Rowing and sailing are two distinct sports that differ in their power sources. Rowing relies on the wind force captured in the sails, while sailing relies on the rower’s muscular effort. This makes it more susceptible to weather conditions, as wind availability determines the boat’s mobility. Rowing involves a constant of rhythmically firing muscles from head to toe, with minute adjustments and large moves.
Sculling involves using two oars in each hand, while rowing requires only one oar. Both sports help meet cardio quotas but differ in terms of impact, muscle groups worked, and injury considerations. Experts weigh in on the benefits of running, sculling, or sweep rowing, with sculling being harder to learn and sweep rowing being harder to win.
Both rowing and sailing use different equipment, face opposite directions, and have different paddles and oar techniques for steering the boat. The main power comes from different parts of the body, and kayaks are used for rowing. Rowing is considered a low-impact cardio workout that doesn’t stress the joints as much as higher-impact exercises like running or plyometrics.
Rowing is a more subjective sport, as it can be more repetitive than sailing and presents less mental challenges. However, rowing is the toughest sport physically, but it can reach other levels of stress. Some rowers may find themselves rowing against the current and going backward than forward.
In college crew, rowing requires strength, skill, and finesse, while walking on is not impossible but is hard. Lowering the centerboard and tacking can make rowing to weather easier than fighting the wind head-on. When comparing rowing and sailing strategies, it’s important to consider factors such as power source, muscle groups worked, and injury considerations.
📹 Why Olympic Rowing Is One Of The Most Difficult Sports | Performance People
Helen Glover and Steve Backshall talk about the workout sessions involved in olympic rowing. #performancepeople #olympics …
📹 Rowing 3,000 Miles Across the Atlantic Ocean
In this video, I share my 3000 mile row across the Atlantic Ocean. I took part in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge 2018.
Thank you for all the lovely comments about this 🙏🏼 Here are some answers to common questions and comments below: 1. BUCKETS We had 3 😉 2. SEASICKNESS Fortunately, I do not suffer from seasickness. Neither did Ros. But Kate and Kirsty did quite badly, despite taking medication. They still showed up for each rowing shift and gave it their all. Major respect to them 🙌🏼 3. STAYING ON COURSE We had an autopilot (sometimes known as an autotiller) which steers the boat and keeps it on course. It’s very handy but also very unreliable as stops working often. We would keep our eyes transfixed on the compass and bearing screen on deck to ensure we were always heading in the right direction. 4. CAPSIZING The boats are made to self-right if they capsize. They flip up the right way in a matter of seconds. Fortunately, we never experienced it. 5. WIND & CURRENTS The wind and ocean currents are in favour of this crossing some of the time. Saying that we still had to row in order to make good progress. A boat left to drift would take around 120 days to land west of its start pointing – whether that be Antigua, or crashing into Guadeloupe or a similar island. I write this as some have suggested that the rowing aspect of this challenge is negligible. 6. PERIODS They still happened. We just got on with it. It was no worse than poo-ing in a bucket. PMT didn’t exist because we were focused on other things. 7. FRIENDSHIP We remained friends after the challenge, however, I do not see them much as we live far away.
I’m a mountain climber and for some reason YouTube recommended me this article. I’m lost for words. Not just the feat accomplished but the valuable lessons you manage to nail down so correctly and present to us in neat bullet point fashion. I’m showing this to my 5 year old daughter, I’m a man and would like to thank you for inspiring this whole family
“Everyone can do this” Yeah, nah. I’ve done some pretty hard (and badass, if I may say so myself) things in my life, but they all absolutely pale compared to this. This isn’t negative energy or anything, I’m just trying to properly convey how insanely impressive this feat is. You guys deserve every bit of praise possible. Well done
The first two men to row across the Atlantic left from New Jersey in a modified lifeboat. Somewhere along the way a ship spotted the “Survivors” and stopped and picked them up! They protested but the Captain thought they were crazy from thirst. It took hours to convince him to let them go. The ship was going back to USA so they lost that time snd had to re row the distance.
I have been on MY journey now for four years. I left work understanding very little of what i needed to do and exactly how to get that unknown accomplished. 4 years later and the goal, is now clear. the path, is set and i to am now “Just Rowing” my daily shift till I get to my destination. God bless your efforts.
Watching this couldn’t have come at a better time in my life, I’m a 43 year old concretor from Australia and I have been going through a difficult period for the last 4 years. This has really helped me to realise that we are capable of change and success in our lives but it helps to have a team to get there. I’ll start with myself and stop pushing people away and build a team❤️.
