Rowing The Atlantic Solo | Stu Morton

1. 0:00 – 0:55

   The goal: rowing solo from Portugal to Venezuela (a world first)

   1. CWChris Williamson0:00

      (wind blowing) Um, so Mr. Stuart Morton? Welcome.

   2. SMStu Morton0:08

      Yeah. You all right? How you doing?

   3. CWChris Williamson0:09

      Very good, thank you. How are you?

   4. SMStu Morton0:10

      Good.

   5. CWChris Williamson0:10

      Fantastic.

   6. SMStu Morton0:11

      Yeah.

   7. CWChris Williamson0:11

      So we've known each other for nearly a year now-

   8. SMStu Morton0:13

      Mm-hmm.

   9. CWChris Williamson0:14

      ... um, through Reebok Tyneside and a few other bits and pieces as well.

   10. SMStu Morton0:17

       Yeah.

   11. CWChris Williamson0:17

       And since I met you, you've had a- an idea that I think is probably one of the- the maddest things that I've ever heard. It's the sort of- the sort of story that you hear about in the news, but you never actually know anyone who's going to go ahead and do it. So I guess, in short, what- what's your next three months gonna look like? What are you doing?

   12. SMStu Morton0:36

       Um, I'm gonna row a wooden rowing boat from Portugal to Venezuela, um, which has actually never been done before by anybody solo.

   13. CWChris Williamson0:45

       Wow.

   14. SMStu Morton0:45

       It's been done by a team of five guys before, um, but never done by someone on their own. So it'll be like a world's first and all that sort of stuff.

   15. CWChris Williamson0:52

       So you're rowing across the Atlantic Ocean-

   16. SMStu Morton0:54

       Yeah.

   17. CWChris Williamson0:54

       ... on your own?

2. 0:55 – 3:16

   Why not just enter the Atlantic rowing race? Costs, rules, and going independent

   1. SMStu Morton0:55

      Yeah. From Mainland Europe to Mainland South America, which is important 'cause there's a race that exists where people go from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean, so it takes in sort of 80% of the Atlantic Ocean.

   2. CWChris Williamson1:08

      Uh-huh.

   3. SMStu Morton1:08

      Um, and it's- long story short, it's 20 grand to enter, um-

   4. CWChris Williamson1:13

      Wow.

   5. SMStu Morton1:13

      ... and there's more kudos attached to going from Mainland Europe to Mainland South America.

   6. CWChris Williamson1:17

      Right.

   7. SMStu Morton1:17

      'Cause it's about 1,000 miles longer-

   8. CWChris Williamson1:20

      Uh-huh.

   9. SMStu Morton1:20

      ... than the- the race. Um, so that's the reason for- for choosing that.

   10. CWChris Williamson1:25

       Mm-hmm.

   11. SMStu Morton1:25

       And then also the fact that no one's ever done it before, so-

   12. CWChris Williamson1:28

       Wow.

   13. SMStu Morton1:28

       ... there's not many things left that no one's ever done before-

   14. CWChris Williamson1:32

       Yeah, there's not many, uh-

   15. SMStu Morton1:32

       ... in this world, stuff, especially in exploration and stuff, and adventures. Um, so it was one of those, like, last things to grab, and it just sort of built, as it, uh, you know, as it evolved, it sort of built into what it is now.

   16. CWChris Williamson1:45

       Mm-hmm.

   17. SMStu Morton1:46

       Um, the initial intention was to just row the Atlantic. Um, and-

   18. CWChris Williamson1:50

       And is that in- in any way possible?

   19. SMStu Morton1:53

       Say again?

   20. CWChris Williamson1:53

       In any way possible?

   21. SMStu Morton1:54

       Yeah.

   22. CWChris Williamson1:54

       From whatever bit to whatever bit, so to speak?

   23. SMStu Morton1:56

       Yeah. And being kind of naive to it, I was just like, "Well, I want to row the Atlantic. What's the most common form of doing that? And then I'll- I'll try that."

   24. CWChris Williamson2:03

       Mm-hmm.

   25. SMStu Morton2:03

       Um, and then looking into it and peeling back the layers, you sort of figure out what's on offer.

   26. CWChris Williamson2:09

       Mm-hmm.

   27. SMStu Morton2:10

       Um, and then through a bit of sort of bucking against the rules and sort of not wanting to conform-

   28. CWChris Williamson2:17

       Mm-hmm.

