[SatNews] They did however see some amazing sights with great white sharks, whalesharks and whales circling the boat; these encounters were surpassed when Pete and Tom swam with the wild dolphins that had been keeping them company for some of their voyage...
The team at Two10degrees Pete Fletcher and Tom Hudson, who departed from New York in their row boat, the Macpac Challenger, on Thursday, May 21st to begin their intrepid ‘Dare to Dream’ journey of over 3,000 nautical miles have safely arrived in to Falmouth Harbor, UK.
Pete and Tom’s ambitious project was born out of a passion to test themselves in a new and unfamiliar environment, also proudly supporting the McGrath Foundation, one of Australia’s leading breast cancer support organizations.
Assisting with such an aspiring project, two10degrees provided full satellite tracking, monitoring and messaging capabilities by supplying the team with an Iridium Extreme satellite phone, coupled with their Global Alerting Platform (GAP) and Iridium airtime. The pair also took a Yellowbrick satellite device them, which also provides satellite communication via Iridium. The Yellowbrick device reported its position every two hours on to a live map. The live map which has been created via GAP for supporters to follow the journey can be found on the ‘Dare to Dream’ website.
Two10degrees’ software ‘GAP’ offered 100 percent availability throughout the journey, ensuring that Tom and Pete could raise an alarm and reach their emergency contacts, should an emergency situation have arisen. The GAP has also allowed the rowers to make important phone calls, send updates, position reports and upload messages directly to Twitter!
Before departing from New York, Pete commented “GAP has provided an indispensable solution for us to stay connected, and stay safe on our journey across the North Atlantic!”
Pete and Tom have endured every possible challenge in their journey across the North Atlantic. They battled with bad weather, currents and survived boat capsizes during three big storms, which created winds up to 55 knots and waves exceeding 30 feet. They did however see some amazing sights with great white sharks, whalesharks and whales circling the boat; these encounters were surpassed when Pete and Tom swam with the wild dolphins that had been keeping them company for some of their voyage.
During the 95 days at sea, Pete and Tom have captured the hearts of thousands with lots of messages appearing on their Facebook page and donations flowing in from across the globe to their McGrath Foundation support page.
Lucy Finlayson, Client Services Manager at two10degrees commented “This is an excellent application of our global tracking software GAP, there is so much reliance on communication in situations like this; and together with Iridium we have ensured peace of mind to Pete and Tom, their families and followers throughout the journey.”