Posted: Apr 08, 2009 12:45 am EST
(TheOceans.net) The Indian Ocean Rowing Race starts April 19 from Geraldton, Western Australia to Mauritius where the teams and boats are arriving already. Team Dueto, Roger Haines and Tom Lee, will be the team with the most summers behind them. ExWeb’s Correne Coetzer caught up with them in the UK before they left for Down Under.

ExplorersWeb: How do you know each other?

Roger: We met at The Skiff Club in Teddington, at which I'm now Captain. This was approximately 5 years ago when we were both new to any form of rowing/sculling and we both learnt to scull these traditional fixed seat Thames Racing Skiffs that are actually about the same length as the boat we'll be using for our trip, although it's somewhat wider and more suited to the job, thankfully.

ExplorersWeb: Have you done races together before?

Roger: Yes, we raced together in the early days of skiffing, although due to Tom's work commitments abroad I went onto race at a higher level with other members of our club, especially my girlfriend Amanda Leach. We've also competed together in two Great River Races, once in a skiff and last year in our Ocean Racing Boat - 'Dream It Do It' or 'DiDi' for short.

Tom: We have also competed together in the Great River Race for the last few years. This runs for 22 miles on the Thames, from Ham to Greenwich.

ExplorersWeb: Why do you two get along well or work well together?

Roger and Tom: We have complementary characters, as borne out by our Sports Psychologist, Amanda Owens, from Believe Consulting. We've been working with her to explore exactly that point, whether we are compatible under the extreme pressure and conditions that we'll face. And thankfully she confirmed our impressions that we'll make a cracking team, able to support each other through the ups and downs.

We both share the same sense of humour and naturally fall into our specialist areas of expertise when we're on the boat. We very scarily look like brothers and often get confused for each other by those that do not know us so well.

We've already been through sea trials under some testing conditions and just got on with the job, so no need for shouting at each other, there's just this almost sixth sense of what needs to be done and who's best to do it. So we anticipate that this teamwork will continue throughout the journey.

ExplorersWeb: What is your rowing/adventure background?

Roger: Very limited in terms of rowing adventure. The longest row to date that I've experienced was on the River Thames, skiffing upstream over 5 days the 125 miles up from Teddington to Lechlade only to then turn around early next morning to do the return journey non-stop in 44 hours. Other experiences, all done to support Asthma UK, have included 2 parachute jumps, 2 London Marathons, 4 Swimathons and a cycle ride around Iceland.

Tom: I served in the Royal Navy, firstly as a diver and warfare officer, then had many attachments to the Army. I have also worked in numerous hostile environments, such as the Rwandan refugee camps during the crisis in 1994, in Angola, Sierra Leone and Algeria during the wars.

I have also completed fifteen parachute jumps and cycled extensively in the UK. Motorcycles are another passion and I usually go abroad at least once a year on my bike, although perhaps not this year. Hill and mountain walking are also interests of mine, although I have yet to get to grips with climbing!

ExplorersWeb: How have you physically prepared for the Indian Ocean Race? Did you have individual training programs apart from rowing together?

Roger: Most of our training, other than the two sea trials, have been on our own due to Tom's commitments working abroad. Mine has taken the form of a lot of gym training at The Meadhurst Club, Sunbury, who kindly gave both of us free membership and personal trainer sessions.

The style of ocean rowing requires a very different stroke, very upper body biased and often only one arm at a time, so the focus has been on strengthening the associated muscle groups. We've also been supported by Richmond Physiotherapy who has provided tailored exercises to target any specific areas where we've had old injuries or weaknesses, ensuring that we're in prime condition for the start.

Tom: I have followed more or less the same routine as Roger, although due to working in Africa and travelling extensively, I have found my routine broken on occasion. I have recently got right back into the groove however and feel ready for this challenge.

Part 2, final: Mental preparation, rowing procedures, sleep routine, special treats, clothes or no clothes and pre-race feelings.

The WoodVale Indian Ocean Rowing Race starts April 19th, 2009 from Geraldton, Western Australia to Mauritius. It is a distance of approx 3550 nautical miles, making it the longest rowing race in the World.

Roger Haines was born in 1958. He lives in Teddington, Middlesex, England, where he works as an Independent Management Consultant. Roger is divorced, but is with a new partner, Amanda Leach. He has two daughters by my previous marriage, Charlotte 24 and Livvie 22.
Roger’s hobbies are Building an Ocean Rowing boat, Skiffing, Walking, and he has not much time for others recently, he said, but like to do major DIY/renovation work.

As for reading he said he has no time for reading other than rowing related stuff. His favourite movie is Top Gun, ’’Hey I'm a guy what else!“ Favorite Food: ’’Anything cooked by Amanda (good answer?), Thai, or a good old fish finger sandwich and baked beans (still a big kid).“

Tom Lee was born in 1964. He also lives in Teddington, Middlesex, England and works as an Banknote and passport supplier to African governments. Tom is married to Jenna. They have two sons, Oliver (8) and Edward (6).

Tom’s hobbies include motorcycles, Classic cars, Skiffing, Diving, and anything to do with boats. He reads any adventure book. Regarding his favourite movie he said, ’’ Although Top Gun is right up there, The Italian Job (with original version) is my number one.“ Tom said he is not fuzzy about food so long as it is not fish and cooked by Jenna. Both men don’t have favourite music, but their music taste vary from the classics to heavy rock to fit their mood.

It took over 750 hours to assemble their boat, which measures 23.4 ft long and 6.3 ft wide. Roger planned to arrive in Fremantle, Australia, around 29 March, the same time as the boat should arrive. It then has to clear customs and travel by road the 400km north to Geraldton, where he will be ready to receive it from 2nd April, “hopefully undamaged from the journey”, he said to ExWeb.

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