Yorkshire amateur rower trains for 3,000-mile Atlantic Challenge off the coast of Hartlepool
An adventurer getting ready to take part in rowing’s ultimate endurance race has chosen Hartlepool to prepare for the challenge.
Jake Still is due to row around 3,000 miles single-handed across the Atlantic this December in The Atlantic Challenge, also known as the World's Toughest Row.
He will be alone at sea for over a month, facing up to waves up to 20ft high, the risk of marlin strikes, sleep deprivation and relentless physical strain.
To prepare for the mammoth solo challenge, 26-year-old Jake, from Yorkshire, has spent over 300 hours training in the North Sea off the Hartlepool coast.
He said: “I haven’t done anything like this before and have no real seafaring experience.
"However, I signed up because this sort of challenge is up my street.”
Jake has thrown himself into ever more challenging experiences since his boy scout days and is a Duke Of Edinburgh gold award recipient.
Several years ago he also trekked to Mount Everest Base Camp.
Jake, a member of Bradford Amateur Rowing Club, added: “I wanted to find an expedition after university.
"I am someone who likes to improve myself and enjoys working towards a goal. Once I set my mind on something, I have absolute focuse on achieving that objective.
“I hope this Atlantic Challenge becomes the starting point of something bigger.”
He will join around 30 crews in the gruelling Atlantic race which starts from San Sebastian in the Canary Islands’ La Gomera, and finishes at Nelson's Dockyard in Antigua.
Jake is using the experience to support of the Rivers Trust having seen the impact of pollution on the nation’s waterways.
From last July, he and members of other Atlantic Challenge teams have been travelling to Hartlepool Marina to train at sea.
He added: “It’s a good place. You can get out to the open sea quite easily, the tide is not too strong and it isn’t a very busy shipping lane.”
To experience conditions further, Jake often creates art on his GPS tracker out of his rowing including Homer Simpson, Darth Vader and a Blue Marlin. Each take him up to 14 hours to complete.
"It’s good for experiencing the waves and wind in all directions that you wouldn’t normally do just rowing up and down the coast.”
Follow Jake’s journey at www.airewave.co.uk