Sarah Outen

newbies on board

I am very pleased to welcome on board Biojoule, WaterRower UK and Expedition Medicine as Bronze Sponsors - Biojoule with finance and the latter with product sponsorship.

Biojoule are an Oxford-based company who specialise in sustainable woodchip fuel - both production and retail. As keen supporters of rowing they have kindly come on board as a financial sponsor of the project, with director Mike Mason giving me some useful insider knowledge to Mauritius, too.

I now have a beautiful Ash rowing machine in our greenhouse at home, where I am lulled into a trance by the sloshing of water as I paddle away on it. WaterRower UK have donated this to the project and I will auction it off after my training…so watch this space! It is easily the most comfortable rowing machine I have ever rowed and certainly the most stylish, too. A lovely piece of kit.

The wonderful folk at Expedition Medicine have been very helpful in devising a bespoke training package for my trip, which aims to leave me self sufficient in all things medical. I will be taught how to stitch and staple myself back together, all about the drugs I will need to take on board and all the ways in which my skin might blister, boil and bake. Lovely stuff.Very glad to have such a willing and expert team on board. Thankfully, in the event of a medical conundrum I will also be able to whizz them up on the Satphone for some advice.