Is Crossing The North Atlantic In A Rowboat Your Dream?

• Blog author, Cynthia Ross Tustin.
• Avid Retirement Explorer
• Crossing the North Atlantic in a rowboat. Is that your retirement dream?  
• Posted Monday, December 6th, 2021
• Innisfil Ontario
• This is my 34th post this year.  And I’ve created a vlog-umentary for the occasion!
• My thanks to Feedspot! For naming me #35 on their list of Top 45 Canadian Retirement Blogs!

Retiring? Wondering What To Do With Your Time?

Are you thinking of retiring?

Maybe you’re considering retiring early?  I was…and I did. Retire early I mean.

My biggest dilemma wasn’t the when to retire early.  It was the what do I want to do next.  For me, it’s about writing, and learning new things.  For others it’s about caring for family members.  And still others, it’s about big, or even extreme, adventures.  Those are the kind that require retiring while still being healthy enough to do them.

We can’t all be Yuichiro Miura, the oldest man to climb Everest (the Japanese mountaineer who accomplished that feat at 80, back in 2013).

Granted, my dreams of being a retirement explorer-slash-internet sensation are truly grandiose.  But you know with absolute certainty,  that my goals of doing something physically extreme are non-existent.  Going back to school?   Maybe.  Travelling to exotic countries?  You know the places.  They’re the ones that contain a Q or an X. Definitely.

But retire early to cross the North Atlantic; in a rowboat; by myself; during hurricane season? Not a freakin’ chance!

One Man’s Early Retirement Adventure – Cross the North Atlantic in a Rowboat

As a retirement explorer, I’m looking at all facets of retirement; and all the things we can do.  Some of that exploring is literal, some of it’s researched, and some of that exploration is done vicariously (millennials aren’t the only ones surfing the web).

Meet David Bell, Dinger to his mates.  David retired early from the British Royal Navy a few years ago to pursue a twenty-year dream.  That dream was to solo row across the North Atlantic. 

I found Dinger on social media while I was researching for an interview about veterans and emergency first responders and PTSD.  Dinger popped up in the search.  He was raising funds and awareness for mental health and wellness in the UK veterans.  Veteran groups like the Royal Boat Service Association and the Rock to Recovery organization.  Not really what I was looking for.  But why pass up an opportunity to procrastinate?

I started watching him in the beginning of the summer, early in his row; and just shortly after he set out from New York.  I was hooked! I’d get up every morning and check his progress on Instagram.  And like thousands of others, sent messages of encouragement.  Wishing him well.  And hoping for his safe arrival in the UK.  It was hurricane season after all!

This is a herculean feat.  Fewer than 60 people have ever successfully completed a north Atlantic rowboat crossing. I just kept asking myself why would someone do that?  What were the dangers?  What’s it like to feel that small in all that vastness? How did he prepare? What did he eat? 

And then I figured, what the heck, I’d just ask him.

What Was It Like? Why Did He Do It?

This is my 34^th blog post about exploring retirement.  And I wanted to do something special as I approach my one-year self publishing anniversary.  Today’s post is a vlog-umentary, and uses the theme Retirement Explorer.  Granted,” vlog-mentary” is a made-up word; but it’s my made-up word (thank you Natalie for the idea!)  The video documentary, and this blog post, are the highlights from Dinger’s adventure, and my interview with him after his 118 days at sea.  And I’m pretty psyched about it!

You should know that David is incredibly modest, and unassuming.  Avoiding the limelight is more his style.  He will tell you, that if he hadn’t been raising money for charity those two charities, no one would have known he was even out there.   That is except for the dedicated small crew that tracked him from New York to the UK and provided constant weather updates.  He had originally planned to crossed the pond in blissful anonymity.

Prior to the trip, he had no social media presence at all.  Dinger’s adventures, and what changed his mind about sharing his story, are the subject of today’s Retirement Explorer video documentary and this I’m thinking about Retiring Blog post.

Our Conversation & Dingers Voyage Footage

https://youtu.be/3E9jRDGATXc

Now that Dinger’s completed his solo row from New York to the UK, and he’s back on dry land, he continues to champion mental health and wellness for veterans from the Special Boat Service Association, and the Rock to Recovery organization.  To date, he’s raised over 65,000 pounds.  Should you wish to champion this cause as well, I’ve provided the link here.

As for David Bell and his retirement plans, well, I’m sure he’ll keep those close to the vest.  But I have no doubt that they’ll be anything but boring!  Drop me a line. Let me know about your retirement adventures.

I have one simple request for all of you.  Please consider forwarding this to friends and family.  It will help keep Dinger’s solo row for the mental wellness of UK veterans top of mind.  And by extension, the veterans in your own countries.

Cheers,

Cynthia

All photos and video are from Dinger himself (except for the map.  That’s I-Stock). And a special thanks to Don Wright from Running Rabbit TV for the editing!

I acknowledge that the land on which I live is the traditional territory of the Wendake-ionwl,  Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ , Mississauga, and Haudenosaunee peoples.