Wick pair set for epic round-Britain rowing challenge
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When Allan Lipp and Mhairi Ross dip their oars into the water and make their way out of Wick harbour at the end of May, they will be embarking on an epic challenge that has never been completed before.
Over the following 60 days, or possibly more, they will be battling wind and tide as they attempt to become the first mixed pair to complete an unsupported circumnavigation of the British mainland by rowing boat – raising tens of thousands of pounds for charities in the process.
The couple hope to attract media coverage around the coastline and they see it as an opportunity to put Caithness "on the map".
Allan is coxswain of the Wick RNLI lifeboat and Mhairi is a Wick-based paramedic and volunteer lifeboat navigator. They have taken up to three months' unpaid leave for their round-Britain adventure, which they are calling Stormy and Steth: The Long Row Home.
Their carbon-fibre boat, a Rannoch R15, is just seven metres long – "absolutely tiny", in Mhairi's words – but has proven its credentials on transatlantic crossings.
They hope to raise at least £30,000, to be divided between the RNLI and Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA), and have been training hard in preparation for their departure.
"We're aiming for around May 27 but it will be dependent on the weather, so we're waiting for a weather window to let us go straight across the Moray Firth and just keep rowing," Allan said. "We are keen to try and exploit that.
"It's unlikely it'll be anticlockwise but it is a slight possibility. If we get a decent enough window we'll just crack on and go for it, and that gives us the whole summer then.
"We want to succeed and we want to do it by getting home in one piece as well. To do that we've got to manage the risk, and weather and tide is a big part of that.
"We're quite fortunate that we've got good skill sets ourselves but we've also got the support of local contacts in the RNLI around the coast.
"The company that built our boat, Rannoch Adventure, are the industry leaders in ocean rowing.
"Anyone that rows the Atlantic, it's generally speaking in a Rannoch boat. They are experts in it and they've come on board to support us.
"They'll be offering strategic support – guidance on weather and tide and routing, as well as our contacts around the coast.
"This boat has been across the Atlantic twice in previous ownership, so it's a well-proven design.
"After the last crossing it did, it got shipped back to the UK and it was fully serviced and we bought it for doing our challenge."
Allan and Mhairi will face an unrelenting routine of "row, eat, sleep". While one person grabs about an hour of rest in a tiny cabin at the back of the boat, the other will keep on rowing unless they need to be at anchor.
The key word is "unsupported". It means, in effect, that they are on entirely their own, unassisted, with the only connection to dry land coming through electronic communications.
Along with essential equipment they will be taking all their food for the voyage in the form of dehydrated ration packs. The boat is fitted with solar panels and has a desalination unit for turning salt water into fresh water.
Mhairi explained: "We need to take on approximately 5000 to 6000 calories a day. And, because it's classed as unsupported, once we leave Wick we can't take any provisions from anybody.
"We can't touch dry land and we can't accept provisions. The only form of support will be the guys that are doing the strategic planning and the weather routing. That's a safety feature, a must-have."
Allan pointed out: "We couldn't even come into a harbour and tie up on the quayside or in a marina, so once we leave Wick we're either at sea or at anchor. Even a passing boat throwing a Mars bar at us would be seen as support."
One well-wisher from the RNLI in the south-east has offered to paddle out by kayak to deliver two fish suppers. "I said thanks very much but we can't accept that because it's an unsupported row," Allan said. "It's not just her, there's folk from all over."
Sometimes both will be on the oars and sometimes one person while the other takes a break. "We've got to be super-flexible," Mhairi emphasised. "And even when we're at anchor, one of us has to be awake."
The couple have been building up their fitness by training on their own gym equipment at home as well as venturing out to sea.
Allan: "Ideally we'll be rowing 24 hours, one on and one off. That won't always be the case.
"If we can achieve about 30 miles a day, that's quite good progress. We were out this weekend past, Saturday and Sunday, and we did about 12 hours of rowing over the two days and we managed 25 miles.
"If we can keep going at that sort of pace we're in a really good position. We've done a lot of training and I think the training has actually paid off."
Allan (44) is originally from Alness, while Mhairi (47) grew up in Edinburgh and moved to Lewis when she was 13. They came to Wick in the summer of 2019.
"We're not from Wick originally, we're not from Caithness originally, but we live here – this is home now," Allan said. "So we want to start and finish from here. That's important to us.
"But it's also an opportunity to put Wick, and Caithness, on the map. There's a lot of good here. It's a nice area and it's full of nice people. Just highlighting that is quite important."
An online fundraising page has been set up at justgiving.com/team/stormyandsteth and the couple are seeking corporate sponsors. Anyone wishing to find out about corporate sponsorship packages can email stormyandsteth@gmail.com or go to Stormy and Steth's Instagram or Facebook pages.
"It's a massive undertaking in itself but it'll hopefully be really good for both charities," Allan said.
"This is the RNLI's 200th anniversary this year and the SCAA was 10 years old last year, so they are two significant milestones. And there is such a need for both."
Mhairi pointed out: "Both charities are very relevant to this area, and they do work together on occasion. The initial target is £30,000 and hopefully we'll smash through that."
They are well aware of the unpredictability of the sea around Britain, even in summer.
"We're looking forward to it but apprehensive at the same time because there are so many variables," Mhairi said.
"We're also aware of how quickly things can change. There's a healthy respect for the power of the sea."
Allan added: "We've been out there in nasty conditions doing all sorts of things and you probably appreciate it a bit more, what can happen.
"It's a small boat, we can't go particularly fast, so we've got to be thinking ahead more than you would in a boat with an engine. In a boat with an engine you can just press the 'go' button and put the throttle down and drive yourself away from whatever danger or weather you're experiencing, whereas we don't have that luxury.
"It's a bit of a risk setting off so early in the summer season – but, after the winter we've had, we're kind of hoping that we get good weather."
It will be a test of mental strength as much as physical endurance.
Mhairi said: "You get to a point physically where you can either do it or you can't. But mentally we're going to go to places we've never been before."
- Current corporate sponsors: Zensar Technologies; AngelNav; Pentland Ferries; The Pat Munro Foundation; LGR Joinery; G&A Barnie; Donald S McGregor & Partners Ltd; Big Bobble Hats; UpNorth Biltong; Newfield Communications; The Country Spa, Lybster.
