on dry land together. But as the departure of the boats looms near, the tension shifts. Night training starts and the teams get their mandatory hours on the water logged by the safety team. The bars are less busy each night. Soon the night sky will not provide any respite from rowing; soon it will be nothing more than a click on the calendar westwards, another shift, another watch. No hotel beds, no toilets, no showers.

There is only so much preparation you can film pre race, but the people provide a story for you. The story of this race is the story of these faces.

Some of the expressions say that they are ready to go now, some are hoping for a delay in the start, some just want the decision to be made for them.

They may get their wish. We are not taking bets on a Monday start. We are watching the weather, “out on the ocean blue.”

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TALISKER WHISKY ATLANTIC CHALLENGE - RACE HIGHLIGHTS BY NORTH ONE TELEVISION

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Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge - The Battle for the Pairs by North One Television

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Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge - Over the sea to Skye by North One Television