When you were talking about the headwind and how you felt demotivated because you had only gone 4 miles even with all of the effort you put in, but then you realized that those that gave up lost 10 miles, effectively giving you a net of 14 miles, and then you said “it doesn’t matter how slow you go as long as you’re moving forward and making progress” I started to tear up. It’s so hard sometimes to see one’s own progress when you only compare it to yourself, but when you zoom out and see how far you’ve gone in comparison to those that give up, it can make a world of a difference
I just stumbled across this article and I have to say, it is so inspiring! As a college student, I tend to experience a lot of procrastination and fall into some frustrating lazy habits sometimes. I think if you four strong women can do this, then I have what it takes to get simple tasks done! Thank you so much for sharing this and all of the motivation/lessons that you got from it, I am already applying some of these mindsets to my life!
This was a immensely strong feat done by the whole lot. Sharing the same corner with 3 others for +40 days at sea, is no small task. Humans usually can work it out though, since its certainly no place to hold a long grudge. It gets you nowhere. Yeah, you’ll fall off. Everyone will fall off moodwise when you exhaust everything like in this feat. But someone or something will usually lure us towards a better mood. Pain and suffering can be kinked with i.e. a good laugh.
Wow, this was so inspiring and heartwarming! As someone who struggles a lot with depression, sometimes simplifying what I need to do to help myself get out of a rut – messages like “just get on with it”, show up for shift, keep rowing, it’ll take as long as it takes – is honestly what I need. And being surrounded by people I love is one of the most important things through that. Thank you for sharing!
I can’t believe that i just watched this full article! I listen to every words you said and i started to feel like im on that boat, going through every difficulties you’ve encountered. Then when i see that you girls have reached the end, i can’t believe that i actually cry. So proud of you girls, and just showed the world that nothing is impossible, and difficult circumstances will pass!
That was absolutely amazing. When I was a boy I wanted to be a deep-water yachtsman, and was inspired by Tracy Edwards and her all-female team in the 1989 Whitbread. The ocean has always appealed to me, but you know, life and all that! Experiences like this are a great metaphor for life and are a useful yardstick against which we can measure other things. I would love to see a feature-length doc of this experience. Kudos x
Brings back memories of being with my youngest son on a 12-day backpacking crew in June 2002. While at 95 miles to be covered in 10-days I bonded with my son and he with me for an adventure we will never forget. Your adventure was epic and is something you will always hold close to your heart. God speed
Thank you sister. Your message comes at an important point in my life, where giving in to the pain of 65 and giving up on life goals is so tempting. I had an experience decades ago that taught me similar lessons, but I fear I had forgotten them. For some reason “just get on with it” means so much more to me than “just do it”. You moved me to tears, and I thank you for that. God bless.
I can’t even begin to imagine the physical and mental toughness this must have taken for the entire crew. I’m sure there were experiences that would be impossible to convey to the average mortal. In addition to the gruelling daily routine, your planning and training must have been spot on. Much respect.
I wonder why “winning” was/is so important – the thing that kept you all “united”. Somehow it seemed that so many of the other things you all learned, together, were, perhaps, much more important and valuable. Your real achievements, possibly, had little to do with that particular measure of success. What wonderful people.
Just WONDERFUL. When one begins perusal something like this and is expecting a more or less functional review, it is then even more powerful to suddenly be drawn into an emotional journey and to find life lessons emerge that resonate directly with our own struggles. Wonderful article and wonderful effort with completing the challenge, Laura. Congratulations!
I’m not the type of person that usually comments but just wanted to say thank you for sharing your journey. This was an absolute delight to watch and loved every second of it! Truly motivating! I will now try to live with your saying “Just get on with it” thank you again for sharing and can’t wait to see what your future journeys hold!
In 2011, we were on the cruise ship Crystal Serenity crossing from Lisbon to Miami. One morning, we woke up to the news that the ship had picked up two rowers in the night whose boat had capsized. One rower was just ending his shift and going into the covered area of the boat and that’s when the boat got hit by a large wave and capsized. Luckily, it was still a bit light out and the two rowers took it in turn to get the dingy out of the overturned boat. It took them 45 minutes because they were so tired. Once they inflated their dinghy, the little beacon in the dinghy went off because it touched sea water (as it was supposed to do). That sent off a distress signal and British Coast Guard picked up the signal and radioed our ship since we were the closest. It took us 4 hours to get to them. Since they had lost all their communications equipment, they had no way of knowing we were there to rescue them. They sat in their little dinghy and saw this big ship coming at them and hoped the ship had seen them. Finally, the Norwegian captain sailed around them because of the high waves so they’d be on the leeward side of the ship and they were brought aboard. Needless to say they were the stars of the ship and we dropped them off in St. Martin. I’m sure they would have done better in a boat like yours.
