John and Libby Beeden can finally enjoy the comforts of home in Collingwood after a grueling 91 days spent rowing across the ocean.
“When you are out there, it just feels like hard work, but when you get back, you realize what a privilege it is to be so close to nature, so far away from humanity. It makes you put things in perspective, I think,” says John.
The father-daughter duo started their journey in Portugal, rowing south to the Canary Islands and west across the Atlantic.
Collingwood father-daughter team row across the Atlantic
They covered 3,500 nautical miles in their custom made six-metre boat.
“Very buoyant. You could puncture her half a dozen times, and she would still float. She’s virtually unsinkable,” he says.
John, 56, is an experienced rower, having crossed both the Pacific and Atlantic in the past.
For their trip, the pair rowed in shifts around the clock, logging their journey along the way and keeping entertained with the help of a book on dad jokes.
“Occasionally, we would both find them funny,” he chuckles, “but not very often.”
Their initial goal was to reach Miami, but when strong winds and currents pushed them south, they decided to head for Antigua, where they landed on March 1.
“The amount of time it took to get to Antigua was the same as what it would take to get to Miami, so it obviously was the right decision,” says 20-year-old Libby.
In hindsight, Libby says she wouldn’t recommend ocean rowing to anyone but feels she accomplished something outside the box.
“Doing something different than everyone else is a valuable lesson,” she admits.
Libby and John are still adapting to life back on dry land and say they have no immediate plans for another adventure.
