Barbados or Bust!

The Atlantic Rowing Race (ARR) will begin October 12, 1997, and will require an estimated 80 days of ocean rowing. The course will start in the Canary Islands (off the coast of Africa) and finish in Barbados, West Indies. The route has been selected to offer the best possible conditions, taking advatage of the southwesterly flowing current and northeast trade winds from the Canaris to South America.

"The Atlantic Rowing Race will be a supreme mental and physical challenge," says Blyth. "It will be the longest rowing race ever held, and it will require the teams to adapt to testing conditions that will push the human spirit to its limit."

Teams form around the world have entered, including France, Germany, Norway, America, New Zealand, Jersey, Guernsey, Ireland, and England.

The American Team: Of the 34 international crews entered in the 2,900-mile ARR, Victoria (Tori) Murden, 34, of Louisville, Ky., and Louise Graff, 33, of Charleston, S.C., are the only Americans. They are also one of only two all-women's teams entered.

Adventure is a way of life for Murden. She learned to row at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., and tried out for the 1992 Olympic team. She took up rowing to get in shape for mountaineering expeditions and has climbed on five continents. She's been invited to climb Mt. Everest three times (it's something she'd like to do, but the circumstances haven't been right yet).

In 1989, she and Shirley Metz were the first women and the first Americans to ski to the geographic South Pole. They were part of a nine-person, five-nation team that cross-country skied 750 miles across Antarctica to the Pole.

Murden has a masters in divinity from Harvard and a law degree from the University of Louisville, and she balances her backcountry adventures with what she calls "urban adventrues," such as directing a women's shelter and counseling inner city hospital patients. She is currently the project administrator for Empowerment Zone Initiatives, a program designed to revitalize Louisville's most distressed neighborhoods. "Working for city government and trying to make a difference in people's neighborhoods is a good challenge," says Murden. "It (alternating between urban and backcounrty adventrues) is like exercising different muscles, psychological cross-training if you will."

Murden officially entered the ARR last summer but didn't secure a partner until March. Her first partner had to bow out to run a business, and her second partner discovered she wasn't comfortable with the ocean. Murden then sought a hard core athlete to join her quest but was unable to find any world class rowers who could take the time off. She then decided to invite Graff, a high school friend with whom she's stayed in touch and who had paddled 2,000 miles down Alaska's Wukon River last summer.

"Louise isn't an 'eat-nails-for-breakfast' kind of athlete, but we've known each other for about 20 years," says Murden. "She has a really good head and has everything she needs to make it across the Atlantic. And she has expedition experience, which in this case is going to mean whole lot."

Graff is new to rowing but has been paddling about 10 years and calls herself an "aquaholic." Lockuily, she loves the thing she'll be doing 12 hours a day for two months straight. She bonded with the sport during on outing in a single. "...I felt some sort of synchronicity with the boat and water," Graff says of the experience. "It was incredible and gave me a lot of confidence."

Rowing across the Atlantic might actually be less hazardous than one of Graff's previous occupations. After graduating from Indiana's Earlham College with a degree in sociology/pyschology, she trained horses for two years in Camden, S.C., running the risk of being kicked or thrown. She has since moved to Charleston and into a safer line of work (cooking), and obtained a masters in secondary school counseling from The Citadel. Graff is a volunteer counselor at Camp Happy Days Special Times for children who have cancer.

Why??? "I have an insatiable lust for adventure," confesses Graff. "This is the ultimate physical and mental challenge."

When Murden heard about the ARR, she thought, "Now this is my speed; I could be really successful at this." The event also appealed to Murden's love of the outdoors. "When it comes to two moths out in the back country, that's what I like to be doing."

The Boat: To ensure that skill and courage, not equipment, determine the outcome of the race, each crew will row a boat of identical design. The boat is a 23'4" long, 6'3" wide double scull, weighing 3,000 pounds fully laden. It has a covered 6'4" stern that will provide a huddled sleeping accommodation and storage for 80 days of food and water. The craft is designed to be self-righting and largely self-draining.

The Americans' boat kit was to arrive in Louisville in the form of sheets of marine plywood to be assembled by Murden and a local boat builder. The completed craft will be christened "American Pearl."