   29. SMStu Morton2:17

       ... um, I ended up getting my own- my own route. So basically, there's this company called Atlantic Campaigns-

   30. CWChris Williamson2:23

       Mm-hmm.
3. 3:16 – 4:25

   The spark: a dinner party film that started a 6–7 year obsession

   1. SMStu Morton3:16

      Um, it's- I was living in London, uh, working in private security, um, and basically got invited to a dinner party. Um, and one of the girls at the dinner party was a film director.

   2. CWChris Williamson3:27

      Right.

   3. SMStu Morton3:27

      So I'd asked if she'd worked on anything recently, and she'd just finished a film on a guy called Charlie Pitcher-

   4. CWChris Williamson3:32

      Right.

   5. SMStu Morton3:33

      ... um, who'd rowed the Atlantic on his own-

   6. CWChris Williamson3:35

      Mm-hmm.

   7. SMStu Morton3:35

      ... um, independently. So I watched that film and was sort of transfixed by it. Everyone else at the dinner party didn't really want to, you know, think about doing that.

   8. CWChris Williamson3:44

      Yeah.

   9. SMStu Morton3:44

      Um, I think I was the only guy-

   10. CWChris Williamson3:45

       I don't think there's anyone that really thinks about doing that, right?

   11. SMStu Morton3:47

       Yeah. (laughs)

   12. CWChris Williamson3:48

       Like I say, it's the sort of thing that you hear other people talk about, but they-

   13. SMStu Morton3:52

       Yeah.

   14. CWChris Williamson3:52

       I don't know. It just doesn't-

   15. SMStu Morton3:53

       Well, for me, that's exactly how it was, so- but it- you know, like most things, the curiosity got the better of me, and I sort of- I emailed Charlie, um, to find out the ins and outs of ocean rowing and how someone goes about that, um, planning, that sort of thing. Um, so he sent me all the links to the Talisker race, and through that, I figured out how much it was gonna cost and all that sort of stuff.

   16. CWChris Williamson4:14

       Mm-hmm.

   17. SMStu Morton4:14

       So I had set aside a bit of time to save for it.

   18. CWChris Williamson4:17

       Mm-hmm.

   19. SMStu Morton4:17

       Um, and then like I said, in- in researching more about ocean rowing, I came across other people that done independent rows.

4. 4:25 – 6:50

   Ocean rowing is rarer than Everest: the community, risks, and dropouts

   1. CWChris Williamson4:25

      Right. So there's a whole community, right?

   2. SMStu Morton4:27

      Yeah. It's huge once you sort of-

   3. CWChris Williamson4:29

      Yeah.

   4. SMStu Morton4:29

      ... scratch the l- like, the layers away.

   5. CWChris Williamson4:30

      Absolutely. Over the last-

   6. SMStu Morton4:31

      Um-

   7. CWChris Williamson4:31

      Over the last year, just seeing stuff that you like on Instagram-

   8. SMStu Morton4:34

      Yeah.

   9. CWChris Williamson4:34

      ... there's guys rowing all over the place.

   10. SMStu Morton4:36

       Yeah. Um, and it's almost like- it's like when people get into training, like they've never been exposed to, like, gym life before.

   11. CWChris Williamson4:43

       Mm-hmm.

   12. SMStu Morton4:43

       And then as soon as they start-

   13. CWChris Williamson4:44

       This whole sub-community just explodes.

   14. SMStu Morton4:46

       Yeah. And they pick up all the- the lingo and all that sort of stuff.

   15. CWChris Williamson4:48

       Mm-hmm.

   16. SMStu Morton4:49

       So it's a- definitely, like, a subculture that people pick up on. And ocean rowing is that way as well. But more people have climbed Everest than have rowed the Atlantic.

   17. CWChris Williamson4:57

       Wow.

   18. SMStu Morton4:57

       Um, and then again, if you look at the Pacific or the Indian Ocean, the numbers are even smaller again.

   19. CWChris Williamson5:02

       So it's about- that's sort of 1,000 and a bit, one and a half thousand, is it, maybe, that's coming in?

   20. SMStu Morton5:05

       At the moment, I think the figure stands at about 500.

   21. CWChris Williamson5:08

       Yeah.

   22. SMStu Morton5:08

       But the Talisker race, um, it's grown in popularity. So this year, um, the race is actually happening as we speak, um, and I think there's 75 people in the race.

   23. CWChris Williamson5:18

       So it's getting exponential, the amount of people?

   24. SMStu Morton5:19

       Yeah. So maybe 50 people will complete it.

