In June 2018, four brave men will start a row across the Indian Ocean from Western Australia, 3600 nautical miles, to Port Louis in Mauritius. Seventy-two days in a twenty-nine-foot-long rowing boat, on what will be an endless cycle of two hours rowing, two hours sleeping, day and night. The men will face extreme dangers such as sharks, whales, tankers, storms and possibly even pirates; all to raise awareness about Parkinson’s disease and investigate how the condition is affected by intense exercise.
It all sounds immensely dauting but none of the team have done anything like this on such a huge scale. In fact, one of the crew members is just a normal local person, my Uncle Robin, who has Parkinson’s disease and who has only actually rowed a couple of times before… I was lucky enough to interview him and find out more about the project.
Robin discovered he was suffering from Parkinson’s disease in his forties. Parkinson's disease is a condition in which parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years. The three main symptoms of Parkinson's disease are involuntary shaking of parts of the body, slow movement and stiff and inflexible muscles; all of which would surely make rowing a huge challenge?
In 2016, when Robin first heard about this “adventure of a lifetime” advertised for someone with early onset Parkinson’s, he was intrigued and eventually “plucked up the courage to reply”. Once Robin discovered the enormity of the challenge he was unsure. He told me “I didn’t know whether it was something I really wanted to do as I didn’t think it would be anything like this. But after a lot of thinking I decided if not now, then when and why not”.
To prepare for this very physically demanding trip Robin has had to embark upon a major training schedule. He said, “I have had to get an awful lot fitter and start rowing, which sounds obvious but previous rowing has been on the river and not much, I have a rowing machine, which I use up to an hour an everyday”. Not only has Robin had to learn to row but also increase his size and stamina by “moving dumbbells around to increase my upper body strength”
This task will be both physically challenging and mentally testing even before the row begins. Robin is feeling “mixed emotions, with a lot of trepidation. There is no doubt it will test me hugely. I really hope I can do it, I hope it doesn’t kill me!” Robin realises that this challenge will “highlight my difficulties” just thinking about the extreme dangers the rowers might face reminds Robin that “there will be many moments when it will be extremely scary”.
If you would like to find out more information about the row or to donate please visit:
http:/www.rowtheindianocean.com/
By Lily Buttery, Farringtons School
