SAM WILLIAMS This ‘regular guy-turnedadventurer’, has taken on charity challenges including rowing to Antigua.
Sam has set himself several gruelling challenges for charity, including rowing to Antigua solo, cycling to Kenya, and undertaking a marathon in the sweltering African heat. How did you get involved in such ambitious challenges?
Initially there was a period of two-and-ahalf years of it just being an idea. I did some occasional research on how you row an ocean, what the finer details of it are. I was just interested really, until I started investigating it more seriously. I spoke to a
lot of people who’d done it. I was the 36th person to do it solo. Suddenly you start committing to things. How did you fund your rowing challenge? It’s hard to get sponsorship without any public exposure, like say Ben Fogle has. I wanted to raise money for charity, but wanted it to more than cover the costs. I got company sponsors for equipment, and was lucky to borrow from my parents, and chip away at the charity contributions afterwards. What was the preparation like? I did a lot of training in the gym, a lot of
time on the rowing machines, putting in a few hours a day in the morning. Before taking on the challenge, I had minimal experience on the water, yet I was about to row all the way to Antigua! I had no idea if I could do it or not, which was a main motivation. It took 75 days in all, and the hardest thing was the lack of control. You’re at the mercy of the weather. If the wind is blowing, you’re just trying to avoid getting blown back. The feelings of wanting it to be over come and go throughout. How do you cope with self doubt? There’s no one there to stop you being frustrated with yourself and that causes
TABLER MAGAZINE * SPRING 2021
I don’t consider myself an athlete, I do adventures to force myself to get off my ass. So, the idea of the Atlantic row came by chance really. I hadn’t done any adventure before and wasn’t particularly sporty. I first learnt about the sport when studying at the Royal Veterinary College London, which was near the Ocean Rowing Society, which sounds grander than it is. The idea to take on a rowing challenge grew in my mind slowly.
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