Race Strategy: Murden writes: "Our goal is to make the crossing in 63 days. That's 48 miles a day. We figure we can cover one mile in 300 strokes. That's 14,400 stroke every day. We can row approximately 20 strokes a minute. This works out to be 720 minutes, or 12 hours a day, not counting breaks." Hell, butt blisters.

The plan calls for rowing around the clock with Murden and Graff alternating six-hour shifts. "We're not to out muscle these guys, so our only chance of winning is to row longer," explains Murden. "In the end, I think this race is going to boil down to heads more than bodies. The key is to develop really good communication skills and learning where each other's buttons are. There's no room for anything but determination and heart in the boat."

The Will to Win: To bolster their heart and determination, Murden and Graff are attending mental training sessions with Steve Haliday who works with University of Louisville athletes and whom Murden credits with getting the women to aspire to winning rather than just finishing. "He's helping us work on our strengths and deal with our weaknesses," says Graff, who has already found power in a simple phrase Haliday suggested: "I'm getting stronger with each stroke."

From her extensive expeditions, Murden knows the value of having a mental life raft on board. "I imagine there'll be one or two days when we feel like we're inside a washing machine. I can't think of any trip when I didn't have that day or that moment when I thought, "What am I doinghere?"

"It's different every trip. I think of a friend or some reason I'm there, or something happens that makes it all worthwhile, like breaking out above the clouds and having this grand carpet of cloud and mountain at your feet. It's just magical, and you know why you're there."

While these psychological provisions won't add any weight to the cargo, the tapes and personal stereos Murden and Graff plan to pack will. The women figure the inspiration and boredom relief gained from the cassettes will be well worth hauling a few additional ounces across the Atlantic. "Tori's put me in charge of music," says Graff, "so it's going to range from opera, to alternative, to Books on Tape."

Training: Graff is erging 6,000 meters a day as well as swimming and lifting weights. Murden's routine consists of 10,000-meter erg pieces, weight lifting and a few miles a day in a single from which she coaches the Louisville Collegiate High School rowing team.

Food: "The crossing has taken other rowers an average of 80 days. We will carry food for 12 weeks. We plan on consuming 6,000 calories a day." Bring on the chocolate. "This works out to be 2 punds of food per person per day, for 84 days, plus packaging. The food will weigh approximately 200 pounds. This is the only part of the equipment that becomes lighter as we go along."

Navigation: "Three global positiong systems, GPS, unit #1, GPS, unit #2, GPS, tie breaking unit should keep us on track. The last and desperate measure will be for us to depend on Tori's sextant." I think I remember how to work it.

Clothing: "We will take as little as possible." Fashion princesses don't row across oceans. "Rule of thumb: one to wear; on eto dry out."

Bathroom: "Everyone wants to know. The system is 'bucket and chuck it.'" There's no room for a powder room. So, get over it.

Staying in Touch: "Radio and the occasional computer up-link via satellite will be our link to civilization. Our power is likely to be limited to solar panels and a 12 volt battery." This nixes the cappuccino machine."

Cooking: "A one burner gas stove with spare parts with a back-up stove stored with the emergency gear constitute the kitcher." Julia Child beware the one-burner gourmet.

Water Water Everywhere and Not One Drop to Drink: "One main desalinator, one smaller back-up unit and a full water tank at the starting line will supply our needs." Did I fill it? I thought YOU were going to fill it.

S.O.S.: "On deck we will store our life-raft and the 'abandon ship bag'. In the event of capsize, the boats are designed to be self righting. Two support vessels will monitor the rowing fleet as we progress toward Barbados and may intercede in the event of an emergency."

People Pay Money to do This? The boat kit and entry fee alone total nearly $20,000. Other expenses will include transportation for the crew and the boat, which will have to be shipped to the Canary Islands and then back to the United States from Barbados. "Neither of us is well-heeled," says Murden, "so we'll be depending on the kindness of strangers."

Murden and Graff will donate 51% of all the initial money raised to the United Way if they can find sponsors the cover the expedition expenses through either cash or in-kind contributions.

Graff will donate money raised in Charleston to Happy Days Special Times.

If you would like to support Murden's and Graff's exdeavor, contact Kathy Steward (502) 585-4649. To make a cash donation, make your check payable to Community Foundation of Louisville, American Pearl Account, and mail it to The Community Foundation of Louisville, 325 W. Main St., Suite 1110, Louisville, KY 40202.

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