Swedish rowers crashed with whale

An unexpected close encounter for two Swedish rowers in the middle of the Atlantic 

  • Anders Albelin and Viktor Mattsson, two friends from Härjedalen, are competing in the Atlantic Ocean Race 2011 (aka the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge), which means they are rowing across the Atlantic Ocean. Photo from their website: http://2VANNER.SE/

  • Two Swedish rowers, Fredrik Albelin and Viktor Mattsson, are trying to row across the Atlantic Ocean. But their adventure took an unexpected turn when they ran into a whale 1,000 miles into what is considered the "World's Roughest Rowing Race".

  • Did a recent close encounter with a whale set the two friends back in the race? Hopefully not.

  • “Without any warning, the boat was thrown probably 20 meters (65 feet),” Viktor said to daily Östersundsposten. High waves, strong winds and broken tubes of Calor gas were a few of the things the two rowing friends had gotten used to after a week on the ocean, but encountering a whale was something new.
    “It felt as if we had run aground,” continued Viktor. “The boat was thrown and landed on its edge. I was sure it would flip around. After a while I saw the whale.” The Swedes are now in 9th place (of the 17 who have registered in the race Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge). They are a few hundred nautical miles away from Barbados but still have over 2000 miles left to row. You can follow them on: http://2VANNER.SE/
    Härjedalen Kommun - information on 2 vänner (In Swedish only)

  • Practicing a few strokes, likely along the coastline of one of the Canary Islands prior to taking off on the 3,000 mile-journey.

  • The teams will follow the ‘Columbus Route’ westbound across the mid-Atlantic from Spain’s San Sebastian de la Gomera in the Canary Islands to Port St Charles in Barbados, rowing an estimated 3,000 miles over roughly 50 days. There are two solo rowers and fifteen two, four or six person crews.