   25. CWChris Williamson5:21

       Mm-hmm.

   26. SMStu Morton5:22

       There's already been some dropouts and stuff.

   27. CWChris Williamson5:23

       No way.

   28. SMStu Morton5:24

       Um, yeah. A couple of rescues and this, that, and the other, so...

   29. CWChris Williamson5:26

       Wow. So what's-

   30. SMStu Morton5:27

       And that's quite humbling to see-
5. 6:50 – 9:24

   Stu’s background: Marines on a dare, private security, and craving extreme tests

   1. CWChris Williamson6:50

      So, so tell us about your background. What's, what's your, what's your background?

   2. SMStu Morton6:53

      Um, so basically I, I grew up in a really, like, sort of transient lifestyle. So my father was in the Armed Forces.

   3. CWChris Williamson7:00

      Mm-hmm.

   4. SMStu Morton7:00

      Um, I was born in Germany and then ended up living all over the place. Um, and then when I was 18, I joined the Marines on a dare.

   5. CWChris Williamson7:08

      (laughs) On a dare?

   6. SMStu Morton7:08

      Um, did that for abou- yeah, so basically there was a, a TV program on-

   7. CWChris Williamson7:12

      Oh my God.

   8. SMStu Morton7:13

      ... while we were at school and everyone was talking about this TV program and sort of would they fancy doing it and all that sort of stuff. And again, another situation where I think I was the only person that wanted to.

   9. CWChris Williamson7:23

      Yeah.

   10. SMStu Morton7:23

       Um, and then later that day I was stood in the queue for some food at school and, uh, I overheard two lads talking about the fact that I wanted to give it a go.

   11. CWChris Williamson7:32

       Right.

   12. SMStu Morton7:32

       And one-

   13. CWChris Williamson7:33

       How old, how olds, how old were you?

   14. SMStu Morton7:34

       I was like 17 or 18.

   15. CWChris Williamson7:35

       Right, okay.

   16. SMStu Morton7:36

       Um, so it's like A levels.

   17. CWChris Williamson7:37

       Yeah.

   18. SMStu Morton7:38

       Um, and then I overheard someone saying they didn't think I could do it and not being sort of that academically minded-

   19. CWChris Williamson7:44

       Mm-hmm.

   20. SMStu Morton7:44

       ... and not knowing what I wanted to do if I got to university and all that sort of stuff, I just decided to run it by my old man first-

   21. CWChris Williamson7:51

       Yeah.

   22. SMStu Morton7:51

       ... and say, "I'm gonna drop out of school and join the Marines. What do you think?" And he was like, "Yeah, go for it."

   23. CWChris Williamson7:55

       I guess with his background that would have been-

   24. SMStu Morton7:56

       Yeah.

   25. CWChris Williamson7:57

       ... yeah.

   26. SMStu Morton7:57

       So did that, um, left the Marines, got into private security, uh, did that for a few years. Um, and yeah, just, I think you can tell from that background, I've always been a fan of, like, challenges and figuring out who I am-

   27. CWChris Williamson8:09

       For sure.

   28. SMStu Morton8:09

       ... and how I react to, like, stressful environments-

   29. CWChris Williamson8:12

       Mm-hmm.

   30. SMStu Morton8:12

       ... and sort of extreme situations. Um, and I just feel like it's been a few years since that's happened, so the row's sort of coming at, at a good time now.
6. 9:24 – 16:24

   From ultra runs to ocean rowing: building momentum through accountability

   1. CWChris Williamson9:24

      Um, I've seen you, just over the last year, I've seen you run coast to coast of Hadrian's Wall.

   2. SMStu Morton9:30

      Yeah, that was, um... So that, that wasn't really a big thing for us. I know does that, does that sound really big-headed?

   3. CWChris Williamson9:37

      (laughs)

   4. SMStu Morton9:37

      And it's not meant to sound that way at all, but-

   5. CWChris Williamson9:38

      It was the equivalent of somewhere in the region of three marathons back to back in 24 hours.

   6. SMStu Morton9:41

      E- exactly what... Well, it, it's actually three 28 mile runs back to back. So I'll set the scene again. Josh Rose and I did a run in November just off the cuff to see how, like, fit we thought we were.

   7. CWChris Williamson9:53

      Yeah.

   8. SMStu Morton9:53

      And it was a trail run in Wooler which was 28 miles.

   9. CWChris Williamson9:56

      Uh-huh.

