One World
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Expedition Synopsis
Next year Tarka and Katie-Jane will embark on an unprecedented and historic journey. Using only their own motive power, in the form of manhauling, cycling and ocean rowing, they will go beyond what was believed possible as they navigate the globe on its polar axis to complete the 30,000km epic voyage from one geographic pole to the other.
Although only Tarka and Katie-Jane will be carrying out the epic physical exertion of covering 30,000km through their own human power, including three of the eight stages being pioneering new routes, there will be an incredibly large and committed team working alongside them, both en route and back in the UK, in order to successfully complete this historic journey. It will take the team 3 years to complete, rowing 11500km over three oceans, cycling 16200km and skiing, whilst dragging a 100kg sledge, 3800km.
Expedition Training
In addition to regular fitness and strength training (cycling, running, tyre pulling and swimming) carried out at home in the beautiful Devon countryside, Tarka and Katie-Jane have also carried out specific One World training trips, details of which are below.
December 2007 / January 2008 -Cross Country Ski training as well as ice plunge pool!
As Katie-Jane had only ever skied alpine style before, one of the purposes of the training trip was to get her used to cross-country skis. Although the skiing technique will be slightly different in the Arctic and Antarctica due to rough terrain and excessive weight being pulled in pulks behind, it was still good to get her accustomed to the very long and lightweight skis to which you are only attached at the toe. On top of this, both fitness and medical professionals agree that cross-country skiing is the best cardiovascular fitness activity there is. Like all aerobic workouts, this sport keeps the heart pumping at an elevated rate for an extended period of time, boosts “good” HDL cholesterol and helps control blood pressure. It also builds endurance and strengthens the spine. So 2 weeks of it to start the year’s training program was a real boost. Of the two styles of cross-country skiing (also known as Nordic skiing) Katie-Jane was encouraged to learn skating over the classic style. Thankfully Katie-Jane has become the biggest fan of her new-found sport and is keen to take it up more seriously on their return from One World. The second purpose of the training trip was to be a training exercise simulating falling through sea ice . The Lake at ‘Le Praz’ where Katie-Jane was to practice, was covered in particularly thick ice this year and therefore there was no way in which she would fall through naturally which would have provided a true simulation. So the next best thing was to create a pool where she could at least go through the routine of what to do when getting out when you have fallen in. This is a crucial skill that must come naturally by the time you take to the Arctic Sea ice. The most important element to remember is to always get out back the way you went in, as you know that the ice can take your weight. Even if there is ice in touching distance in front of you, it could be weak and break off as soon as your bear any weight on it, and with only seconds before hypothermia can set in you cannot afford to take this chance. So it was life saving skills such as this that Tarka was keen to drill into Katie-Jane.
February 2008 – Svalbard Arctic Training
The Island of Svalbard high up in the Arctic circle, is as far North as you can get on a commercial flight, making it the most affordable training venue for experiencing sea ice polar bears and just the general in hospitable climate the Arctic has to offer in the winter months. Tarka had trained in Svalbard on numerous occasions but for Katie-Jane it was yet another first, and one that made even the coldest day on her Great Wall of China expedition, seem relatively pleasant.
The pair arrived on the last day of the 24 hour winter darkness and spent the day hiring the relevant equipment such as fuel, rifle and polar bear alarm, before getting permission form the Governor of the Island, to head off into the white. The following 14 days were to be some of the coldest days Svalbard had experienced for that time of year in the past 50 years! Other than 2 days of whiteouts the pair had completely clear skies, a truly magnificent experience as the Archipelagos are predominantly under cloud cover. As a consequence of the clear skies the relative warmth of the islands was no longer being held in by the cloud cover and the temperatures plummeted. Including wind chill, the pair experienced several days of -50°C.
Her first eye opener to the seriousness of low temperatures came within one hour of setting off, when whilst trying to replace her warm outer glove she let it slip from her fingers and the wind whisked it off at an incredible pace. Thankfully Tarka is an extremely competent cross country skier and was off after the glove at record speed. He was almost out of Katie’s sight before he was able to retrieve the glove. If they had been out on the Arctic Ocean and the glove had been blown into an open water lead, it would have to have been the end of the expedition as Katie-Jane would without a doubt lose her hand to frostbite without an outer mitt!
By the end of the First week Katie-Jane had become proficient with carrying out work without removing her large mitts, preparing and packing away camp, reloading and cleaning the rifle, and putting together the polar bear perimeter fence. But most importantly, she had developed the ability to block out the cold in her mind and find humour in even the most unpleasant conditions. When you are beyond cold, exhausted, home-sick, hungry and tearful, finding a smile by carrying out something as simple as the children’s song of ‘head, shoulders, knees and toes’ for example, is crucial to carrying on another day. With all this learnt, the second week could be described as enjoyable, although Tarka did manage to get frost-nip on 5 of his toes, which after blackening, the nails dropped off.
May 2008 – Rowing to the Isles of Scilly
With Katie-Jane’s fear of the sea and neither of them having any rowing experience. The crossing of 3 oceans, one of which being the trecherous Southern Ocean, and over 10 months at sea will be no easy feat for either of them when they embark on One World.
After a quick course to gain a VHF radio license, Tarka figured the best way to learn was to take to the sea with a large element of trial and error, and decided it was time for the pair’s first training session. They would row off the coast of Cornwall to the Isles of Scilly and back! As it would still be some months before the One World ice strengthened boat will be built, the boat builders Woodvale, kindly loaned Primal Journey the 32ft ‘Oystershack’ that had only returned 1 week earlier from the Atlantic rowing race.
Blessed by calm seas the pair launched off Penzance harbour without too much hassle, but within 30 minutes they were surprised when they both became violently seasick, and continued to be so for a further 10 hours.
When rowing an ocean, pairs would normally row in 2 hour shifts, however with no previous rowing training, the correct muscles and indeed their bottoms were by no means ready, so they rotated every 30 minutes. Obviously the first 10 hours were just horrible, the next 10 surprisingly enjoyable, rowing contentedly with not a speck of land in sight, but after the 20 hour mark the pair really started to tire.
Finding rowing at night quite a daunting experience for fear of being run over by a considerably larger oncoming vessel, their 30 minute rests turned into watch breaks. This was a difficult task carried out through tiered eyes and hindered even more so from the heavy cloud cover preventing the moon from lighting their path.
The return journey was against the currents and considerably more difficult. Their average speed was reduced from 3 knots to 1 knot, but through grimaced faces they returned safely to Penzance from what was a fairly successful first outing at sea!
The most useful element of the training exercise was discovering what did and didn’t work for them on the boat, so that the build for One World will be bespoke.
If you are interested in being part of the project or you feel you maybe able to help in some way please contact the team. For sponsorship opportunities please contact the expedition dedicated sponsorship team.
