Welcome to Ocean Adventure Racing Northwest. Rowing the North Atlantic was an incredible adventure, but that is not our last. OAR Northwest will row again. Until then I invite you to sate at least part of your adventure kick by following Jordan on his next trip. Please click on the link below to follow him as he bikes accross the Australian outback from Perth to Sydney.bikeperthtosydney Complete onboard logbook available with $20 donation 
This is the official logbook from both our training rows in the Puget Sound and our record breaking row from New York Harbor to Falmouth, Uk. This is the unedited daily account of our lives while rowing twenty-four hours a day. It includes storms, near misses from passing ships, and the raw emotion of daily life on the water. If you would like to find out more about our experiance than just the blog this is what you need. Below is an excerpt from day forty six. 2128 EDT 7/26/06 N 46°37.896’
W 25°28.128’ to go = 784
Press = 1019.1 hPa odo = 2597.07
cog = 085 sog = 2.3
heading = 085
wind = 5-8 kt NW
Waves = 3-4ft NW Dark night. Started rationing cheese today. Making
it so that now we rationing all food.
Greg is rowing again, go back on normal
shift schedule. It will be nice to get into that
pattern. Made a lot of miles last few days.
looking forwards to keeping it up. -Dylan Upcoming Events: **DOCUMENTARY NEWS --> View the first movie trailer at http://www.flyingspot.com/oarboys.html/ **OAR Northwest named "Volunteer of the Week" by American Lung Association national office** **INTERVIEW --> Hear Dylan's chat with "Groz with Gas" (950 KJR 12/20/06) on their Champions of the Game segment ~ Monday 10/16 -- Seattle proclaims "OAR Northwest Day" ... Click Here for Video (Real Player)
~ Tuesday 10/17 -- Pierce County proclaims "OAR Northwest Day"
~ Sunday 10/22 -- Seattle Seahawks honor OAR Northwest with pre- and mid-game events
~ Saturday 11/4 -- American Lung Association of Washington GALA - Jordan to speak of his father
~ Wednesday 11/8 -- Presentation at the Bellevue Harbor Club
~ Thursday 11/9 -- Evening Magazine -- OAR Northwest follow-up story (7pm, KING-5 Seattle)
~ Saturday 1/27 -- Presentation at the Bainbridge Health Expo (Bainbridge Island's Woodward Middle School) ------------------- OAR Northwest is a team of four young men engaged in the challenge of a lifetime. On June 10th, 2006, we started a cross-Atlantic rowing race against three British boats. The 2820-nautical-mile (3250-statute-mile) race began in New York harbor. It traverses the North Atlantic to the longitude of Bishop's Rock, part of the Isles of Scilly and the southwesternmost point in the UK. On August 18th, after 68.97 days, we won the race by crossing the finish line several hundred miles ahead of the other teams. We continued on unassisted to dock at Pendennis Port Marina, Falmouth, Cornwall in order to be the first to row unassisted from mainland US to mainland UK. Although one of the boats had to drop out on the first day, our boat, the James Robert Hanssen, and the remaining two teams from the U.K. continued to race against each other and against Samuelson and Harbo. In 1896, Samuelson and Harbo — as a publicity stunt in an uncovered rowboat — reportedly made the journey in 55.5 days. Many have tried to break that unbelievable 110-year-old rowing record and have failed. Other solo or two-man boats have made shorter crossings from Cape Cod to France in as little as 62 days. However, the only other boat with fewer than four rowers to complete a US-to-UK rowing comparable to the one claimed in 1896 was a Brit rowing solo last year ... that took more than 123 days. Also in 2005, Vopak Victory, a Dutch team became the first to complete a 4-man, US-to-UK rowing. Their impressive record is 60.7 days and remains unbeaten. When we crossed the finish line, we became the first Americans to ever complete a North Atlantic row and now hold the U.S. record. JRH rowed on to Falmouth and set 3 more records!Team James Robert Hanssen won the race
on Friday, August 18th, at 14:44GMT with a time of
68 days, 23 hours, 18 minutes which was 6 days, 18 hours, and 21 minutes ahead of the 2nd-place team. Status as of 8/20/06 11:48PM PDT: Team James Robert Hanssen docked at
Pendennis Port Marina in Falmouth, Cornwall, UK after having crossed the official
finish line at the longitude of Bishop's Rock 2 days, 4 hours, 4.5 minutes earlier. After some much-deserved R&R, the team will be
headed home with several records to their name (see below). For more details on their 2-month jouney, go to the Race Statistics page. The table breaks
the race into quarters based on race meridians and shows how much more difficult rowing
became as they got further east and encountered horrific headwinds, waves, and currents. By travelling that extra 80+ miles, JRH became the first to row from mainland USA to
mainland UK, the first Americans to row the Atlantic from west to east, and the first
American "Oceans Four Class" rowing team. Consequently, they also completed the longest
North Atlantic row based on a point-to-point distance of roughly 3,290 statute miles. Team JHR's actual path — counting all the side trips that Mother Nature granted
them — will be closer to 3,800 statute miles. By comparison, in 2002, Emmanuel
Coindre took 87.5 days to single-handedly row from Cape Cod to his native France (a mere
3,120 miles direct). However, Coindre's scenic route totaled an arduous 4,545 miles. 8/18/06 7:44AM PDT: Team James Robert Hanssen crossed the finish line marked
by the longitude of Bishop's Rock. They finished with an impressive 350-statute-mile
lead over the second-place Yorkshire Warrior and 640 miles ahead of Team Hesco. Jordan, Brad, Dylan, and Greg have now:
Accomplished something most people can only dream about.