   10. SMStu Morton9:56

       And then we literally finished it and 10 minutes afterwards we're talking about people that do ultra marathons and stuff like that. And I just-

   11. CWChris Williamson10:03

       Which is 100, 100 and over.

   12. SMStu Morton10:04

       I think ultra's anything over a marathon to be honest.

   13. CWChris Williamson10:06

       Is it?

   14. SMStu Morton10:06

       Yeah.

   15. CWChris Williamson10:07

       Oh right, okay.

   16. SMStu Morton10:07

       So people who do a 50K and call it an ultra.

   17. CWChris Williamson10:09

       Okay.

   18. SMStu Morton10:09

       Or they'll do a 100K and call it an ultra or whatever.

   19. CWChris Williamson10:11

       Yeah.

   20. SMStu Morton10:12

       Um, so Josh and I were basically saying, "Do you reckon you could do that back to back?" And I was like, "Oh, I don't know." And then just off sort of Googling and flying around Facebook and stuff, I found s- two guys that had ran Hadrian's Wall and it was 84 miles and it just jumped into my head that that's pretty much there, back again, and there again-

   21. CWChris Williamson10:31

       Mm-hmm.

   22. SMStu Morton10:32

       ... of the run we just did-

   23. CWChris Williamson10:33

       Yeah.

   24. SMStu Morton10:33

       ... which was the biggest distance either of us have at e- had ever done-

   25. CWChris Williamson10:36

       Mm-hmm.

   26. SMStu Morton10:37

       ... I think up to that point. Uh-

   27. CWChris Williamson10:38

       And only 10 minutes after it you were already looking for the next adventure.

   28. SMStu Morton10:40

       Yeah, so I just jokingly said to him, "What do you reckon about doing this?" And he was like, "Yeah, that sounds pretty good." And then I'll, I've always been a fan of if you tell people about it, then it's happening.

   29. CWChris Williamson10:49

       Yeah.

   30. SMStu Morton10:49

       So I think we posted that on Instagram that day, um, and then just sort of trained towards it.
7. 16:24 – 17:28

   Unsupported reality: rescues, beacons, and the harsh logistics of survival

   1. CWChris Williamson16:24

      So what's the support structure that you've got?

   2. SMStu Morton16:27

      There's no support. It's completely unsupported. Um-

   3. CWChris Williamson16:30

      (laughs)

   4. SMStu Morton16:30

      ... In absolute emergency, I can set off one of the many beacons that I've got on board-

   5. CWChris Williamson16:34

      Mm-hmm.

   6. SMStu Morton16:35

      ... um, and through the different coastal agencies around the world, they'll sort of try and effect a rescue.

   7. CWChris Williamson16:40

      Mm-hmm.

   8. SMStu Morton16:41

      And the majority of the time these rescues are from passing ships, 'cause there's quite a few shipping lanes on my route.

   9. CWChris Williamson16:46

      Okay.

   10. SMStu Morton16:47

       So, um, there is the opportunity to be rescued, but that's if you're in a, an emergency situation.

   11. CWChris Williamson16:54

       Yeah.

   12. SMStu Morton16:54

       Um, it wouldn't be looked upon very well if you set off your beacon just 'cause you're a bit tired-

   13. CWChris Williamson16:59

       Have a cramp or something like that.

   14. SMStu Morton17:00

       ... or whatever, yeah.

   15. CWChris Williamson17:00

       Yeah, exactly.

   16. SMStu Morton17:01

       Or you feel a bit sorry for yourself. Um, and then failing that, there's a life raft, a grab bag of emergency kit, and then the current to take me to the Caribbean.

   17. CWChris Williamson17:10

       Bloody hell.

   18. SMStu Morton17:11

       Which will take probably about 150 days, maybe.

   19. CWChris Williamson17:14

       Okay.

   20. SMStu Morton17:15

       Um, but someone's done that before, so-

   21. CWChris Williamson17:16

       I mean, that's, that's last, that's definitely last resort.

   22. SMStu Morton17:18

       Yeah.

   23. CWChris Williamson17:19

       (laughs)

   24. SMStu Morton17:19

       It's last resort, but it is a resort.

   25. CWChris Williamson17:20

       Yeah, for sure.

   26. SMStu Morton17:21

       So you've got to

   27. CWChris Williamson17:22

       (music) I guess you've got to have planning for every eventuality. Like you said, there's a lot of things that could occur that you wouldn't know.

   28. SMStu Morton17:27

       Yeah.

