How to Be Happy: Spend Five Months Rowing Across the Atlantic Ocean With Your Fiancé

Source: By SARAH TRELEAVEN

Posted: 09/25/08 2:24PM

Filed Under: Health

How to be happy. That's really what it all comes down to, isn't it? Even if life has been chugging along at a fairly joyous pace, most of us would admit a little more happy couldn't hurt. Often all that requires is a gentle reminder of how good we already have it or a simple tweaking of our glass-half-empty perspectives in order to turn the tide.

This column does just that. Each week, Sarah Treleaven seeks out someone who has gained wisdom and insight into how to live a happier, more fulfilling existence and gets their best advice.

Last week:Is helping others what makes Angelina Jolie so happy? The more you give, the more fulfilled you'll feel

This week: How to be happy by embracing adventure. Shortly after their engagement, Julie Angus and her now husband, Colin, decided to row across the Atlantic Ocean. Angus, a molecular biologist who lives in Courtenay, BC, chronicles their adventures in a new book, Rowboat in a Hurricane: My Amazing Journey Across a Changing Atlantic Ocean. Here, she discusses cramped quarters, inclement weather, and how coming close to death changed her life.

Q: What inspired you to embark on this adventure?

A: From an early age I loved adventuring vicariously through books, but it wasn't until I moved to Western Canada for my graduate studies that I became more involved in the outdoors. I was intrigued by the coastal rhythms of salmon and tides, and yearned to learn more; exploratory trips by sea kayak ultimately evolved into my five-month journey in an ocean rowboat.

Q: Describe your living conditions.

A: Cramped and uncomfortable. A rowboat is a tiny place to spend five months with your husband. There is limited escape from the elements, and the living/sleeping quarters make the area beneath a kitchen table seem spacious. When it's stormy, waves constantly crash over the rowboat, drenching whoever was rowing and dribbling through holes in the cabin like a form of Chinese water torture.

Q: Tell me about the ecological perspective you gained by taking this trip.

A: During this journey I spent more than 2,000 hours observing the ocean. One of my favourite moments was straight out of a National Geographic documentary: watching schools of flying fish soar through the air with Dorado fish in pursuit from below and magnificent frigate birds hunting them off from above. Despite these moments of abundance and balance, we saw many signs of an imperiled ocean. We observed far fewer sharks throughout this journey than explorers in previous decades, a sad reality of the dramatic declines this top predator has endured, which not only endangers their species but the balance of the entire ecosystem. But the most overtly distressing sight was a massive line of trash we encountered in the Caribbean Sea, plastic bottles, bags, rope, discarded toys and other rubbish brought together by ocean currents in a two-metre thick swath stretching into the horizon.

Q: You were hit by four cyclones, including two hurricanes, on the trip. What was that like, and were you terrified?

A: We were first hit by Hurricane Vince; the most northeastern hurricane in history. Given that we were in a part of the ocean where hurricanes have never before formed, we were shocked. We prepared our boat for the storm by nailing shut all cabinets, readying our emergency survival bag and life raft, and running through emergency drills. It wasn't long before the ocean churned with five-story waves and winds over 100 km/hr. We were in the midst of the hurricane, 180 kilometres from its eye, and there was nothing we could do but ride it out, huddled in our cabin and bracing ourselves against its padded walls. We spent three and a half days trapped in our cabin and that was the most terrifying time in my life. We emerged bruised and exhausted, but exuberant. Then we had the unfortunate experience of reliving a similar experience three more times.

Q: How did you overcome the physical exhaustion? Did you ever want to give up?

A: When we first began I was exhausted after a few hours of rowing, and I couldn't even fathom the thought of continuing for 8-12 hours a day for months on end. But eventually my blisters turned into calluses, my seasickness abided and my pained muscles grew in size. Really the biggest challenge was psychological. There were more than a few times when I wished I could press a button and be home. Poor weather, slow progress, loneliness and other factors can make it difficult to maintain an upbeat attitude.

Q: How hard was it to spend such an intense amount of time with your fiancé?

A: When Colin and I began this journey we had been engaged for a year and were quite worried how the stresses might affect our relationship. We definitely had our tense moments, especially when we were tired, scared, or stressed, but we had no choice but to work through them and I think that's something that has made our relationship stronger. Returning to land was a bit of an adjustment. When we arrived in Costa Rica we had a large crowd of reporters and locals greet us, which was overwhelming after being in such a solitary environment for so long. But at the same time, it was nice having someone besides Colin to talk to.

Q: Has this whet your appetite for adventure? What else do you have planned?

A: After completing this trip I thought I had enough rowing to last a lifetime, but it wasn't long before we were planning another trip centered on rowing. For the last seven months I've been rowing and cycling through Europe and the Middle East in an expedition we dubbed Rowed Trip. We chose the route to connect our ancestral homelands, beginning in northern Scotland where Colin's parents are from, travelling through Germany (my mother's home) and ending in Syria, my father's birthplace.

Q: Are you glad you did it? How did it change your perspective?

A: It was a life-altering experience. Living in an environment with so few creature comforts, where my life was on occasion at risk, redefined my view of what was important in life. As clichéd as it sounds, the things that are irreplaceable-friends, family, health-took on immense importance while material wealth became a lesser priority. I don't know if it's made me a better person, but I do call my mom more often.

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