13 October 2023
What will you be doing over the Christmas period this year? Three current and former ADF members will be rowing for two hours on, two hours off, for six weeks, in a small boat across the Atlantic Ocean – with a bucket for a toilet.
The ‘Aussie Old Salts’ are the only Australian team entered in the December 2023 ‘World’s Toughest Row’ – a trans-Atlantic Ocean crossing, out of a fleet of about 40 boats.
The team comprises Lieutenant Stuart Moore, Commander Alisdair Putt, a former Special Forces veteran NCO and a civilian.
Commander Putt said completing the row would be no small feat.
“There have been more persons who have climbed Mount Everest than rowed across the Atlantic, so the scale of the undertaking is a bit daunting,” Commander Putt said.
The crew are attempting to row the Atlantic Ocean for the challenge, and to raise money for a worthy charity – the Veterans Transition Centre in Jarrahdale, Western Australia – that helps former ADF members who have difficulties transitioning to civilian life.
The team has purchased a specialist ocean rowing boat and has commenced training, including a three-week stint off the Essex coastline in the United Kingdom, practising skills and drills in a variety of sea states.
The boat has a para anchor, similar to an underwater parachute, to deploy when adverse weather conditions make it too difficult to row and to reduce drift.
“The team managed to achieve the necessary time out on the water whilst in the UK to qualify for the race, despite the inconsistent British summer weather, which frequently saw four seasons in a day,” Commander Putt said.
There is some prospect that if the rowing attempt is successful participation by Navy members may become an annual event.
For more information about the row and the charity the team are fundraising for go to www.aussieoldsalts.org.au