Helped further the cause of the American Lung Association.
Become first American "Oceans Four Class" rowing team.
WON THE OCEANS FOUR 2006 RACE!
Become the first Americans to complete the longer US-UK North Atlantic rowing!Set the U.S.record for an Oceans Four race.Become the first to ever row all the way from mainland US to mainland UK.
Set the world record for rowing from mainland US to mainland UK.
Completed the longest-ever North Atlantic row (NY to Falmouth).
Race Map | Team Blog |
However the race ends, it's not the end of our journey. We will continue to raise funds for the American Lung Association. Donate Here Please donate to help OAR Northwest reach its goal of raising $300,000 for the American Lung Association of Washington by the time the team reaches Falmouth. Your support will help fund research to eradicate respiratory diseases like asthma and emphysema. Let’s all breathe a little easier!
| | Message from Jim Lyndon
Trans-Atlantic Crossing Coordinator for the Tourism Information Centre, Isles of Scilly, UK  "GREAT PROGRESS 'TEAM JRH'. PILOT BOAT/PRESS AND BBC TELEVISION ON STANDBY - WE CAN ESCORT YOU THROUGH THE ISLANDS ON ROUTE - GREAT INTEREST HERE. WELL DONE GUYS!"
Bishops Rock Lighthouse, Isles of Scilly, marks the finish line
for trans-Atltantic crossings. The boat in the foreground is
Naturally Best (GB) which holds the record set in July 2005
for rowing from St. Johns, Newfoundland. Team JRH's
race from the USA is 55% farther than the Canada route. | | | | Track our journey  See the positions of all boats in the race. The map is updated roughly every two hours. Click on our boat to see our day-by-day progress.
| | | | Get an OAR Northwest T-Shirt! If you missed the party...don't worry...you can still get a limited edition Midpoint Toast T-Shirt!
Proceeds will benefit The American Lung Association, the men of OAR NW, and help Flying Spot tell their amazing story. Click here to enter our online store | | | | Write to us!Visit Iridium.com to send a brief 160-character text message to OAR Northwest. From the home page, click "Send a Satellite Message" and fill in the form with number 881641426086. Type your note and sign it at the bottom. We'll receive it in the middle of the ocean! Please limit your message to 160 characters; anything longer creates glitches in our ability to read them. If you would like to send us a longer message, write to us at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it and your message will get forwarded to us. | | | | Lynden teams up with Cargolux to ship our boat home Lynden, Inc. is a great international transportation solutions company that started out in Lynden, WA and is based in Seattle. They handle cargo shipping all over the world. Cargolux, based in Luxembourg, is one of the leading cargo airlines worldwide. Lynden is coordinating the shipment and handling the ground transportation, while Cargolux is flying the James Robert Hanssen home from the U.K. to Seattle after OAR Northwest wins the race! Many thanks to these two fine companies for their generous support!
| | | | Team videosWe have a small but growing collection of videos about the team and our journey. Click here to see our growing video library | |
| Messages to the teamYOU REACHED YOUR GOAL AND WENT BEYOND!!!!!!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS BRAD, GREG, JORDAN, DYLAN!!!!!! WE ARE IN AWE......