8. 17:28 – 24:14

   Timing, winds, and boat classes: why January, why Pureclass, and record logic

   1. CWChris Williamson17:28

      So when do you set off? What time of day and what date, and where from exactly?

   2. SMStu Morton17:31

      Uh, well, it's all weather dependent. So-

   3. CWChris Williamson17:33

      Right.

   4. SMStu Morton17:33

      ... you set, like, a general date that you're aiming at, which for me is the 18th of January.

   5. CWChris Williamson17:37

      Mm-hmm.

   6. SMStu Morton17:38

      Um, for no other reason. I just plucked it out of the air.

   7. CWChris Williamson17:40

      Yep.

   8. SMStu Morton17:41

      Um, and then through the, the weather routing guy, um, my friend Foxy, we're just gonna look at the weather around that week and see-

   9. CWChris Williamson17:48

      Mm-hmm.

   10. SMStu Morton17:48

       ... if it's a viable option.

   11. CWChris Williamson17:49

       But generally January's a good time, right?

   12. SMStu Morton17:52

       Yeah.

   13. CWChris Williamson17:53

       Because of something going on with currents?

   14. SMStu Morton17:55

       Yeah, the Talisker Race sets off in December, um, and I'm gonna set off in January, basically for the same reason that the trade winds come from Africa towards South America.

   15. CWChris Williamson18:03

       Right.

   16. SMStu Morton18:03

       Um, they're at their strongest point at that time of the year.

   17. CWChris Williamson18:06

       Mm-hmm.

   18. SMStu Morton18:06

       Um, and also the hurricane season stops in around November, December time. So if you set off, obviously after the hurricane season, it's gonna be-

   19. CWChris Williamson18:15

       Do not want to be-

   20. SMStu Morton18:15

       ... quite a few favors.

   21. CWChris Williamson18:16

       ... caught in hurricane season. Yeah, for sure.

   22. SMStu Morton18:17

       Yeah.

   23. CWChris Williamson18:17

       So you're gonna get an assist with the wind, right?

   24. SMStu Morton18:19

       Uh, yeah.

   25. CWChris Williamson18:21

       At, at least a little bit.

   26. SMStu Morton18:23

       Yeah. So there's, um-So not to get too much into it, but there's two classes of boats. There's the Pureclass and the Conceptclass. Um, the Conceptclass is basically, like, the newest design, which is an incredible design. And not to sound like I'm sort of, like, hating on it-

   27. CWChris Williamson18:39

       (laughs)

   28. SMStu Morton18:40

       ... um, it is an, a p- phenomenally designed bit of kit and the people that make them, Rannoch, are definitely the best boat builders out there.

   29. CWChris Williamson18:47

       Mm-hmm.

   30. SMStu Morton18:47

       But it's widely known that they get huge wind assistance because they're designed for that.
9. 24:14 – 26:07

   The first week and the daily grind: routine, steering tech, and pacing strategy

   1. CWChris Williamson24:14

      Yeah. For sure. So you're gonna set off January 18th. And then I'm right in saying that you don't actually steer, is that right? It's GPS that, uh, that does the, the majority of the steering in terms of direction for the rudder?

   2. SMStu Morton24:26

      Yeah. So you can have what's called an auto helm, um, and it basically attaches to the rudder.... and it's a, a digital steering device.

   3. CWChris Williamson24:34

      Mm-hmm.

   4. SMStu Morton24:34

      So you type in your bearing to the GPS, and then you can get it done automatically or you can sync it yourself as well.

   5. CWChris Williamson24:41

      Mm-hmm.

   6. SMStu Morton24:41

      You'll put the bearing into the auto helm-

   7. CWChris Williamson24:43

      Mm-hmm.

   8. SMStu Morton24:43

      ... and then it basically steers for you.

   9. CWChris Williamson24:45

      Mm-hmm.

   10. SMStu Morton24:46

       So you-

   11. CWChris Williamson24:46

       And you just get on and you just pull?

   12. SMStu Morton24:47

       Yeah, and you just pull. But if that breaks, you then go to foot steering or hand steering.

   13. CWChris Williamson24:52

       Oh my God.

   14. SMStu Morton24:52

       Which is as bad as it sounds. Um-

   15. CWChris Williamson24:54

       Yeah, whilst, whilst also trying to-

   16. SMStu Morton24:56

       To pull your oars, yeah, and you're constantly, like-

   17. CWChris Williamson24:59

       Readjusting.

   18. SMStu Morton25:00

       ... adjusting it and sort of making sure you're on the right bearing and all that stuff.

