Olly's schedule varies according to weather adn the light conditions as the days get shorter. When it is not possible to row due to bad weather conditions, Olly is in his cabin and often strapped in if the weather is really bad. This avoids the risk of Olly being thrown around and sustaining injury.
An average day:

0600 - wake up, dress, breakfast, GPS point
0730 - row
0930 - snack, rest, drink
1000 - row
1300 - lunch, GPS point
1415 - row
1715 - snack, rest, drink
1800 - row
1930 - stow oars, take down wind generator
2000 - dry clothes, cook supper
2100 - GPS point, write log, communications
2200 - check boat, bed

Over 6 million oar strokes, approximately!

Olly rows at an average pace of 18 oar strokes per minute, and depending on the weather conditions, aims, on average, to row for 9 hours a day.

Given that the expedition is predicted to take somewhere between 18 and 22 months to complete... thats in the region of between 5 and 7 million oar strokes from start to finish.

Approximately 18,000 miles. This is hugely dependent on wind, weather systems and currents, as Olly can be frequently blown off course, which therefore alters his journey and distances.

Olly is at all times tethered to the vessel, either to a strong point or to the jackstays, or in the cabin he will always be strapped in. Olly will always wear his survival suit when conditions are marginal, and when on deck will always wear his manually operated gas inflated lifejacket.

Olly has undertaken extensive training in sea survival techniques, and in his ocean rowing career has so far endured three hurricanes.

Olly will be informed of the latest forecast for his specific sea area each morning from Tactial Weather. These reports will be more regular in the case of severe depressions. In this way Olly can always prepare himself and the boat in advance of bad weather conditions.

When the weather is sufficiently bad to create conditions likely to cause capsize, Olly will batten down the boat and take shelter in the cabin. He will deploy a parachute anchor or drogue if necessary - this stabilises the boat and reduces drift.

The boat acts like a cork and is tossed about yielding to the forces of the waves. The is unlike a large ship which presents far more resistance to the waves. Olly's boat is not subject to the same forces as those of a larger vessel.

Yes absolutely - this is the reason for Olly choosing this route.
The Roaring 40's is essentially a series of storms which push everything from West to East - Olly and his boat included (we hope!). The new boat should blow along very fast in a good storm.

By coughing up HERE

Olly has developed a hygienic and convenient system of removing bodily waste from the boat. This works in all weathers and ensures that the waste is sealed away until it can be disposed of over board.
Olly bathes regularly using baby wipes and freshwater whenever possible. It is importatnt that Olly keeps very clean and free from infection, he will also carry anti-fungal, anti-sceptic and anti-bacterial medications to administer when necessary.

Olly is sea survival trained, and also proficient in ships first aid. He is therefore trained to recognise many symptoms, and trained to take action accordingly. He will be equipped with an extremely comprehensive medial kit which is sufficient to treat many injuries. He is already medically trained, but will be doing further medical training with the British Antarctic Survey prior to his departure.

The most common problems facing ocean rowers tend to be dermatological. Plenty of antibiotics and anti bacterial medicines are carried to treat thse possible problems.

If necessary, Olly will have contact with his shore side expedition Doctor who may assist via email or telephone.

Olly will always have immediate access to warm and dry clothing and an exposure bag as well as a spare dry sleeping bag.
His spare clothes are vacuum packed and stored in stowage and his aft cabin is equipped with a gas powered heater. He always has the ability to make hot food and drink - even if he is unable to light his gas stove he will have chemical heaters on board.

Not really - Olly enters a comfrotable state of solitude as opposed to the negative connotations of lonliness. Although it takes time for this to develop and it can be lonely at first when getting accustomed to being alone having been used to a very sociable environment. Equally it takes time for Olly to readjust to being amongst people again on returning to land.

Catch up with friends.

Food, family, friends, trees and the green British countryside.

Olly tries not to miss anything in particular - if you cant have it there's no point missing it! 

The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway

Of course Olly gets scared - he is human and not insane (yet!). The great knack is controlling fear and chanelling it into a positive and motivating force instead of being overcome or paralysed by it. Fear is a healthy emotion to experience on expeditions where there is of course an innate level of risk. It drives the survival instinct harder and ensures that you do your best to mitigate risk to the lowest possible level with a thorough and rigorous approach to preparation. Fear helps to keep you alive.

Olly's fear threshold has certainly changed over the years and having experienced different trips. Olly feels fear more than he used to when he was young and despite his increasing experience, he thinks he is less gung-ho.
Olly has developed a healthy respect for fear and constantly works to find ways to manage it to his advantage.

Olly does not have a support boat - this would be prohibitively expensive as he will be at sea for an estimated 18-22 months. He is aiming to make the voyage unsupported.

Landing in a large rowing boat presents a significant hazard. This is largely due to to the fact that the vessel is to a degree at the mercy of the elements. Its direction maybe dictated by the wind rather than the oarsman. Olly will have the option of using the emergency sail to aid his landing on the site of his choosing. He will also be able to procure an escort vessel to standby and help in case of trouble. This would be possible in South Georgia, some of the bases on the Antarctic peninsula and Kerguelen and the Crozet Islands.

In the case of unsuitable weather to facilitate landing Olly will be able to stand offshore on sea anchor or ground anchor, awaiting more favourable conditions (as was necessary on a previous expedition when Olly approached St Mary's, in the Scilly Isles, at the end of his Atlantic crossing).

Olly will only undertake a landing operation in daylight, has onboard charts of all possible landing sites and will have comprehensively rehearsed landing drills before the expedition begins.