YOU ARE LEGENDS AND AN INSPIRATION TO ALL. WE HAVE BOTTLES OF CHAMPAGNE WAITING FOR YOU IN SEATTLE TO CONTINUE THE CELEBRATIONS. Patricia Stone
| Greg, don't worry, just because you are not in the the great big blue and under constant watch by the world, we will still celebrate your birthday on the 28th. Enjoy your birthday with your family and firends far from a place called home........!! Happy 27th birthday!! Beth Sanchez
| Well I cried when to reached shore and almost melted my computer sending links all over the world. Providence Fan Club - you have to have more than 2 dates for these guys!!!! I and my friends (especially our friend Patricia) are so proud and excited about your endeavors. Each of you were and always will be extraordinary men - your world is only going to explode more!! My joy is how any young person will look at you and see their future in your acomplishments. Koryn Rolstad | Jordan, Greg, Brad and Dylan,
When Deanna and I had the pleasure of rowing the JRH through Portage Bay on that cool day in May, I believed you four were either truly determined or certifiably insane. We have followed your accomplishment from the beginning and have come to realize just how determined you four guys are! What you guys have done is incredibly amazing and worthy of international acclaim. Congratulations.
Well done and thanks for sharing the journey.
Rick Wenala | Big congratulations guys !!!
Jo Le Guen | Well done on a fantastic feat. We are now just waiting for team hesco to arrive home
Hope you all enjoyed your arrival in the UK.
But I'm sure that taking a plane would have been a lot easier!!!!
Good luck for the Future
Dave
Pete Rowlands brother | Jordan, Greg, Brad and Dylan,
We are incredibly proud of you and your accomplishments. Great Job! And as the builder of your sliding seat system, we hope your posteriors have held up as well as your attitude! When you get back we would sure like to hoist another frosty with you at the Tides and hear your adventures!
Cheers,
Dave Robertson and crew at Gig Harbor Boat Works. | !!!YEAH TEAM!!!
!!!BRAVO!!!
!!!AWESOME!!!
!!!MAGNIFICENT!!! Alan Trombetta, NewGrip.com | Excellent, well done fellas; welcome to the UK. George Simpson | Many congratulations gents - yours is a monumental achievement. You are a credit to yourselves, your families and your country. Very best wishes H (Team Sevenoaks) | Congratulations to all of you. You've taken our breath away many times this summer and especially today at the finish. You are breathing life into so many in the future with all your work to support the American Lung Assoc.
Thank you
Susan and Bill, Rebecca and Jennifer and Matt | Well done. gentlemen!
"...like Harbo and Samuelson so long ago,
they were not only brave but, by God, they could row! John & Marcia Albertini | This morning we saw the posting of your tremendous accomplishment. Great race for some nice deserving neighbors. Danny & Carroll LaTurner (your neighbors) | Hi Greg,Brad,Jordan,Dylan,
Men it seems like yesterday since the first time i received an email from Greg and Brad asking us for some advice,how time Flies.Congratulations on a great effort and i hope you all enjoyed your journey as much as our crew did.You have now become a part of a very small club,for us to be the First and Fastest 4 man Team to cross fom West-East& Maarten and the Vorpak boys to be the First four from the USA.You go on and be the First to land in England and ejoy the moment.Your friends & family should be very proud of you all and your fantastic acheivment.
I hope you enjoy your stay in England.
Nigel Morris (Vivaldi Atlantic 4)
| Congratulations - you're our heroes! Did we ever pay you for the T-shirts? Now that they're collectors items we need to make sure to get your autographs - Best - Jim, Carol and Sara. | Job well done. Wish we were able to enjoy the adveture with you. We plan to give it another try next year. See you soon
Team Sevenoaks | Dudes, You are the best. I have contacted Good Morning America--hopefully they will have a camera crew when you land. (TODAY) What an amazing thing you guys have done. Keep in touch---I might be able to get you on David Letterman when you get back to the states. Hope to see you guys again. Tom Dwyer | Good job. George Kosla /George the rooter man/ | We at the University of Puget Sound are deeply proud of your achievement. Your creativity, courage, dedication, and hard work are credits to your character and hallmarks of your Puget Sound education. Congratulations—we followed you all the way and are thrilled by your accomplishment. Go Loggers! We can’t wait to welcome you home.