   19. CWChris Williamson25:02

       So are y- have you set your course now? Do you know the exact course?

   20. SMStu Morton25:05

       Yeah, so I, I went through it with, um, Foxy, um, we sort of sat down the other week and spent about eight hours picking the, the course. Um-

   21. CWChris Williamson25:14

       So you've only done it, only done it recently?

   22. SMStu Morton25:16

       Yeah, I mean, the-

   23. CWChris Williamson25:17

       You've had a lot of good idea-

   24. SMStu Morton25:19

       Yeah.

   25. CWChris Williamson25:19

       ... for a long time, but-

   26. SMStu Morton25:19

       I mean, everyone knows that I'm going from Portugal to Venezuela, so-

   27. CWChris Williamson25:22

       (laughs)

   28. SMStu Morton25:22

       ... it's pretty obvious-

   29. CWChris Williamson25:23

       Yeah.

   30. SMStu Morton25:23

       ... I just head west.
10. 26:07 – 33:23

    Training and body transformation: getting strong, building an engine, and ‘getting fat’

    1. CWChris Williamson26:07

       Just take us through your training. Take us through what the training has consisted of.

    2. SMStu Morton26:11

       Um, I think that's always a hard question to answer because there's a, you know, chunk of society that trains all the time and they have goals outside of these big projects.

    3. CWChris Williamson26:21

       Mm-hmm.

    4. SMStu Morton26:21

       So, uh, like, I, I train most days and have done since I was 16 or 17. Um, but the row-specific stuff, I knew I had to get fat, I knew I had to get strong, and I knew I had to have a pretty good engine.

    5. CWChris Williamson26:35

       (laughs)

    6. SMStu Morton26:35

       Uh, luckily I've had a good engine for a while, um, so that kind of took care of itself.

    7. CWChris Williamson26:39

       Yeah.

    8. SMStu Morton26:39

       And that run was, like, confirmation of that.

    9. CWChris Williamson26:42

       Yeah.

    10. SMStu Morton26:42

        Um, and then just-

    11. CWChris Williamson26:44

        How, how about getting fat?

    12. SMStu Morton26:45

        Getting fat's been really weird. Really weird.

    13. CWChris Williamson26:47

        (laughs)

    14. SMStu Morton26:47

        It's gone really well, um, but it's been really strange. Obviously most people that train are training to achieve a goal.

    15. CWChris Williamson26:55

        The exact opposite, the exact opposite.

    16. SMStu Morton26:56

        Whether it be looking good or being nice when you're look, uh, looking good when you're naked and all that-

    17. CWChris Williamson27:00

        Yeah.

    18. SMStu Morton27:00

        ... sort of stuff. Um, and I've had to do the opposite of that.

    19. CWChris Williamson27:03

        Yeah.

    20. SMStu Morton27:04

        I've had to eat for a purpose, which goes against everything that like-

    21. CWChris Williamson27:08

        (laughs)

    22. SMStu Morton27:08

        ... I and people I stay with, like, stand for.

    23. CWChris Williamson27:11

        (laughs)

    24. SMStu Morton27:11

        So that's been really weird. But, um, it's, it's doing ... I'm getting better at it now because I know that it's gonna, like, su- uh, it's gonna-

    25. CWChris Williamson27:19

        Getting better at being fat?

    26. SMStu Morton27:21

        Yeah.

    27. CWChris Williamson27:21

        (laughs)

    28. SMStu Morton27:21

        Well, I'm getting better at putting the food in and not being that bothered by it.

    29. CWChris Williamson27:24

        Right.

    30. SMStu Morton27:24

        'Cause I know it's gonna, like, serve me well when the, the time comes, but ...
11. 33:23 – 50:39

    Life aboard: the boat layout, para-anchor, capsizes, and ocean ‘surfing’ for speed

    1. CWChris Williamson33:23

       So talk us, talk us through the vessel, or the boat. Talk us through what's on it.

    2. SMStu Morton33:26

       Yeah. So she's 24 feet long. Um, there's a cabin at the front and at the back that are both enclosed and airtight.

    3. CWChris Williamson33:33

       Right.

    4. SMStu Morton33:34

       Um, the one at the back is the one I sleep in.

    5. CWChris Williamson33:37

       Mm-hmm.

    6. SMStu Morton33:37

       Um, so it's about, it's basically coffin dimensions. It's like six foot by two foot.

    7. CWChris Williamson33:42

       Built for you, pretty much, obviously. So...

