DUBAI // "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue" - but one can only wonder what the explorer would have thought about six women following his route in a rowboat.
The women plan to row a 7-metre boat 4,700 kilometres to Barbados from the Canary Islands in the Woodvale Challenge.
By midnight last night Katie Pattison-Hart, 31, of Dubai, and one of her teammates, Debbie Beadle, 30, were to have rowed in a dry run for 24 hours.
Each had planned to row in two-hour intervals on a rowing machine at the Mina Seyahi rowing club as part of the preparations for their voyage in December.
The distance covered would be 240km, a mere drop in the ocean that lies ahead of them.
The six who make up the Row for Freedom team are taking part to raise awareness for the End Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking campaign, and Ms Beadle came over from the UK for the event.
For Ms Pattison-Hart the adventure of a lifetime started after a chance meeting on a Palm Jumeirah beach in February.
She was at a barbecue and met Julia Immonen, who was in Dubai on holiday. They talked about endurance racing and the annual row across the Atlantic was raised.
Ms Immonen, the team leader, said there was room for a sixth member on the boat, and after watching videos of the event online Ms Pattison-Hart jumped at the chance.
The women met for coffee the following morning, where Ms Immonen, a Finn, laid out the scenario: Ms Pattison-Hart would be using a bucket as a toilet, sleeping for two hours at a time and eating army rations.
She would have blisters everywhere and it was not going to be a comfortable 35 to 45-day voyage.
"I said, 'Yes, that is what I want to do'," Ms Pattison-Hart said.
The next phase was getting into shape and gaining sponsorship.
Ms Pattison-Hart has increased her strength training workouts to four times a week. She does two sessions daily on the rowing machine, cycles once a week and goes to the gym or runs every other day.
To add to the challenge, only two of the six crew have ever rowed and the team got into a boat together for the first time only two months ago.
For Ms Pattison-Hart, it was not a good experience.
"When you pick up a new sport, like running, you put one foot in front of the other," she said.
"To play tennis, you've more than likely hit a ball at some point in your life.
"Rowing is the most bizarre. You can't relate it to anything. I got off the boat thinking I got some serious work to do."
The most difficult part was getting the synchronisation.
"Even holding the oar was difficult," Ms Pattison-Hart said. "As soon as I got one arm up the balance on the boat was awful."
She has enlisted the help of Tim Park from the Mina Seyahi rowing club. He sits with her in the gym and corrects her technique on the rowing machine. They also row on the water every weekend.
Ms Beadle, who works for the charity that will benefit from the £1 million (Dh5.9m) they hope to raise, said they were rowing into the unknown.
Only 250 people have taken part in the Woodvale Challenge, where boats of all sizes compete and there is a 33 per cent failure rate. There have been three deaths and Ms Beadle said capsizing was inevitable.
"Most people prepare for two years," she said. "We're doing it in just under a year. It's been really hectic to get sponsorship."
The six have local sponsorship from Dubai Duty Free, Gems Education and FSI Worldwide, which has an office in Dubai.
"We spoke with a few people who have done it and it keeps getting worse," Ms Pattison-Hart said. "People's experiences are different.
"Physically we can be as ready as we can be, but mentally, I don't think we can ever prepare ourselves for that."
Next month the women will train with Adventure Hub, a company that helps athletes train for extreme events.
They will be coached by former military personnel who have rowed across the Atlantic.
They will also learn how to navigate the ocean and take a survival course.
But before they take to the sea on December 4, they must be careful not to lose too much weight. They expect to burn up to 7,000 calories a day.
eharnan@thenational.ae
Fight card
1. Featherweight 66kg: Ben Lucas (AUS) v Ibrahim Kendil (EGY)
2. Lightweight 70kg: Mohammed Kareem Aljnan (SYR) v Alphonse Besala (CMR)
3. Welterweight 77kg:Marcos Costa (BRA) v Abdelhakim Wahid (MAR)
4. Lightweight 70kg: Omar Ramadan (EGY) v Abdimitalipov Atabek (KGZ)
5. Featherweight 66kg: Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Kagimu Kigga (UGA)
6. Catchweight 85kg: Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) v Iuri Fraga (BRA)
7. Featherweight 66kg: Yousef Al Husani (UAE) v Mohamed Allam (EGY)
8. Catchweight 73kg: Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Ahmed Abdelraouf of Egypt (EGY)
9. Featherweight 66kg: Jaures Dea (CMR) v Andre Pinheiro (BRA)
10. Catchweight 90kg: Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
All Black 39-12 British & Irish Lions
Celta Vigo 2
Castro (45'), Aspas (82')
Barcelona 2
Dembele (36'), Alcacer (64')
Red card: Sergi Roberto (Barcelona)
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Gulf rugby
Who’s won what so far in 2018/19
Western Clubs Champions League: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens: Dubai Hurricanes
West Asia Premiership: Bahrain
What’s left
UAE Conference
March 22, play-offs:
Dubai Hurricanes II v Al Ain Amblers, Jebel Ali Dragons II v Dubai Tigers
March 29, final
UAE Premiership
March 22, play-offs:
Dubai Exiles v Jebel Ali Dragons, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Hurricanes
March 29, final
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
This is an info box
- info goes here
- and here
- and here
The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl
Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: Dh99,000
On sale: now
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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South Africa squad
Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen (wicketkeeper), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.
Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
RESULT
Australia 3 (0) Honduras 1 (0)
Australia: Jedinak (53', 72' pen, 85' pen)
Honduras: Elis (90 4)
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
BMW M8 Competition Coupe
Engine 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8
Power 625hp at 6,000rpm
Torque 750Nm from 1,800-5,800rpm
Gearbox Eight-speed paddleshift auto
Acceleration 0-100kph in 3.2 sec
Top speed 305kph
Fuel economy, combined 10.6L / 100km
Price from Dh700,000 (estimate)
On sale Jan/Feb 2020
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