Locals rowing toward record

Four Seattle men won the inaugural Shepherd Ocean Fours Rowing Race on Friday, paddling their 29-foot rowboat made of fiberglass and foam across the Atlantic Ocean in 69 days, 23 hours and 18 minutes.

With an impressive lead of more than 350 miles over their next competitor, the winning boat, dubbed the James Robert Hanssen, was crewed by four former University of Puget Sound students from Seattle — Jordan Hanssen, 24; Dylan LeValley, 22; Greg Spooner, 26; and Brad Vickers, 22. The four friends took off from New York Harbor, and crossed nearly 2,900 nautical miles to Bishop's Rock, the southwesternmost point of Great Britain.

"This has been an amazing experience for us and we are all very emotional at the moment," Spooner said from the boat. "This project has involved many more people than just the four of us and we are incredibly grateful for all the support of our family and friends."

Having battled Tropical Depression Alberto early in the race, and strong northerly winds in the latter stages, the weather conditions were less than favorable, resulting in the crew being unable to take the record for the fastest-ever North Atlantic ocean rowing crossing. However, the Seattle four had another record in mind.

They plan to row the remaining 65 nautical miles into Falmouth to claim a new record — the first ever ocean-rowing crew in history to row unaided from the mainland United States to mainland Britain.

"Their dedication, teamwork and desire to succeed has proved beyond all doubt to be a winning formula," said Simon Chalk, an official with Woodvale, the class of boat all rowed in the race. "As a fellow ocean rower, I am over the moon to be able to congratulate these amazing sportsmen on this most spectacular achievement."

With 65 nautical miles left to row, it is expected that the James Robert Hanssen will finish at the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth on Sunday, where numerous family members and friends will be waiting to greet them.

Four other teams had yet to reach Bishop's Rock. For updates and a team blog, visit www.oarnorthwest.com.

The event began in June with 14 international teams, but all but five dropped out. Two in each boat row at all times, while the other two either rest or eat in a snug 7-foot cabin in the stern, just big enough to fit all four men on days when 30-foot waves and storms prevent them from rowing.

The tallest of the crew is 6-5, the shortest 5-10.

Before this race and since 1966, 79 rowboats have been retrieved during their ocean adventures, while five boats have been lost at sea and four burned, according to the Ocean Rowing Society.

Only 24 people had previously rowed across the Atlantic successfully; the first were two Norwegian clam diggers who packed 500 eggs and 16 bottles of wine for their 1896 voyage.

The Seattle team's journey was more than a year in the making. The basement of Hanssen's Green Lake home, where they all live, was the team's business headquarters, and their backyard served as the dry dock for building, testing — even camping.

Spooner is the only business major, but they all tried fundraising, marketing and media relations to support the project.

While Spooner was in school, his rowing mates worked part time, coaching, scooping ice cream and doing graphic design.

"I'm not sure I'd be rowing now if it wasn't for this," LeValley said before the team left on its adventure. "It's the challenge of rowing across the North Atlantic. It was something that is pretty hard to walk away from. And we've tried to approach it like we're running a $300,000 business.

"But I was a geology major."