    8. SMStu Morton33:43

       Um, built for me, pretty much. Yeah. And in, in, in the cabin I've got sort of food, a memory-foam mattress, and a sleeping bag.

    9. CWChris Williamson33:50

       Okay.

    10. SMStu Morton33:50

        Um, and then I've got, like, the GPS, the radio, uh, the- a thing called AIS, which is like an indication system that tells me and other ships who each other are.

    11. CWChris Williamson34:00

        Right. (laughs)

    12. SMStu Morton34:01

        So you can get in touch and say, "Stay away from me, you're about to run me over."

    13. CWChris Williamson34:03

        Please, yeah.

    14. SMStu Morton34:03

        Or whatever. Um, then the forward cabin at the front of the boat is where I'm gonna have... it's mainly s- for storage. You can't really get in there.

    15. CWChris Williamson34:11

        Mm-hmm.

    16. SMStu Morton34:12

        Um, and it's just gonna store things like the parachute anchor and all that sort of thing.

    17. CWChris Williamson34:16

        Right.

    18. SMStu Morton34:16

        And then the deck itself has got two rowing positions and six oars. Um, and then-

    19. CWChris Williamson34:22

        Why?

    20. SMStu Morton34:23

        That's it.

    21. CWChris Williamson34:23

        Wh- why two rowing positions and six oars?

    22. SMStu Morton34:25

        Just, uh, basically so my boat can be rowed by one person or two people.

    23. CWChris Williamson34:29

        Right.

    24. SMStu Morton34:29

        Um, and there was an opportunity to, like, condense the two positions into one, just for the sake of, "I'm a solo rower, so I don't need two."

    25. CWChris Williamson34:36

        Mm-hmm.

    26. SMStu Morton34:37

        But then we talked about, the- with the project manager, that when they, um... as I get halfway through and I've eaten half of the food-

    27. CWChris Williamson34:43

        Mm-hmm.

    28. SMStu Morton34:43

        ... and obviously half of the, the weight of the boat has disappeared-

    29. CWChris Williamson34:46

        Yeah.

    30. SMStu Morton34:47

        ... um, it would be nice to have the opportunity to either row more forward or more back of the boat, so I can affect the boat's stability in the water.
12. 50:39 – 54:17

    Nutrition, hydration, and the human cost: watermaker, ballast, 7,000+ calories, and weight loss

    1. CWChris Williamson50:39

       Man. So fresh water as well, like, water's a very, very heavy-

    2. SMStu Morton50:43

       Yeah.

    3. CWChris Williamson50:44

       ... object to take with you. How's that working? Have you got a-

    4. SMStu Morton50:47

       So-

    5. CWChris Williamson50:47

       ... a, something that you can distill on, on board as well?

    6. SMStu Morton50:50

       Yeah. So on board, I've got a, um, a desalinator or a water maker. Uh, and basically it's plumbed into the boat, so there's a valve underneath the hull, like, the bottom of the boat-

    7. CWChris Williamson51:00

       Mm-hmm.

    8. SMStu Morton51:01

       ... and it sucks up seawater, and then through loads and loads of different filters at mega high pressure, turns it from salt water into drinkable water.

    9. CWChris Williamson51:10

       Mm-hmm.

    10. SMStu Morton51:10

        Um, doesn't taste particularly great, but, you know, keeps you, keeps you going when you need it.

    11. CWChris Williamson51:15

        Yeah.

    12. SMStu Morton51:16

        Um, and then also, because of the type of boat I have, it needs ballast.

    13. CWChris Williamson51:21

        Mm-hmm.

    14. SMStu Morton51:21

        To sort of set it down in the water and again reduce the, the chance of, uh, capsizing.

    15. CWChris Williamson51:25

        Yeah.

    16. SMStu Morton51:26

        So the ballast is gonna come in the form of about 120 kilos of fresh water.

    17. CWChris Williamson51:30

        Uh-huh.

    18. SMStu Morton51:31

        Um, just in plastic bottles that you'd get from a shop sort of thing.

    19. CWChris Williamson51:34

        (laughs)

    20. SMStu Morton51:35

        Uh, and then if the water maker breaks, and my handheld water maker breaks as well-

    21. CWChris Williamson51:40

        Yeah.

    22. SMStu Morton51:40

        ... I've got emergency water to last me sort of, you know-

    23. CWChris Williamson51:44

        Sufficient time.

    24. SMStu Morton51:44

        ... however long it could.

    25. CWChris Williamson51:45

        Yeah.

