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Debra was heralded "…Britain's latest sporting heroine." (The Times) when the media worldwide went crazy for the story of the 5ft 5" young lady who carried on rowing alone when her then husband, a 6 ft 5" top-level club oarsman, left the boat after developing an uncontrollable fear of the ocean. Debra, who was loving life at sea in a 23 foot plywood boat, saw no reason to stop and rowed on to become unofficially the fourth women in the world to have rowed an ocean solo.

The 3000 mile journey that was initially supposed to take 6 weeks took Debra a staggering 3 ½ months and saw her battling with 30 foot waves, force 8 squalls and sharks, while having to dodge tankers that came too close for comfort on more than a few occasions. Worse than all of this, however, was dealing with the loneliness and solitude but focussing on one motto kept Debra going: "Choose Your Attitude" and she certainly did.

Below the story is told in a Q & A format...

Why was Debra disqualified from the Rowing Race?

Debra was disqualified for taking outside assistance when Andrew was taken off Troika Transatlantic by Challenge Business' safety vessel. The Atlantic Rowing Race was won by Kiwis Steve Westlake and Matt Goodman on Telecom Challenge 1 in 42 days. They arrived in Barbados on 18 November 2001, 70 days before Debra! The Editor of the Times wrote on 28 January "the winner of the race is the girl that came last."

10. The day I had beef stew and dumplings for the fifth day in a row.

9. Day 93 - woke to find almost 40 dead flying fish on the boat. I normally only get about 10 at the most. The stench was overpowering and they left every surface covered in fish scales and slime.

8. Day 91 - Splash back from the pooh-bucket. As I threw the contents overboard it splashed back into my face and into my mouth. Much spitting and rubbing with baby wet wipes ensued.

7. Night of Day 89 - One of the roughest nights. At 4am an oar become free and was still in the gate but wrapped under the boat. As the waves washed the boat over the oar that whole side of the boat was creaking under the pressure. There was no time to put on a harness or clip on. Fighting with the oar as the waves broke over me was not a good night out.

6. Day 85 (Between Christmas and New Year) - in my diary I wrote "I feel so worn down. Every time I look out of the hatch at the ocean I feel so trapped because I know I can't give up." I got myself so worked up about having to spend another four weeks alone that I was inconsolable for much of the afternoon.

In 1997 Debra and Andrew signed up for the Atlantic Rowing Race. Considered one of the toughest endurance events in the world, the couple would race against 34 other crews rowing 3000 miles from Tenerife to Barbados. The race started on 7 October 2001.

Why is this event so hard?

Many teams do not even make it to the start line. The race costs in the region of £60k and competitors must build their own rowing boat from a flat pack (bit like an IKEA wardrobe!) supplied by the event organisers.

Once at the start line each team must propel their 23 foot boat across the Atlantic using only muscle power and 4 oars. Unlike sailing events, there is no use of sails so competitors must pull themselves and their hugely heavy boat across three thousand miles of ocean. There is no supply boat following each rowing boat. They are completely alone. A rescue yacht can take up to two weeks to get to a rowing boats once they are mid-Atlantic.

Each team rows 24 hours a day working in shifts of 2 hours. During the 2 hour off-watch period each competitor has to eat, sleep, do ablutions, navigate and fill out the log book. Often it is only possible to grab a quick 20 minute nap.

Living conditions are cramped. The rowing boat has a small cabin which measures 6ft long by a few feet wide. The length of the boat means that for months the competitors don’t walk.

Why did Andrew drop out?

From early on after the start it became apparent that Andrew was suffering from acute anxiety and had an irrational fear of the ocean. Andrew and Debra tried to work through this but after 9 days it became clear that they would have to call on a safety vessel to take Andrew off Troika Transatlantic. It was a decision they made together as they both felt strongly that it was the only option for Andrew's well-being. It took a further 5 days for the nearest yacht to reach them, which gave Andrew time to help Debra prepare the boat for her solo voyage.

Why did Debra continue alone?

Debra was enjoying life on board and the challenge. Whilst she was an inexperienced rower (she had learnt to row in the year leading up to the start of the race) she was an experienced expedition leader and mountaineer. She believed she could do it and wanted to give it her best shot, despite knowing that if something went wrong, she might not see her family again. Andrew supported her 100% in her decision and continued to be a committed member of the team, helping with navigation and providing emotional support via Satellite phone for the following 3 months.

The rowing boats are small and difficult to see once in a moderate Atlantic swell. Consequently container-ships and tankers prove a huge risk and could plough down a rowing boat, without even knowing they had hit anything. When there are two rowers on board there is always someone rowing (on-watch), however, Debra had to sleep, all-be-it for only very short periods at a time, so could not always keep a look out and alert passing ships

What was the main danger of carrying on alone?

What was Debra's routine on board?

