Meet one of the oldest men to row the Atlantic

As the fireworks lit up the sky, the crowd cheered and small rowing boats pulled away from the harbour at La Gomera, Canary Islands, Lovedean’s Guy Munnoch started to pull his oars out of the water.
Pictured, left to right on the podium, is: John Moorhouse, Guy Munnoch, Steve Hughes and Mike Winn. Picture: Atlantic Campaign Penny Bird.Pictured, left to right on the podium, is: John Moorhouse, Guy Munnoch, Steve Hughes and Mike Winn. Picture: Atlantic Campaign Penny Bird.
Pictured, left to right on the podium, is: John Moorhouse, Guy Munnoch, Steve Hughes and Mike Winn. Picture: Atlantic Campaign Penny Bird.

He is one of the four members of the Ancient Mariners who tackled the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, which started on December 12, 2019.

Forty-nine days, eight hours and 40 minutes later, Guy and his teammates reached Antigua on January 30, successfully completing the challenge while becoming the oldest team of four ever to row across the second largest ocean in the world.

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Guy, 67, says: ‘I was fairly nervous before we left. I always think success comes down to two things: preparation and luck.

The team at the end of the challenge. Picture: Atlantic Campaigns Ted Martin.The team at the end of the challenge. Picture: Atlantic Campaigns Ted Martin.
The team at the end of the challenge. Picture: Atlantic Campaigns Ted Martin.

‘We knew this was going to be a physical and mental test.’

Guy and his three teammates – Mike Winn, 64, from Frome, Steve Hughes, 61, from Scotland, and John Moorhouse, 63, from Manchester – had a combined age of 257, which would break the current record by 33 years, but is still under verification.

However Guy, who is the chairman of Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC, was no stranger to enduring challenges. Following his 21-year career in the British Army, Guy climbed to the summit of Mount Everest, trekked to both the North and South Poles and completed several ultra marathons. However, he says this challenge was very different.

‘This was my first challenge where giving up and turning back was not an option,’ he explains.

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‘Not only because you don’t want to let yourself and your teammates down, but also because it’s harder to get you out of the competition.

‘I approached the challenge with some trepidation. You cannot turn back once you’re on the boat. You’ve just got to get through it.

Guy laughs and says: ‘During our first rowing shift, we were on a high. Then the second to the 350th shift was worse.'

Despite the 150-hours worth of training each team-mate completed, the adventure across the Atlantic still pushed them to their limits. Guy explains: ‘You rowed two hours on and two hours off, 24 hours a day.

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‘During your two hours off, you would try and sleep but couldn’t. After you’d done your chores and washed, you only got an hour at a time.

‘You had to get used to the sleep deprivation in the first week or so. The first 10 days were tough. Physically and mentally, you’re struggling.

‘After you’ve been rowing for three hours, you don’t see anything else.

‘Throughout the whole 50 days, we only saw three boats on the horizon.’

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Open to the elements, the experience enabled Guy and his team to ‘get back to basics’, which is what initially attracted him to the challenge.

‘You were making your own water and preparing your own dehydrated packet food,’ he says.

‘The highlight of my day was dehydrated milk and my Sainsbury’s granola.

‘One of the highs for me was the isolation. Seeing a whale breach and fully come out of the water about 30 metres from the boat was amazing.’

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But with highs come inevitable lows and for Guy, battling 40ft waves was one of them.

‘ We were rowing up a wave but as soon as we got to the top, it started to break.

‘It flipped us 180 degrees. We nearly capsized and were very, very vulnerable.

‘But then on the other hand, when it’s really calm and there’s no wind or current, you feel like you’re not getting anywhere.

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‘You row very slowly at one mile an hour. And when you’ve got 3,000 to go it can be quite frustrating.

‘During a three-day period, we didn’t get anywhere – that was a real low. All you want to do when you’re out there is get to the end.

‘The worst shift was 2-4am and you would always get up a few minutes before so the person rowing didn’t have to wait around.’

But one key motivator and supporter for Guy was his wife, Katie, who greeted him in Antigua. While he was rowing the Atlantic for 49 days, he missed Christmas, New Year but also their 45th wedding anniversary.

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‘My wife had written me “blueys” [letters to deployed military personnel] for every week.

‘When you reach Antigua, you’ve had 50 days of seeing nothing and then all of a sudden you’re joined by dozens of little boats. As far as I’m aware, there are still people out there rowing.

‘Your legs and arms decay so you have to learn how to walk again. When I arrived I had never felt so hairy and so sober.’

Despite Guy vowing he would ‘not do it again’, the team did not suffer any major injuries, just ‘bad backs, bad shoulders, blistered hands and blistered bottoms’.

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‘Our aim was two months but we did it in 49 days. We were all really chuffed with that. I cannot describe it.

He smiles and says: ‘But this is my last big challenge – I have promised my wife.’

Guy and his wife Katie have enjoyed a two-week break in Antigua with ‘good food and good wine’ before Guy returns to work next week.

Rowing the Atlantic while supporting charity

This was not only a bid to break a world record, or just a chance to get back to basics.

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The Ancient Mariners also used this challenge to raise money for two charities close to their hearts – Blind Veterans and Open Arms Malawi.

Blind Veterans UK, formerly St Dunstan's, is a large British charity, providing free support and services to vision-impaired ex-Armed Forces and National Service personnel, and Open Arms Malawi provides care for Malawi's orphaned and abandoned children.

Guy says: ‘Steve Hughes and I both spent more than 20 years each in the army so we’re passionate about assisting the fantastic work of the Blind Veterans who support military personnel after sight loss who have selflessly served our country.

‘We wanted to give back to those less fortunate than ourselves.’

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John Moorhouse and Mike Winn have collectively spent more than 40 years in Malawi, so Open Arms is important to them. Guy adds: ‘They became familiar with the incredible work of Open Arms to care for orphaned and abandoned children and provide them with a brighter future.’

To donate money to their Just Giving pages, go to ancientmariners.net