    26. SMStu Morton51:45

        Um, and the idea with that would be if you drink any of the fresh water in the bottles, you can just replace it with seawater and mark the bottle so you don't drink it.

    27. CWChris Williamson51:53

        Yeah.

    28. SMStu Morton51:53

        And that way you don't lose any ballast-

    29. CWChris Williamson51:54

        Uh-huh.

    30. SMStu Morton51:54

        ... but you're able to drink the emergency water.
13. 54:17 – 1:03:31

    The mission behind the mission: Rock2Recovery, PTSD support, and sponsorship/media realities

    1. CWChris Williamson54:17

       Um, so tell us about the Rock2Recovery then 'cause the, everything that you're doing here is-

    2. SMStu Morton54:22

       Yeah.

    3. CWChris Williamson54:22

       ... based around a charity, right?

    4. SMStu Morton54:23

       Yeah. So to get a bit candid and maybe a little bit sort of controversial, um, I generally, you know, and, and a lot of other people, um, wanna bring to the fore how much PTSD is ignored.

    5. CWChris Williamson54:37

       Mm-hmm.

    6. SMStu Morton54:38

       Um, I think people that come back from Afghan and Iraq and all that sort of stuff with injuries, physical injuries, are pretty well looked after now. Um, they don't get the, the best care that they could possibly wish for.... but it's, it's pretty good. So if you lose a leg, for example, you're gonna get a prosthetic and it's gonna be of, of a very good sort of standard.

    7. CWChris Williamson54:59

       Mm-hmm.

    8. SMStu Morton55:00

       Um, but unfortunately, uh, the same can't be said for mental health. Um, if you come back with a brain injury or with post-traumatic stress or anything like that, you're just not well looked after at all. It isn't clear what avenues you should be going down to seek help. Um, it isn't clear what kind of signs and symptoms to look out for in people. So like-

    9. CWChris Williamson55:18

       Do you think, do you think that this is across US, UK? Is this-

    10. SMStu Morton55:22

        Yeah. It's ac- like, you, like, the suicide rate for sort of veterans is sky-high. And a lot of it is because of, you know, p- post-trauma sort of incidents that they've experienced. Or if they've, you know, been in high-pressure situations for huge chunks of their lives-

    11. CWChris Williamson55:39

        Mm-hmm.

    12. SMStu Morton55:39

        ... which Afghan and Iraq provided, um, you basically leave the service and you don't have any, um, transitionary sort of support.

    13. CWChris Williamson55:47

        Mm-hmm.

    14. SMStu Morton55:47

        You're just, you know, one day you're flying around jumping out of helicopters and shooting people and stuff, and the next day, you're in Waitrose getting annoyed at people.

    15. CWChris Williamson55:54

        Mowing the lawn.

    16. SMStu Morton55:55

        Yeah. Getting in your way when you're trying to buy tomatoes or whatever.

    17. CWChris Williamson55:57

        Wow.

    18. SMStu Morton55:57

        So, it's a really hard thing to come to terms with, especially with the fact that there's no help out there. Um, and Rock to Recovery is a charity that's sort of changing the face of that. So they're providing help for veterans and their families, um, who have to deal with PTSD and sort of brain trauma injuries and stuff like that. Um, and it's like a fast action charity as well. So if anyone, for example, if you had a friend or a relative or whoever that was in the forces that you were worried about, you could call Rock to Recovery and they'd literally fly up to see that friend or relative-

    19. CWChris Williamson56:31

        Oh, nice.

    20. SMStu Morton56:31

        ... and give them like immediate one-to-one support, like there and then.

    21. CWChris Williamson56:34

        Good Samaritans, but for-

    22. SMStu Morton56:36

        Yeah.

    23. CWChris Williamson56:36

        ... for really serious (overlapping)

    24. SMStu Morton56:37

        Yeah. And obviously, it costs a fortune. So, the, raising money for a, a charity like that and trying to raise the or- uh, awareness of them as well is like really important. So-

    25. CWChris Williamson56:48

        I mean, I, I, I think I've, I've got a friend, BT Rella, who, uh, started VetSports in America.

    26. SMStu Morton56:53

        Mm-hmm.

    27. CWChris Williamson56:53

        Which is a, a wounded and PTSD-

    28. SMStu Morton56:56

        Yeah.

    29. CWChris Williamson56:57

        ... uh, support and sports league. So they play like baseball and a whole bunch of other stuff.

    30. SMStu Morton57:00

        Mm-hmm.

Episode duration: 1:07:07