0500 hours Wake up call

0530 hours Row 1
0730 hours Breakfast
0830 hours Row 2
1030 hours Mid morning break
1130 hours Row 3
1330 hours Lunch
1500 hours Row 4
1700 hours Tea break
1800 hours Row 5
2000 hours Dinner
2100 hours Row 6
2230 hours Night break
2300 hours Row 7
0100 hours Secure boat
0130 - 0500 hours Sleep (waking every 20 - 30 mins to check for passing ships)
0500 hours - Wake up call

The first task for Debra every morning would be to massage her fingers from their locked state. Her hands would lock into a permanent cupped position and would have to be physically pushed straight in order to get them moving again.

Sitting on a hard rowing seat for more than 12 hours a day and with the added problem of salt sores meant that Debra's bottom soon became blistered. She found that by rowing naked sitting on a sheepskin seat cover and exposing her skin to the air and sun soon reduced this problem!

What was the physical toll of rowing for 12 hours a day?

Exposure to the elements - Debra had to cope with exceptionally high temperatures and sun exposure coupled with fierce squalls that would pass through suddenly increasing the winds to near storm force and bringing torrential rain.

Psychologically, at times the challenge really took its toll on Debra. She suffered from severe loneliness, particularly around Christmas after over two months at sea alone. She longed for human contact and on a couple of occasions yachts sailed passed her without even seeing her.

What was life like on board?

Basic! Debra had a bucket on her deck which she used as a toilet. Washing consisted of using baby wet wipes, until she ran out and gave up washing all together. She used a watermaker to convert sea water into (horrible tasting) drinking water. This water was used to re-hydrate tasteless dried food. She had four solar panels to produce electricity.

The Atlantic Rowing Race start gun sounded at 10.30am on 8 October 2001. It took Debra 111 days, 5 hours and 43 minutes of rowing to reach Port St Charles in Barbados. When she had set out with Andrew they had expected to reach Barbados in 60 days. Debra arrived to rapturous applause from hundreds of well wishes and a large press contingent on 26 January 2002.

Debra’s Top Ten Worst Memories

10. Day 6 - First night rowing with the stars out. It was breathtakingly beautiful as I watched dozens of shooting stars trailing across the night sky.

9. Day 64 - After an emotional day crying at the oars I was looking for the rice and found a whole bag of thirty Pepperamis and another containing thirty packs of Minstrels that I forgotten I had put in the back of one of the smaller hatches. Much dancing around the deck ensued.

8. Day 74 - Having not seen anyone for a month I crossed paths with a yacht called Seventh Heaven who gave me a loaf of fresh bread and some awesome biscuits and, more importantly, 10 minutes of talking face to face with some other humans.

7. Day 76 - Secretly arranged to talk via speakerphone to all the Troika staff (Debra's sponsor) while they were all in a company meeting just before Christmas. It was a good surprise and they all cheered like mad.

6. Day 54 - First day of surfing really big waves. I wrote in my diary, "It was awesome - I LOVE IT!". That evening my face ached from grinning so much.

Debra’s Top Ten Best Memories

3. Ten days of unbearable loneliness at the start of December, which climaxed on day 65 when I cried from 8am till 11am, until I finally plucked up enough strength to get out of the cabin and row. My diary that day reads, "wind was so strong, fighting the waves kept on making me dissolve into tears. I'm so exhausted and just want to sleep".

2. Day 23 - Everything seemed to be going wrong then I nearly got run down by a super tanker. I wrote in my diary, "I am at an all time low and don't know if I am going to be able to recover… I'm so scared and I want to go home".

1. Day 8 - Disastrous day for a very unhappy Andrew. It culminated in a thunder and lightning storm with driving rain and, having completed a double night shift, I found Andrew in the cabin curled up, shaking and unable to even talk to me.

5. Day 19 - Had a shark under the boat that night, chasing fish. As I watched the trail of glowing phosphorescence as it swam at high speeds I convinced myself that it was going to attack the boat so I hid in the cabin, very scared until dawn.

4. Day 14 - They day Andrew left the boat. As I watched the yacht sail towards us on its way to pick up Andrew we held each other and cried.

2. Day 4 - Rowing at 3am with Andrew, singing "Jerusalem" and "I Vow to Thee My Country" at the top of our voices to keep ourselves awake. Andrew's flexible approach to key selection only added to my amusement.

1. Day 21 - As I watched the most beautiful sunrise, I felt all the pain and anguish over my father's premature death fade away leaving me crying tears of happiness. Through this journey I have come to a point where I can celebrate his life and take inspiration from it, rather than dwell on my loss.

5. Day 24 - The day I spent with Albert the sea turtle while he ate weed off the hull. I had never seen a sea turtle up close before and was even able to touch him - fantastic.

4. Day 75 - Having had a visit from the Challenge yacht who brought me my Christmas parcel, the boat was then surrounded by 30 dolphins, two of which did front somersaults right in front of me. It is truly magical to see this in the wild.

3. Christmas Day - Reading all my Christmas cards from my friends and family in the UK.

ROWING the Atlantic

ROWING it alone

THE ATLANTIC rowing race

to her position. Only a few weeks into her journey she strayed into the main shipping lane for the Cape Verde Islands and had numerous terrifying encounters with super-tankers.

How long did it take Debra to row across the Atlantic?

atlantic row