We came together with Johnny Ward from onestep4ward.com to talk about his journey rowing across the Atlantic Ocean. Read below for the highlights, or watch the full video!
Rowing the Atlantic with Johnny Ward
How did you come up with the idea to row the Atlantic?
It’s kind of a long story. Few years ago, after I finished my every country in the world trip, I was running an ultra-marathon through the Sahara Desert. One of the days when I was running, I met an English guy who was a former marine. He told me he had rowed across the Atlantic. He told me some people to contact and a Facebook group to join. In that group, people always talked about rowing in the Atlantic. A team who was going to row the Atlantic needed two more team members and I thought I’m going to do this.
What was the hardest thing to overcome on the ocean?
It was the solitude or feeling really claustrophobic because although the whole ocean is around you, you are so trapped. You can’t see anyone you love, you can’t do anything you want, you can’t eat anything you like. You’re just stuck.
What did you miss the most during these 2 months?
Of course, I missed my partner Ja in Thailand. I speak to my mom, my sister, my nephew, and niece very regularly during my normal life. Whatever I’m doing I speak to my family a lot so I couldn’t speak to them properly. Then, of course I missed my business. My blog and my media stuff that I do. I really missed doing that. I miss my friends and I missed exercising properly because when you’re rowing, you only use two or three muscles.
Would you do it again? What would you change?
Yes, but in two conditions. One, I would do it either solo or with one other person. So either alone or in a team of two. Not in a team of four because there is no space and privacy. Second condition would be I’d only do it if I was challenging for a world record. So yes, I would consider it for a world record and in a smaller team.
You can watch the whole interview to learn more about Johnny Ward and his rowing journey across the Atlantic. Enjoyed this? There’s more coming on our YouTube channel!