President Ron Thomas on behalf of the entire Puget Sound family | But our depraved age does not deserve to enjoy so great a blessing as did those in which the knights-errant undertook and burdened their shoulders with the defense of kingdoms, the protection of damsels, the relief of children and orphans, the chastisement of the proud, and the rewarding of the humble. Most of our knights nowadays prefer to nestle in the damasks, brocades, and other rich silks they wear than in armored coats of mail.... There is no one now to sally forth from this wood and enter that mountain, and from there to go to a wasted and deserted shore of the sea, most often stormy and tempestuous and to find there on the beach a little boat without oars, sail, mast, or tackle, and with undaunted heart to fling himself in and entrust himself to the implacable waves of the deep sea, which at one moment toss him up to the sky, and at another engulf him in the abyss. Then, exposing his chest to the irresistible tempest, he finds himself, when he least expects it, more than nine thousand miles from the place where he embarked; and leaping on to a remote and unknown shore, he undergoes experiences worthy to be inscribed not on parchment, but on brass.
--Cervantes, Don Quixote JB Waterman
| You go guys! You are almost there. We are all so proud of you. Have been monitoring your race on Weather Underground. Truly amazed that your weather was so good. WoooHooo!!! Sarah Fetters | Congratulations to team JRH! We have been watching your progress with amazement. What an amazing journey, I can hardly wait to hear details your adventure. Enjoy your first well earned steps on Terra Firma.
John and Jane Crane | Chris Otorowski, Commodore of the Seattle Yacht Club writes Dear Jordan, Greg, Brad and Dylan: Congratulations on getting to the Scilly Isles with Falmouth a short distance away. The members of the Seattle Yacht Club have been closely following your progress and it has become a constant topic of conversation around the Club. We remember those early days last year at that first Men's Lunch at SYC and your return visits. It seemed like a nearly impossible dream at the time but you have all shown us that the near impossible is in fact possible, with determination, imagination and hard work. Young and old members alike, you have captured their imaginations, as no doubt many hundreds of thousands around the world have similarly been captivated.
We salute you and your mission to raise awareness and funds for the American Lung Association. You are an inspiration to all of us and we look forward to welcoming you back to Seattle and helping you in whatever way we can.
On behalf of the Seattle Yacht Club, Bravo Zulu and with great admiration, Chris Otorowski, Commodore.
| Jock and Gayle West write We have been watching you everyday since the beginning of the race. What a tremendous feat you are accomplishing! I wish that we could be on the dock when you arrive. | John L. Williams writes You may be crazy, but you aren't lazy.
Best wishes from University of Delaware Men's crew, Wilmington Rowing Center and Wilmington Youth Rowing Association. | Billy Thoma writes You are a true inspiration of what the human spirit can do.
I don't have the use of my arms so your amazing feats of being the first US team, to complete, rowing across the ocean really inspires me in my everyday life.
Thanks!
| Jim McAnally & Christian Hogue write Sending you arm and back strength from Montreal and the OutGames. Thanks for the great updates!
Keep pulling hard and onward to your well deserved victory!
| Maarten Staarink, Vopak Victory writes It is amazing to see that you have kept the same pace over this amount of days!! One year after our attempt your race brings back a lot of good memories and it has been a lot of fun watching your excellent progress. Although I hope we can keep the record I wish you a lot of luck, westerly winds and keep rowing your almost there!!
Think about the fact that you will be number 23 till 26 that ever rowed from USA/Canada to europe, so try to sit in front of the boat when crossing the finish line....
Well done!!
| LaVohn LeValley writes Hi Dylan - You boys make my day! I check progress and blogs each morning and evening -- Happy Landings! Grandma | Suzan Dean writes You are all such an inspiration here at home in Seattle! Can't wait to hear all the details back at LWRC. Suzan Dean, Martha's Moms Rowing | Julia Ladner writes This is Julia, from the junior crew at LWRC. You and your crew are doing a good job for a good cause. I don't think I could ever row that far. My mom has been reading all the blogs and sharing some of them with my grandfather. Have fun, and don't get too tired. Lots of luck. | Sheryl and Katie Koch write It has been amazing to 'watch' this race from the net. You guys are awesome! Know that you have our support and admiration - we're cheering you all the way to the finish line. But do have fun in England too.... | Jorgen writes you're almost there! i wish i could say i would be there when you guys arrive and have a bitter with to celebrate your awesome feat but i can't. at least i had a chance to have a beer with you guys at liberty landing in NJ before you left - that is where i met a few of you and learned about your journey. best of luck for the future. | Fan Club writes
We're forming a fan club at providence hospital seattle....Good luck!!! You have two dates waiting for you when you get back. | Jeff Douthwaite writes Hi Jordan, Greg, Dylan & Brad,
I hope you've been receiving my limericks!
Keep up the good work.
Love,
Jeff D in Seattle |
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