Kiwi Shaun Quincey rowed the Tasman solo in 2010, in honour of his father who rowed across 1977 but in the opposite direction. He has been a vocal supporter of Team Gallagher and sent them this letter of encouragement shortly before they departed on November 27.
Hi Team - How bloody exciting to be at your departure point.
To be honest I am 20% happy for you and 80% jealous! It will be absolutely amazing rowing into Auckland harbour in a month or so and you all deserve the experience.
I guess I want to try and provide some sort of helpful advice or wisdom but i think you guys are incredibly well prepared and will have a blast out there. There are a couple of things that would have made my trip easier had I known about them in the first place. Take them on board if you like, or not - up to you!
1) Don't start counting down the days or predicting how long this may take, this can screw with your mind. It was probably worse by myself but the weather will 90% dictate how long you take. You're out there for as long as it takes and the sooner you get your head around that idea the better.
2) In choppy light head wind conditions, the sea anchor can be more effective in towing you through the water using the currents rather than hacking it out rowing for 24 hours. Obviously trial and error but worth it if you are only making 0.1 knots an hour, and it also means more recovery.
3) Keep the hull completely smooth, give it a once over every four days. Scrape and brush it.
4) Fill the bucket with water before you use it. Obviously take wet wipes.
5) Stay tied to the boat all the time when on deck. Super important: I got thrown across the deck a number of times and would have been in the water in no time without a safety line.
6) Most important of all: enjoy the incredible stars, the noise of the whales, the hundreds of visiting fish, the complete feeling of freedom, and of course being the first crew to row from Australia to New Zealand!!
Look after each other, visualize the finish. The harder it is the better the story.
Kia Kaha, Shaun Quincey.
PS: My dad wrote in my cabin "STOP, THINK, PLAN, DO" might help in keeping you safe.
Follow Shaun on Twitter at @tasmanrower