Clockwise: Quincey rowed 15 hours a day; slept in his cramped cabin; and eventually came ashore at Ninety Mile Beach
some lessons from his expedition. I was always aware of it, so stuck to certain rules and routines.” Despite being exhausted and depressed, and unravelling quickly, Quincey was forced to steel himself further in the final days of his trip, when it became clear that, if he didn’t accelerate, the current would carry him north so rapidly that he would overshoot New Zealand completely, condemning him to an extra 10 days at sea. It meant Quincey had to row non-stop, through the night, getting by on only snatches of sleep while hunched at his oars. “You don’t know where the waves are coming from – you can’t see anything. You get hit on the side and the boat partially rolls – it’s rubbish,” he says. “It was a real race against time because I knew that I was losing 10 miles north for every mile I was rowing towards land. I was running out of water, so that was a big factor and I just got by on No-Doz and as much coffee as I could drink. It was do or die. I’d had enough.” Eventually, though, Quincey made it in one piece, landing at Ninety Mile Beach, near Kaitaia on New Zealand’s North Island, where he was greeted by a throng of supporters. Quincey, originally from Auckland, now lives in London, working as a motivational speaker, but plans to get behind the oars again, although he’ll make sure he has some company for any future expeditions. “I’m looking at taking a four-man crew around the world – that would be over three years with stop-offs along the way – and I’ll be rowing the Caribbean Sea in March,” he says. “It’ll be great to do it with a crew, although there are some different challenges, managing the personalities, but it’s just shit being out there by yourself.” Alone Against The Tasman will be broadcast on Friday, December 9 at 8pm on Eden (Sky 532, Virgin 208). Follow Shaun Quincey on Twitter: @tasmanrower
A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY Quincey had a unique motivation to row the Tasman – his father, Colin (above), remains the only other man to have done so, crossing in the opposite direction, from New Zealand to Australia, in 1977. “It was a huge factor – dad was the last person to do it and I had to be the next one. That was imperative for me, for us to be the first going each way,” he says. “It wasn’t a big competition between us about how long it took us, though, because, on the Tasman, it’s really up to the weather. It was just about completing it.” During the two years of planning, this family connection, Quincey insists, convinced him that no setback was terminal and compelled him to keep going. “There were a few speed bumps, but once I started putting everything on the line, committing everything to seeing it through, I put myself in the position where I couldn’t back out,” he says.
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