Rowing After the White Whale: A Crossing of the Indian Ocean by Hand

by James Adair

Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut' - Ernest Hemingway Over a boozy Sunday lunch, flatmates James Adair and Ben Stenning made a promise to row across the ocean. At first they considered the Pacific, then the Atlantic, but once James Cracknell and Ben Fogle completed the high-profile Atlantic Rowing Race, their thoughts turned to the Indian Ocean, longer and tougher than the Atlantic and having seen fewer people row across its waters than have walked on the Moon. After years of planning and fund raising, they were ready to launch in Spring 2011. Neither James nor Ben had any rowing or sailing experience. To add to this, James had contracted Guillain-Barre syndrome at the age of 14, which had locked his body into total paralysis for three months (while his mind had remained completely active) and which had left him with paralysed feet. This was a challenge that neither man should have ever considered.

Genres: Biography, Travel, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2013

Reviews

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever wondered how the British of all people ended up with such a massive empire? How did the inhabitants of a few damp islands off the coast of Europe come to be so dominant? Well, I think I have the answer. Chaps like Ben and James.

Two chaps (chaps is the only way to describe these two) decide to row the Indian ocean with about as much preparation as you or I would make going on a package holiday. The sheer enormity of the prospect doesn't faze them one iota. To make matters even more difficult, James's feet are paralysed due to a childhood illness. Water off a duck’s back.

What follows is an engrossing adventure of pure resilience, good humour, and a marvelous outlook on the human condition. We have some interesting asides into the military history of Mauritius, squids, whales, and much more.

It’s a well put together book to boot. The chapters all start nicely with quotations from Moby Dick ( naturally) or other seafaring stories. All this combined with a stiff upper lip and typical British self-deprecating understatement make for a very enjoyable read.
Jolly good show as they would probably say.

[George Mahood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Incredibly inspiring and extremely well written. The only thing more remarkable than rowing across the Indian Ocean is writing such a great book about it. Very well done, James!

[Tc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. 2 school friends dream of rowing across an ocean. They have next to nothing in experience, but a strong determination to do it. And so they set off. There are some amazing tales of insects found in the middle of nowhere, and other wildlife featured in their journey. Sadly the camera was lost on the last day, again an amazing story in itself. Well done boys. What a whale of a story. Very easy to read, short chapters so easy to read when you only have a few moments, but you're likely to want more time to settle in and find out what happens next.

[Hana · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was brilliant. Absolutely and completely brilliant. Thank you for a captivating, amusing, and inspiring read.

[Maria Protopapa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really pleasant reading. Their achievement is truly admirable!

[Suze · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in short bursts over a period of a few months - probably not dissimilar to the time it took James and Ben to row!
Engaging story of how the row came to be, the struggles to get going, the actual row and a somewhat ignominious end.
A test of friendship, a feat of endurance, amazing sights, feats of survival, many highs and lows.
I liked how Moby Dick was a theme, another great seafaring book.
The end was a bit worrisome as the guys had to fend for themselves, lost their boat, dealt with injuries, lost precious photos and had to survive Island rescue.
Luckily they made it!

[Nick Cherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a few rowing books and this one is the best. It's written in beautiful short chapters with a great mix of humor and reflections on the deeper aspects of life at sea. It almost makes me want to do a row.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes inspiring, sometimes annoying. Did it kind of make me want to row somewhere? Yes, but I will say that two days is much more appealing than months!

[Valentina · Rating 3 out of 5]

At least 3.5!
Very entertaining description of a fantastic adventure.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a lovely book to read and I hugely admire the two of them taking on such a dangerous challenge with so little preparation and real understanding of what they were getting themselves into. Their tenacity, bravery and humour shines through the book all the way. I could also see the joy of being free from all other responsibilities apart from to your boat, the sea and your travel partner, alone in the middle of an ocean and the sadness when it all came to an end. I do wonder how you settle down to "normal" life afterwards!

[liza · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really lovely read.