Wow I’m so proud of you 4. I hiked the Annapurna trail with only my backpack and after going over the pass, the feeling of accomplishment was amazing. I too had days I wanted to give up and I felt cold and exhausted but I lost 7 kilos and felt so fit after that walk. The pictures in my memory if the incredible scenery on the journey will forever be in my mind. Everyone needs to do something, in their lifetime, that stretches their boundaries on a primitive level 😍👍
I really liked how you put the story together and how you connected that with our daily life I got so emotional when you said you were the first female team to finish When you thought your 9h raw day was a failure, it actually lead you to the finish line faster So amazing! A very inspirational story!
Oh my goodness, I shed a tear listening to your adventure, even still it’s so hard to imagine what it’s really like. I feel I have lived my life flying planes racing boats and many other endeavours, all of which pale into insignificance by your achievements. I am so full of admiration for you all, I can foresee a career doing motivational speeches. Just incredible!!!! 🙂
This is really inspiring. I use the same phrase, “this shall pass” to get me through the hard stuff. It really does work, because it’s absolutely true.. I’m an American and I love drum and bass. Over here, it’s a very niche genre that most people don’t know about so sometimes I forget how popular it is in the UK. How awesome to hear it on a boat in the middle of the ocean! Wicked boiii lol
Hi Laura. I don’t know if it is the story or your effort or the music or the picture…all put together, I believe, is so moving and made me cry with happiness. Lot’s of emotions clouded around me and made me look at myself in the mirror and I said to myself “Just get on with it”. Your journey is incredible. The efforts and the preparation you put (as well as the other team members) to pass through such a difficult unimaginable competition really motivates me to stop complaining about smallest things and grab my guts to achieve something. You are a true inspirer and you are my inspiration. I will always look up to this article and gather my courage to live my life. I hope you this message finds you. Lots of love to you and your teammates too. 🥰❤️
Thanks for sharing your story Laura. My wife and I sailed across the Atlantic a while ago and I can relate to a lot of what you experienced. However we had sails to help us. To row across? Massive respect to you and all your crew mates. Like you we were changed by the crossing, for the better and we also have little mantras we bring out when things seem to be getting the better of us. Bring on the next challenge is one. 😉
What a great Atlantic-crossing! And what a wonderful parable for life! I have just forwarded this article to my sons who are rowing through school and university, where sometimes the waves are high, the wind blows from all sides and the rain hits you hard in the face. But the article also goes to me, who has bravely battled through all weathers all his life, but has now become far too lazy and sluggish in retirement. Thank you for this life article! You are my role models and heroines. I wish you a wonderful life! And whenever I begin to struggle, I think of you, of this inspiring article and your words. And whenever I become weak, I think of you, of this inspiring article and your words.
First of all, congratulations to you and your teammates. As a sailor, I know what it means to struggle with the waves. I know the sleepless nights. I watched your proud smile with happiness and tears. It made me weep for a woman to be so strong. Sorry for my bad English, I wish you continued success. Greetings from Turkey.
I watched the last half of this article through teary eyes. You are such an amazing, strong and inspirational woman. I feel so lucky to have came across your page and love all that you show and share with us. I love how you can relate your experiences and turn them into everyday motivation, I will definitely be using “just get on with it.” I’ve been struggling a lot with getting started lately and not even with big things but just the little everyday things, after perusal this and all you went through and accomplished I feel silly for it. Thank you again for sharing and I can’t wait for your next article 💜💜
Wow, what an amazing adventure. Well done to you all. You told it beautifully and thank you for sharing the lows and the highs and how you felt with them. Really inspiring and a great help for me. “It will pass” & I think in words similar too ” just get on with it”. I loved seeing your faith come through after what looked like a very tough three days. 💪 I bet you can call on this strength gained when you face your future challenges. Well done Laura. 🙌🙌🙌🙌
Each week I row 10 km on the machine (I do other stuffs the other days). It takes about 53 minutes. After 40 minutes the butt begins to complain, at 10 km I reach my limit. And I there is no way to train for that. Two hours in a row (no pun), 6 times a day during 40 days, I can’t imagine. Congratulations.
I envy you all I love the sea and being on/in/ under water always wanted to do this. I travelled down the Atlantic in a troops ship and read all of Claire Francis’ books she sailed single handed around the world. We went through a massive storm and I wonder how you survived in that tiny boat CONGRATS TO YOU ALL SUPERSTARS. So proud of all of you :trophy-yellow-smiling::medal-yellow-first-red::medal-yellow-first-red::medal-yellow-first-red::medal-yellow-first-red:
This is absolutely amazing! I love the lessons you learned through the experience. I cannot imagine how it must have felt to be standing on steady land after 40 days on the ocean. I was on a boat for a full day once and sitting at a chair to eat dinner felt so strange because my mind and body was used to the rocking waters.
