Bahain is off to row an ocean

Bahain, 26, a two-time Olympian with a bronze medal from Beijing 2008, says he needed to find a new challenge and a unique experience following the London Olympic Games. Blue-water rowing provided the answer.

Bahain has recently set off to row across the Atlantic Ocean with Patrick Favre. But Bahain and Favre will not be content just to complete the 2,500 nautical mile journey – they want to set a new course record for a double. The duo departed from Tarfaya, Morocco on 8 January  2013 heading for the Caribbean Islands and will have reach their target in less than 40 days to successfully break the record.

Favre is a very experienced ocean rower. He has completed two Atlantic crossings solo and finished one with a crew. Favre has also sailed the Atlantic three times.

The duo arrived at Tarfaya in late December but had to wait until 8 January to start due to weather conditions.

The current record for two rowers is held by Jamie Fitzgerald and Kevin Biggar (New Zealand) with a time of 40 days, five hours and 53 minutes. It was set in 2003 during the Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race.

To break this record Bahain and Favre will have to row at least 62 nautical miles per day (115km). They have calculated that they will be doing about 21,600 oar strokes daily.  They have also estimated that each of them will sleep about 5.5 hours per 24 hours as they row in shifts.
The fastest French pair to cross the Atlantic was Jo Le Guen and Pascal Blond who completed it in 49 days back in 1997.

Also about to embark on an Atlantic crossing is 2006 under-23 World Champion Paul Gerritsen of New Zealand. Gerritsen is a last-minute inclusion in a six-person team attempting to break the record for crossing the Atlantic Ocean in less than 30 days. The current record is 32 days. The crew is organised by Great Britain’s Simon Chalk and is currently waiting for good weather to start from Puerto Mogan, Gran Canaria.