Three of the team were lucky enough to go and see the @YorkshireRows ladies speaking at St Peters school in York. Their talk was funny, moving and above all inspirational, not only telling us about the hardships (and pleasures) of being at sea but also the pressures and strains it puts on family and friends and how they got through it all intact. Their new book, Four Mums in a Boat, looks like a great read and tells their story of crossing the Atlantic Ocean (mostly naked) and remaining close friends despite all the challenges and tough times and raises the question to us all, #whatsyourocean?

09:00 Tees Rowing Club
One bright Friday morning in April saw team Row4Victory  on the water for the first time as a four man crew. The location was Tees Rowing Club who provided great support with volunteers to Coxswain and follow on the outboard safety boat.
The training session was simple. A gentle row down through Stockton up to the Pipe Bridge approximately 6km from the Club. We would take our time and get used to rowing as a quad. Fraser having only had one previous rowing session took a bit of time to get used to feathering the oars but soon got into the swing of it. Dunc was in Stroke, Will and Fraser, the middle pair and Glyn as Bowman - we begun to glide effortlessly through the water, well for at least a few strokes. To quote the Coxswain “It’s not too bad… but it’s not too good either”.

​14:00 Training Session
No time to mess about after lunch. The team went straight down to Knayton for a training session with Physical Trainer Harry Warren on the Chamelecon Strength and Conditioning Facility. Dunc not content with the 2 hour River row that morning decided to catch up on his Ergo (Rowing Machine) Training while the remainder of us did a gruelling 21 minute circuit. The short but gassy circuit included kettle bell swings, tyre flips, battle rope, burgees and shuttle runs. An all-round good training day for Team R4V. Always plenty to work on but we all came away determined to keep up the momentum and enthusiasm.

​Aye, Glyn