In June 2024, Tom Waddington (Verbier Local) is heading out on a truly inspirational and record breaking endeavour. To become the fastest man in history to row from Canada to the UK across the North Atlantic Ocean. There have been less than 10 successful solo crossings from Canada to the UK and the current record stands at 38 days, held by Bryce Carlson.

Tom's mission goes beyond breaking records; it's a call to action for mental health awareness and a profound testament to resilience and the human spirit.

With the goal of raising £50,000 for the charity Mind, which provides support and guidance for those facing mental health struggles, Tom's dedication to this cause comes from dealing with monumental loss and grief of his own.

In this interview, Tom provides insights into the arduous preparation, both physically and mentally, necessary for undertaking such a monumental task. 

1. What inspired you to take on the challenge of rowing solo across the North Atlantic?

After the loss of a loved one, I experienced my own struggles with grief and one of the best things that helped me was speaking to somebody on a regular basis who helped me talk openly about my feelings. Another massive help was sport, outdoors and exercise. That's why this cause and charity really means a lot to me personally. Mind is a charity that provides support, advice and someone to talk to for those struggling and based on my own experience it's so important that support is offered. Mental health issues are a growing problem across the world. Just in the UK, 1 in 4 people will experience mental health problems in any given year, ⅙ common mental health problem in any given week. Suicide is the biggest killer in men under 45, and since 2018 suicide has been on the rise for men and people under the age of 25. For me, it's been a tough journey but through having someone to speak to, support of friends and family, having a focus of this challenge which has opened up so many new doors, I am now in a really good place and feel I am in a position to be able to give back. It's my hope that if I can just help one person or many with my own story and inspire people to take action, donate to the charity or get involved then I will have made a difference.

2. How have you been preparing both physically and mentally for such a journey?

I have now been training for the last 3 years and had to learn everything from scratch. From not knowing much about ocean rowing and the sea I have now done about 600 hours of training in my boat, ocean navigation courses, working with experienced coaches, sea survival courses, overnight rows and multiple day expeditions, capsize tests, trial and error and experience of the constantly changing weather and sea state. It's also been extremely hard and challenging at times. I have gone through so much self doubt, met loads of barriers, negative talk, people saying I'm crazy. I've had to work hard at this and my mental preparation in all areas. In October 23 I did a month of training in Oban, Scotland. These were some of the most realistic and tricky weather conditions I could have asked for.

3. What are the biggest challenges you anticipate facing during your solo row?

I think mentally dealing with the fear of failure has been and is really hard. There are some things you can't control and the pressure of out of your control, for example, equipment failure, is hard to deal with. During the row I will face storms and huge seas with the risk of capsizing (the current record holder, Bryce Carlson, capsized 11 times during his crossing!) Large shipping tankers that are often on auto pilot travelling fast, loneliness, fatigue and injury. I will be crossing from Canada to the UK and some of the challenging areas will be the infamous "grandbanks" where the Titanic sank and in general the weather will be cold, foggy and wet.

4. Can you tell us about the boat you'll be using for this journey?

Her name is "BeHatty" and she is 8 meters long, fully carbon fibre. I have a deck with a rowing seat and 2 cabins. One for navigating, eating and sleeping and the other cabin for storage and rudder set up. They are specially built for rowing across oceans and have the ability to self right in the event of a capsize. Special features include a watermaker (converts saltwater to drinking) full navigation system and solar panels to power my electrics.

5. How do you plan to stay motivated during the long days at sea, especially during moments of isolation and solitude?

Good question! Well firstly, there is always so much to do. When you are not rowing you are either, cooking, sleeping, navigating, organizing the boat or cleaning to name but a few. However, I do like to listen to Podcasts and story books, but sometimes I just like to watch a sunrise or sunset in silence, rowing can be very meditative and I like to appreciate nature and surroundings, hopefully I will see some whales! 

I think the key is to have a routine and stick to it. Mine will be broken into 3 hour shifts of rowing with 1 hour off for eating and navigating. I will row for 12 hours a day in this shift pattern for what could be 70 days! I plan to sleep for 6 hours during the night if I can. By having strict routines within these micro shift patterns (like washing, making water, preparing food) and then I will put in more macro routines to look forward to. For example, I plan to save my favorite freeze dried meal for Sunday, have a naked row (whatever the weather!) every Thursday, speak to my girlfriend Stephanie on the Sat phone every other night - this way you have things to look forward to and better motivation. 

6. Are there any specific goals you hope to achieve during your journey?

I would love to break the record of 38 days but it's not my main goal. Not many people get this kind of an experience so I really want to enjoy it as much as possible and appreciate that I chose to do it, others might not get that chance. I think also raising awareness on mental health issues, as I mentioned earlier, It's my hope that if I can just help one person or many with my own story and inspire people to take action, donate to the charity or get involved then I will have made a difference. 

7. How do you envision this experience impacting you personally?

The person you spend the most time with, in your lifetime, is yourself. I would like to get to know myself better and really push my own barriers so that ultimately whatever life does throw at you I am more prepared to handle.

NOW YOU KNOW TOM'S STORY, BE PART OF HIS CAUSE.