Edinburgh surgeon part of trio of ladies set to row the Atlantic for mammoth 3,000 miles charity challenge
An Edinburgh surgeon is excited to be taking on a 3,000 mile row across the Atlantic with two of her friends later this year.
Jenna Volpert, 29, a surgeon at the Edinburgh Royal Hospital for Children & Young People, is part of the ‘Saltire Tides’ team which will set-off in December to row 3,000 miles from the Canary Islands to Antigua, with the trio aiming to arrive within 40 days, rowing around the clock.
Jenna will be joined by her friends - 26-year-old physio Lauren Wilde-Arnold from Aberdeen and 25-year-old physio Ellen Clark from North Berwick - to take on this incredible endurance challenge completely self-sufficient.
They are taking on this challenge to raise money for the Archie Foundation - which aims to transform experiences and outcomes in healthcare and bereavement for local children and families.
Jenna and Ellen spoke to the Evening News ahead of setting sail on the trip of a lifetime, revealing the surprisingly most difficult part of the challenge to arrange.
Jenna said: “Our team name was the hardest thing to sort out. It was the longest and most frustrating thing to sort! We wanted something that said we were a Scottish team and just makes sense for what we are doing, and this does the job and feels like it’s always been our name.”
She added: “We have to do the challenge in 40 days. We also want to beat the McLean brothers’ record - 35 days- which was incredible. So while the record is held by Scots, we would love it for Scottish women to hold this world record.”
Commenting on the trio’s big fundraising target, Ellen added: “Our target is £140,000, which is a lot of money. Almost half of it is for buying the boat, but we will sell on the boat after the challenge to get that part of the money back.
“We’re proud to support The Archie Foundation, having witnessed firsthand the incredible, life-changing work they do for children and families across Scotland. Their impact inspires us to give back in a meaningful way.
“So all the money raised will eventually go to the right place, which is great as it is such a worthwhile charity. It supports children in hospitals across Scotland, so obviously given we all work in hospitals it was easy to choose the Archie Foundation. Hospital can often be scary for a child, but this charity makes it more comfortable for them, and also supports their families.
“We not only want to raise money for the charity, raising awareness of it and what it does is just as important for us. So more people know about the Archie Foundation.”
During the challenge, two of the women will always be rowing, with shifts of two hours on and one hour off during the day, and three hours on and three hours off at night.
Jenna, who lives in Portobello explained that the trio’s minds as well as bodies need to be at their best on this challenge.
She said: “We will be unsupported on this challenge, completely self-reliant, having to fix any issues that arise all by ourselves. So we have to prepare ourselves to be ready for everything.
“It’s not just the physical challenge we need to be ready for, but also the mental side. Dealing with the isolation of just being three of us for so long, and living with nature and dealing with the dangers.
“I’m terrified of sharks so I’m not looking forward to seeing them in the sea!”
And will the trio be able to handle 40 days of living in such close proximity to one another while out at sea?
Ellen said: “We have lived together, we all graduated and started work at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee together, so we have known each other for quite a while.
“Obviously a rowing boat is different to a flat but we know we all get on and we all really want to do this together. It’s going to be a once in a lifetime experience that we are all very passionate about doing.”
She added: “We all come from active sporting backgrounds and we all feel strongly about encouraging women to push themselves and show there is nothing they can’t do if they put their mind to it.
“We are just ordinary people, simply pushing ourselves to our physical and mental limits to break records and accomplish our goals. It’s a stepping stone approach.
“We’re three ordinary women on an extraordinary adventure - out to prove that with enough courage and determination, anyone can achieve the incredible.
“Our mission is to spark a sense of adventure in others, to push beyond comfort zones, and to boldly say “yes” to the unknown.
“Training has been going well so far. It’s all been gym-based at the moment as we are in the process of buying our boat. We’ve done 60,000km rowing in the gym, but we hope to have our boat in March so it will be great to get out on the water.”
The trio have already raised more than £26,000 towards their £140,000 target, you can donate to their challenge by clicking here.