As you may imagine there are plenty of steps to be taken in order to row across the Atlantic.
Team name, logo design, team members, reason for doing the row, boat, equipment...these are just a few items to be finalised to even set up a competing team.
This is how we are getting on so far.
Step One - Reason for doing the row.
We decided to look at a fertility charity as both Dan and I are going/have gone through fertility issues. We looked at the various options and decided to go with Fertility Network UK. They accepted our request to row for them and a call was arranged to introduce ourselves and get acquainted.
Step Two - Team name and logo.
One area of fertility treatment is IVF (Invitro fertilisation). Probably one of the more well known by the public. We realised that with a slight tweak on the word Invitro, we could make a word that easily connects the fact we rowing for fertility and also the fact that we are taking on a rowing challenge.
We started putting ideas around for a design, and, hey presto, a month or two later and we have our final logo design.
Step Three - Set up a social media account and website
As I (Phil) am pretty shocking on the computer, I let Dan mostly design the website and Instagram account. He worked on it for several months until he was happy, and then by magic, we were set up online.
Step Four - Enter the race
We contacted the race organisers Atlantic campaigns and specified our interest in the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge.
We got in touch with a local photographer, took some very nice photos and set up a team profile, filled out the necessary information, paid the entry fee, and we were officially in.
12 months on from the conception of our mega challenge, we are further ahead in our preparation than we initially expected.
Please look out for the next instalment on our journey.