The Crossing
Conquering the Atlantic in the World’s Toughest Rowing Race
Published in 2006
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- Buy from paperback Amazon.co.uk
When James Cracknell and Ben Fogle decided to compete in the Atlantic Rowing Race, they thought they knew what awaited them: nearly three thousand miles of empty ocean, stormy weather and colossal physical stress. But as the security of dry land became a distant memory, the full enormity of what they had committed themselves to became apparent: they were surrounded by ocean on all sides, hundreds of miles from home, trapped together in a tiny space for every waking moment. Winning the race was clearly going to be the least of their worries…
“Inevitably, there are dangers. The biggest risk however is ourselves… What is going to happen out there? I can’t wait to find out.”
- James Cracknell, 26 November 2005
“We’ve enjoyed it, but we won’t be doing that again.”
- Ben Fogle, 20 January 2006
Forty-nine days later Cracknell and Fogle were the first pair of rowers to cross the finishing line. They had pushed themselves physically, psychologically and emotionally to the limit. They survived without water rations, lost the few clothes they had, capsized, hallucinated, wept, fought, played games, grown beards, nursed blisters and rowed a staggering 2,930 miles.
The Crossing is the extraordinarily honest account of James and Ben’s epic race. From cooking in a force eight gale and rubbing cream into one another’s blisters to swimming with whales and believing your partner has drowned.
“An incredible test of physical and mental endurance.”
- Daily Mail
“The world’s foremost naked transatlantic rowers…The pair have crossed the Atlantic using nothing but the power of their own arms in a boat built from a flat-pack, enduring terrible weather, erratic water supplies and a life-threatening capsize just days from the finishing line.”
- Daily Telegraph