More than a few tears flowing at the end of that! My own biggest physical challenge was to swim from Lands End to Scilly which I did in 2019. It was much shorter of course; only 20 hrs, but the life lessons I took from it were so similar to yours. Thank you so much for bringing it all back so clearly. You’re amazing and inspirational.
Can attest to the calorie consumption. I’ve been on several long distance backpacking trips, multiple weeks at a time, and I have had to eat around 3500-4000 calories a day to provide the energy needed to get those miles in. You need to be constantly eating and burning that energy at the same time in order to hit that calorie quota, so we would eat all of our meals while we were walking.
i was totally enamored by your journey and outlook on life and philosophies regarding stress and struggle management, but when you said you blasted drum n bass to help pass the time, i fell in LOVE! haha, such an unexpected yet welcomed surprise. i’m going to see Bachelors of Science tomorrow night here in Hawai’i, and i will be thinking of you all while i’m skankin’ it out on the dance floor. cheers!
I rarely watch a article longer than 5 mins. My eyes were glued to the screen for the entire article. Great Job Ladies, the affirmations you’ve mentioned that got you through this have been the same that have been helping me. I have been feeling disappointed lately because I haven’t made the progress I’ve wanted to, but “little by little” I am doing better than I used to be. Thank you!
I’ve only just come across your article. What you girls achieved was a fantastic once in a lifetime experience and all four of your came out of it much richer for the experience. From a 76 yr old granddad, I’d love to see one of my granddaughters having ago but doubt it would ever happen. The best for the futre for all four of you.
Just came across your article and I couldn’t stop laughing about your story.what a feat love what you said it will pass and it passed and you all made it,well and truly,cheers for sharing your story,I was a sailor on a merchant ship myself for eight years and I am impressed by you girls courage well done.Bless you all.
Hey Laura, tried to find the details of the team my partner followed before the live stream ended, but missed it. My mistake was 2016/17 (years merging into a big blob at this stage of the game!!!). The team was Row for James. Then last year another bunch of boys who are friends kids, Team Oardacity, we watched daily for the updates and got really into getting to know all the competitors and then checking up on them on the online updates. SUPER Cool Event!
Sometimes I think I’d be better off rowing 3000 miles in a predicted course on your boat than steering my own life. Because, at this age I’m not even certain that I’m steering in a good or any direction or if I’m running in circles? Hats off to you ladies! I was a bit sad when I read that you don’t meet together that much anymore. I thought you were friends for life or at least did gatherings every year or so. But understandable.
At 6:40, I was thinking, Photos or it didn’t happen …….. well, didn’t I get my eye wiped. Shame about the pixilation but I know what You Tube is like! One more thing, I kept expecting to see your cat jump up on to the side of your boat out of nowhere, like in your ice bath challenge. After perusal this, I will NEVER complain again about doing 20 minutes on the rowing machine in Pure Gym. Well done.
Man, I’ve done some tough adventure stuff, including a 2-week round hike from Lukla to Everest base camp without porters, but that sounds absolutely GRUELLING. I’m curious how you did or how you would have managed injuries? Like if somebody sprained a wrist? Is that just shows over and getting towed back to shore? And I’m very impressed that you all managed to get along till the end, that can be one of the toughest things in these situations. By the time we’d finished the Himalayan trek I had tendinosis in both achillies tendons, both knees and ankles strapped up, toenails falling off and about half a centimeter of callused tissue all over my feet that peeled off like thick vinyl so I can’t even imagine what your hands must have looked like by the end! I salute you all!
Amazing. You are so inspirational, beautiful and just amazing! I find myself as approaching 40, really fed with things Andy get-up-and-go nature just disappeared and now I’m left with ‘what’s the point?…’ I now have a habit of starting something and then give up just after a small try. And obviously, I’m going to be completely contradictory and say to my 5 year old, ‘why don’t you like celery? how would you know if you would like it if you haven’t try it?’ Anywhoooo…. It’s not like me to post a comment but I just watched 3 of your articles and I absolutely love your energy and thirst for life. You are truly a wonderful person. Thank you for your articles and thank you with your motivating words….’just get on with it’ is so simple but it’s just the thing to kick on my bum to get on with it!! Btw, think there was a point in the article where u were filming bare bum..that tickled me, at the same time I can feel the Pain!! All the best with everything and be safe. X
I watched this and found it to be the best self healing and motivational article ever. Plus I want every wannabe feminist or profeminist, as well as trans females in women’s sports to watch this as an example of a truly strong character and a human being. Congratulations and thanks for such an amazing inspiration.