Browns Point Elementary Schools had its last Student of the Month Assembly honoring students for their great "perseverance" on May 8. Two or three students were chosen from each classroom K-5.
PTA Co-President Kerri O'Farrell found a wonderful young man to speak to the students about perseverance. His name was Jordan Hannsen, a graduate of the University of Puget Sound and his rowing race story is below. Students and adults were inspired and amazed at Jordan and his team's perseverance as they listened and marveled at his slideshow about the race across the North Atlantic Ocean. Jordan's team won despite the hardships because of their perseverance.
On June 10, 2006, Dylan LeValley, Greg Spooner, Brad Vickers and Jordan Hanssen stepped into a rowboat, OAR Northwest, as the only American competitors in the first ocean rowing race across the North Atlantic Ocean. In the first few days, the four friends from the University of Puget Sound established a commanding lead over the other competing teams, Seven Oaks, Yorkshire Warrior and Commando Joe, all English teams.
This initial lead did not last long as the OAR Northwest’s crew searched for the powerful Gulf Stream current while the other teams chose the geographically shorter Great Circle route. Once the Gulf Stream was found, the gamble paid off and the rowing team gained another substantial margin. By this time Team Seven Oaks had dropped from the race.
OAR Northwest struggled to leave the Gulf Stream current and head northeast towards the invisible finish line—a 50-mile wide gate starting at the Bishops Rock lighthouse in the Scilly Isle Archipelago off the coast of Cornwall. Taking advantage of this, the Yorkshire Warrior and Commando Joe teams tried to close the lead a second time. However, a combination of determination and a lucky weather window allowed OAR Northwest to keep its lead and cross the finish line to win the race on their 68th day at sea, a week ahead of Yorkshire Warrior, the closest competition.
Despite having to ration food for the majority of the race, the OAR Northwest team chose to row the remaining 70 miles to Falmouth, UK. This resolve made them the first team to row from the mainland of the United States to the mainland of the UK without assistance—and secure a Guinness World Record 72 days after leaving New York Harbor.
Read the story, “Puget Sound Grads Row Across Atlantic Ocean and Into History Books” at www.collegenews.org/x6021.xml for more information and check the OAR Northwest Web site at www.oarnorthwest.com. Information on the race is available at www.oceanfoursrowingrace.com.