A FIREFIGHTER currently rowing across the Atlantic can’t wait to return home to his children – and a good steak dinner.
In a live mid-Atlantic link-up with the Examiner via a satellite phone, Dean Jagger, of Mirfield, described the 3,000 mile race as “the toughest challenge of my life”.
He is currently rowing from Tenerife, off the West coast of Africa, to Antigua in the Caribbean, with his colleague Neil Gyllenship, 34, from the Wirral. They are participating in the Atlantic Rowing Race, known as the world’s toughest rowing race.
During a brief stop at sea the father-of-three called the Examiner to update us on his progress.
Dubbed Team Heatwave, the duo are currently half-way through the race – with around 38 days left before they reach the finish line.
Dean, 40, said: “It’s been really tough but we’ve just had a couple of days of good weather and wind which has pushed us in the right direction.
“That came after six days of horrendous storms, high winds and swells.
“We had to live in our small cabin for five or six days.
“But everything is ok now, we’ve broken the pain barrier and we’re approaching the halfway point.
“It’s much more difficult than we thought it would be – the first couple of weeks were really tough. But in our jobs as firefighters we’re really disciplined so it’s come in use.”
From 7am until 11pm every day, the duo, both firefighters at Manchester Airport, alternate every hour between rowing and resting.
From 11pm they row two hours then rest for two hours giving them time to catch-up on some much needed sleep.
“Those power naps get us through the night,” Dean added. “And we need them because the night can be quite a daunting experience.
“The sea blends in with the sky so we don’t know with every stroke if the oars are hitting the water.
“The night times are the scariest – it’s so dark, quiet and exposed.
“It can also get very cold at times.”
Their Atlantic rowing boat is 23ft long with a cabin the size of a two-man tent.
In the cabin is their sleeping area, a navigation system, a laptop and a GPS radio where they can access the world news.
At the front of the boat is a second cabin where they store their power anchor. Dean explained this was like an upside down parachute which holds them in place during storms.
It’s also a store for their boil-in-the-bag food which Dean described as “not bad” and purified seawater.
Dean is dad to Lucy, 16, Thomas, 13 and Elliot, 11.
Lucy, a student at Huddersfield New College joked: “I thought he was mad when he first mentioned it – I still do.
“We’re all really proud of him and can’t wait for him to come back.
“He says it tough but he’s loving it.”
Dean added: “My daughter emails me and we make use of the satellite phone to call home.
“We’re also keeping in touch with schools around the Manchester Airport area which the children love. They’re amazed we can phone from the ocean and it’s great for us because we get to talk to different people to stop us getting bored.
“Family is the one thing we’re missing the most and despite this amazing experience can’t wait to get back to normal.
“I want to have a really good shower, a really good sleep and get a great meal inside me – we’ve both been dreaming of a great steak dinner,” he joked.
They hope to reach Antigua around March 12 and raise more than £100,000 for Claire House Children’s Hospice and children’s charity Child-flight, which provides holidays for poorly children.
