Sean McGowan- A Solo Atlantic Crossing

Sean McGowan from Ireland is about to set out on an incredible journey that will take him to the edge both mentally and physically. This December he will set off to row 2,500 Nautical miles - Solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

Sean took some time out from his preparations to speak to us about the adventure ahead!

Q: Sean do you remember how you first became inspired to take up the challenge of Rowing solo across the Atlantic?

It was in 1997 when Amen and Peter Kavanagh became the first Irish men to successfully row across the Atlantic. I remember thinking to myself that the journey they had completed was so impressive and how was it even possible. I kept thinking about what those two men had achieved and over the course of the next four years it ate away at me, until I finally made the decision to commit to do it.

Q: How did you go about beginning to prepare for such a mammoth task?

My main concern at the beginning was would I be strong enough mentally and physically? So in 2002 I began to set small challenges for myself to see how I did. At that stage I had stopped rowing for 9 years and had a hectic life that included my career, my family and also coaching. At first I made the challenges small, rowing for an hour and then taking a break before trying again for another hour, slowly increasing the length of time I could do. Then in 2006 I met with Amen and Peter Kavanagh and joined them rowing on rough water for the first time, and loved it.

Q: Is there a particular approach you have taken to preparing for the challenge of rowing Solo across the Atlantic?

Questions I have asked myself include “How am I going to handle it when I am at sea in the middle of 30 – 60ft waves with gale force waves, nobody to talk to and nobody to call”, and I’m currently working with a sports psychologist to try and visualise these situations and prepare myself mentally.
I’m an Engineer by profession so I have tried to take a very logical approach with every element of this challenge. I know that I don’t know everything and that the other people who are experts in their fields, are the one who I need to work with and listen to. I don’t want to do this and fail, because I don’t want to have to go back and do it again! I want to push off and begin rowing, and then aim to get off the water again as soon as possible by successfully

Q: Can you tell us a bit about the kind of training and nutrition plan have you been doing in order to be ready for the challenge ahead?

I’m very lucky, for instance Fergal O’Callaghan an old colleague of mine who I used to row with - currently works as a coach with professional Rugby teams. We sat down together about two years ago and came up with a programme that involved weights training and endurance training, which focused on helping me to build up some bulk and also increase my level of fitness. Fearghal then recommended a dietician (Andrea Cullen) who worked with me to identify the correct diet for me to follow. I had to change so much about my daily diet and that took some getting used to.