Most people spent Christmas Day enjoying a delicious meal around the table with their family. Lieutenant Commander Hugo Mitchell-Heggs spent it eating rehydrated reindeer stew in a tiny rowing boat in the middle of the Atlantic. But at least he had company in the form of three crewmates. The rowers were taking part in the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge, one of the world’s toughest rowing challenges – 3,000 miles (2,800 nautical miles) from the Canary Islands to the West Indies.
A submariner and Freemason, Hugo first took part in the race as the founder of HMS Oardacious in 2019/2020, completing the crossing in 37 days and raising almost £120,000 for the Royal Navy’s mental health charity – before having another go in December 2022.
‘We will get flat, calm conditions where the ocean is like a millpond, but we will also experience waves that are 20 feet high,’ a cheerful Hugo told FMT from the Canary Islands as he prepared boat and crew before the race. ‘That’s like living on a flume; eating, sleeping and rowing on a log flume, 24/7 with no respite.
'There are obviously extreme lows from the soreness and physical pain of it all, but it’s the most phenomenal experience,’ he said. ‘We learn about who we are – not just what we are physically capable of, but from experiencing the campaign as a whole. Rowing is just a fraction of it. We learn how to engage charities, to outreach with schools, carry out public speaking – it’s a way of inspiring people and we feel inspired by doing it.'
This year’s Atlantic Challenge featured 40 teams who raced unsupported, other than for a couple of yachts that tracked the fleet in case of an emergency. That meant each 23-foot rowing boat needed to contain everything required for the four rowers: a rescue dinghy, clothes, medical supplies and huge quantities of food and water.
Rowers consume up to 5,000 calories and drink 10 litres of water each day as they row in a gruelling rotation of two hours on, two hours off, with two men on the oars at night and three during the day. That leaves little time between stints at the oars for those essentials such as eating, sleeping, going to the loo (in a bucket) and washing – infected cuts can be a major problem, so self-care is important. But despite the risks and the extreme physical exertion, Hugo maintains it’s a peaceful, almost meditative, experience. ‘All you have to focus on is consuming calories, pushing, pulling and sleeping,’ he said.
As well as serving as a submariner, founding HMS Oardacious and preparing for the arrival of his first child, busy Hugo is a member of Westminster and Keystone Lodge, the same Lodge that his brother, father, uncle and late grandfather all attended.
‘It’s a really nice way to connect with people who knew my grandfather as a younger man,’ says Hugo. ‘Freemasonry is a big part of my father’s life and he always has positive things to say. I am proud to be following in their footsteps and share a special bond with people who knew my family. I feel passionately about giving and I know the Freemasons are one of the biggest organisations in the country when it comes to spreading positivity'
In 2019/2020, HMS Oardacious raised more than £110,000 to support mental health and wellbeing in the Royal Navy, and the campaign has since helped raise an additional £430,000 for a Submariner Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum. The current fundraising programme began in October and the team hopes to raise another £100,000. It’s a cause of great significance to many submariners, who understand the strain their profession places on them as well as on their families. One member of the team, Petty Officer Jon Norfolk, was recently diagnosed with PTSD.
‘I’d never really thought about the cause, but now it really resonates with me, and that need to support services for people and their families as well as those that have left the service,’ said Norfolk.
The 2022 HMS Oardacious team was made up of Lieutenant Commander Callum Fraser, who took part in 2019, plus newcomers Norfolk and Lieutenant Thomas Hutchinson. All are submariners, which meant they were prepared for the enforced intimacy of a tiny rowing boat and appreciate the importance of respecting boundaries. Norfolk explained that team chemistry is almost as important as fitness and, since training began in spring 2021, the team has worked with a sports psychologist to identify potential flash points, as well as undertaking targeted physical training to improve endurance and stamina.
Having been briefed on challenges such as capsizing, seasickness and heatstroke, Hutchinson welcomed the chance to focus on the fundamentals.
‘You are in complete isolation,’ he said. ‘You just get up and row, communicate with teammates and look after yourself for 40 days. The freedom that offers is what I was looking forward to the most. Then there are the wider implications of having a successful campaign – but that only comes if we are successful on the ocean.'
Hugo sees HMS Oardacious as a long-term endeavour and has already built teams for the next two races.
‘We are aiming to have a team compete every year,’ he said. ‘We have one selected for 2023 and they will be using a boat made from recycled material. We have an all-women team of Navy personnel for December 2024. That will be my legacy. I think this is my last race, but I want to pass the baton on. After you have done it once, you know what you are doing and you know how to engage with media and charities. We have schools writing sea shanties about our adventures and we partner with a global youth organisation that is doing science, technology, engineering and mathmatics, and innovation. We also work with the sea cadets and try to help people in socially deprived areas – that’s on top of the mental health charity work. It’s a lot more than just four blokes pulling on oars.'
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