Kinvara’s Karen Weekes has set off on a record breaking attempt to row solo across the Atlantic.
The University lecturer has worked with elite and non-elite athletes and will cross from Gran Canaria to Barbados on her boat Millie, named after her mother.
If successful, she’ll become the first Irish solo female to row any ocean.
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Karen has set off on her Atlantic rowing attempt this morning (Monday, 6th December) from Gran Canaria to Barbados
The journey is expected to take approximately 70 days. If successful, Karen will be first Irish solo female to row any ocean and the 20th female in the world to row an ocean solo.
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Karen is a lecturer at Munster Technological University since 2004 on the Health and Leisure degree. With a PhD in sport psychology, Karen has worked extensively with both elite and non-elite athletes, specialising within the endurance genre.
Endurance exploits have been a passion for Karen for all her life and has included both water and land based journeys, including cycling solo across Canada (Vancouver to Halifax) 4003 miles / 6442 kms, circumnavigating Ireland by Kayak (1,000 miles) and climbing Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya in Africa.
Through the #shecando2021 campaign, Karen aims to encourage females to push themselves outside their comfort zones. Furthermore she aims to bring awareness of
the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - specifically gender equality and ocean conservation and sustainability.
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The #SHECANDO2021 aims and ethos
1. To get Karen across the Atlantic, with people sharing the journey, through the preparatory and ‘action ’phases of the row.
2. Provide a platform for encouraging women, and girls, to push themselves outside their current comfort zone and to believe in their abilities to succeed both in their work and everyday lives.
3. Increase female participation in adventure sports.
4. Illuminate two of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, specifically ‘gender equality’ and ‘life below water’, which focuses on the conservation of oceans and marine life.
The #SHECANDO2021 team are working hard to ensure these underpinning philosophies remain prevalent throughout the entire campaign.
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Quotes from Karen
“The boat is called Millie, after my mother. She was a very positive person and it would be nice to have her along the way…it would be meaningful”
“The only way this boat propels is by my power. The reason you go down so far south [the Canary Islands] is to try to catch the trade winds, so they should help me across as well, but primarily it will be from rowing”
“When I really get into the rhythm of things, I would hope to be rowing about 16 hours a day and then the rest of the time is feeding yourself, sleeping, doing navigation and doing updates for home”
“When I was cycling across Canada, I was looking up other female solo cyclists who had crossed Canada. I thought I would relate better to seeing how a female coped with it. There really wasn’t many. I think having somebody who has done it before makes it easier for other women so my plan, as part of the SHECANDO campaign, is to provide a platform for other girls and women to do things that push them outside their comfort zone”
“I’ve done a lot of endurance journeys before this, so this is really the next logical step for me - a feat of endurance to try and push myself mentally and physically further”
“Having Hanley Energy on board as a lead sponsor is such an important part of the SHECANDO2021 campaign. The fact that members of the Hanley Energy management team are watersport and outdoor enthusiasts means they have a genuine understanding of what is involved in undertaking something like rowing solo across 3,000 miles of Ocean.”