The boat will be constructed from kevlar and glass fibre composites with an airex foam core sandwhich. The internal bulkheads will be stiffened plywood and carbon, and covered with a kevlar and glass composite. This construction is extremely robust yet lightenough to enable Olly to row the boat solo. The consturtion is also inherently buoyant, it is repairable by Olly himself in remote locations using his onboard repair kit.

The hull of Olly's boat will be further strengthened against the threat of ice.

No expense will be spared with the planning, design and construction of Olly's boat.

Olly's boat will have full self-righting capabilities which will be rigorously tested under realistic conditions.

Except for during training and sea trials, no not yet! During the sea trials it was intentional, to test the self-righting capabilities of the boat.

Olly and Miss Olive, his Atlantic vessel, was rolled to 180 degrees twice during the Atlantic crossing when his steering system failed.

Even having endured 3 storms of hurricane force on the Tasman crossing, The Flying Carrot never capsized nor did she look likely to.
She demonstrated an excellent sea keeping capability in rough seas and inspired huge confidence in Olly.

Due to the Global Row being a solo expedition, there is no one else to keep watch while Olly sleeps.
Olly hopes to sleep for between 7-8 hours per night. During this time he will wake every 2 hours during the night to lookout for both ships and ice. Dependent on weather conditions, the boat will be left to its own devices to drift with the autopilot lending it a rough course. There are lights on the vessel to allert ships to his position.

When the weather is adverse, Olly will stream the parachute anchor to reduce his backwards drift and to make it more comfortable to sleep. Olly is held secure in his bunk as it is placed between two lockers running the length of the cabin. He also has two seatbelts restraining him so that should the boat capsize, he is held in place.

Olly has spares of all essential equipment, such as oars, watermakers, sat phones, GPS, wind generators and stoves.

Spare parts will be carried for all equipment, especially that with moving parts.

In the case of total power failure, all essential systems will either be redundant or have independent back ups available.

Olly will be carrying an emergency sail and mast, so that if he needs to avoid a large iceberg quickly he will be able to do so. The same will apply when closing in on the coast in poor weather conditions.

Olly will be informed of the position of icebergs and headings by Tactical Weather. He will also obtain ice reports from local shipping. If Olly enters any heavily iced areas he will maintain an hourly watch during his rest shifts.
The hull of Olly's vessel is also strengthened against the threat of ice, and contact with it is likely to occur at very low speeds - therefore reducing its impact.

Olly will be carrying an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), which incorporates a GPS with a transmitter and a homing signal. In the event of an emergency an alert signal is transmitted to the Copsas-Sarsat satellites and forwarded to a rescue co-ordination centre, typically within three minutes. The integral GPS will provide the latitude and longitude co-ordinates to the rescue services to an accuracy of approx. 30 metres, anywhere in the world.

The regions which the Global Row will pass through are remote - making any form of assistance, should it become necessary, very difficult. To minimise this problem Olly will maximise the self sufficiency of the vessel by carrying a mast and sail, enabling him to get out of trouble and to a save haven, unaided. It also needs to be recognised that his boat is designed for survival and to withstand conditions in these extreme regions, unlike many of the yachts that venture to these parts which are built for speed rather than safety.
Olly’s boat will be watertight, self-righting, self-draining, and generally far more seaworthy than most yachts.

Olly fully understands his responsibility not only towards sponsors, himself, and his family, but also towards members of the emergency services. He will therefore make every effort to reduce risk, and ensure that he does not put himself in situations where he might need to be rescued.

The fact that the expedition is to be solo, does not inherently add to the risk. Historically there have been many successful solo rows, single handed sailing and oceanrowing is now commonplace.

Being alone means that Olly can not catch a virus from other team members.

The key to solo success has been the expertise and experience of the individuals combined with flawless planning and excellent judgement.

Olly uses between 3 and 4 litres of water a day for drinking and re-hydrating his food. His onboard water maker converts sea water to fresh - this is purer than mineral water. Olly also has a stock of bottled mineral water on board which is used in case there is a problem with his water maker. This is sterilised before being put into sealed bottles.

Olly uses fresh water for washing too.

Olly's diet is specifically designed to take his huge calorie intake into account. His food is planned to give him approx. 5000 calories per day.
The normal adult calorie consumption is 1500-2000.

During his previous expeditions, Olly sporadically picked up the World Service. With the ever-improving online communications capabilities, he will have access to broadband internet, and will therefore be able to tune in from wherever he is! Amazing.

Olly will have a top of the range communications system on board. This is imperative for his safety, to ensure that he is in touch with his shore team at all times, and the emergency services should the need arise.
The boat will be equipped with an Iridium satphone system which provides email and phone capability, an Inmarsat Fleet Broadband 250 Terminal which will provide broadband coverage on the boat, enabling him to access the web and send live video updates, enable video conferencing and more, send print quality photos, etc.

It is important that no corners are cut with Olly's communications systems, and the best possible equipment will always be chosen.

Olly has spares, and spare spares of everything.. just in case.

Olly has a few secret trips up his sleeve, but this will be enough to be getting on with and will keep him busy for the next 3 years!
It should certainly serve to cure his sea fever... for now.

By following Olly and the Global Row Campaign on Facebook here
By following Olly on Twitter here

By buying online here ...

Please contact Victoria for more information on Olly's motivational public speaking and events:
victoria@globalrow.com

By speaking to the team - team@globalrow.com, and getting your wallet out.

500k would be nice. Thanks.

During the expedition, there will be a live and interactive map on the website showing Olly's position.
There will also be updated film clips and photographs which Olly will stream back to his shore team and the website directly, which will magically appear on the map in the position from where they were sent.

Clever. Thank goodness we have Synesis Digital on board to take care of all of that technical stuff for us.

By reading this and by looking here

We would be pleased to hear from you:
team@globalrow.com
victoria@globalrow.com

We will get back to you as soon as possible.