Our boat is called "The Christina". I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about her. In 1997, brothers Eamonn and Peter Kavanagh from the town of Arklow in Wicklow became the first and only Irish people to date to row across the Atlantic Ocean. Not only did they complete the voyage but also they finished fifth in the race! They did this in their boat "The Christina", who they named after their mother. Eamonn and Peter have very generously given us their boat to use for our Atlantic crossing.
The boat is just over 23ft long with a beam of 6.3ft, when fully laden, it will weigh in excess of 1.5 tonnes. It is made from marine plywood. All boats competing in this race are a uniform design. This is to ensure that all teams are competing on equal terms.
The design is extensively sub divided into watertight compartments and
the disposition of the aft accommodation and forward stowage together
with the raised double bottom ensures that the boat is fully self righting
and will be largely self draining (when all hatches are closed to maintain
the watertight integrity of the boat)
