Our intrepid adventurers may have gone to sea in a tiny boat, but that’s not to say it is limited in its technology. And whilst we wait for our rowers to adjust to life at sea (so that they can have the energy to send footage home), this pre-recorded video shines a light on the Whaleboat’s unique autopilot system. 🎬
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Many rowing boats (if they have an autopilot at all) will use a tiller system, i.e. a lever or ram that pushes the rudder one way or another based on a bearing. Most tillers are designed for faster moving vessels, and so when applied to such a slow moving boat, it is constantly adjusting causing them to wear out, overheat, or simply break. 😩
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The Whaleboat has a more solid solution; one that is integrated with the chart plotter. Our system is connected to the rudder by an electrical actuator with a clutch system which takes a lot of strain off the steering components. The construction also takes up zero cabin space, but is still easily accessible. 🙌
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The benefits of this system go beyond reliability, ease of access and maintenance: The crew can program a route in the chart plotter (all the way to Miami if they so wished), and as long as they keep rowing and don’t need to change course because of the weather, that autopilot will get them to Miami! 🇺🇲💪
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In the case of an emergency, or for tight manoeuvres in a marina, they can switch to a manual steering system from the deck, that overrides the autopilot (more on that soon!) 🔜
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The boys are feeling a lot better, and all mouths aboard the boat are now eating which is fantastic! 😋
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The land support team are really enjoying the engagement from you all! So let us know if there is anything you want to know about this amazing crossing. Tell us in the comments and we can cover it in a post soon! 🙏
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Read about the ocean crossing on www.jointhefrontrow.be
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Main partner: @Libecohome
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Creative geniuses: Yanina and Felix from @andre_and_leon at www.andreleon.be
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#whaleboat #jointhefrontrow #boatbuildingisanart #libeco #whaleboatO28 #Braca-sport ...

And they are off!!! 🚣
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Shortly after 10:00am local time on the 25th February 2021 the Front Row began: After a huge effort to get to the startline Koen De Gezelle, Gijs Vanden Bogaerde and Jelle Veyt have now pushed away from Portuguese land. If all goes to plan, the next piece of land they touch will be some 7,000km away, in Miami... and this crew will be the first people in history to row non-stop and unassisted from mainland Europe to mainland USA! 🇪🇺🌊🚣‍♂‍🌊🇺🇸
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They are crossing in a carbon fibre Whaleboat O28 ocean rowing boat named ‘Jan Martens’. Named in honour of Koen’s boat building mentor, it is perhaps the most progressive ocean rowing boat in the world, with rain water collection, a zero waste policy, a thermal solar unit, a hydroponic greenhouse (yes you are reading that right!), and more prototyping technology to create a self-sufficient tiny house on a big ocean. 😲
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The crew on board the Jan Martens require knowledge of the vessel inside and out and significant mental fortitude to take on an adventure of this magnitude. @Koendegezelle is the owner of the Whaleboat company, he built Jan Martens, and @gusengineering is an engineer who works closely with Koen in the development and construction of the boat. As a professional adventurer, @jelleveyt 's mental fortitude cannot be questioned. Not only did he cycle to the startline in Portugal from Belgium, when he gets to Miami, he will cycle on to Alaska as part of the "Secutec Seven Summits" challenge.
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It is amazing to see this amazing team finally able to begin their epic voyage. How long will they be at sea? The truth is, nobody knows! We estimate around 80 to 90 days, but as nobody has done this... the team will be finding out as they make their way across the globe. This will be a fascinating adventure to follow! 🌍
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This phenomenal project is not possible without the generous help of so many supporters. Donations are gratefully received over at www.jointhefrontrow.be/#donations.
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Find out more at www.jointhefrontrow.be
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Creative geniuses @andre_and_leon
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Fritz the weather router…….he says ‘YES!’ 👍
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Thursday the 25th February…the Whaleboat ‘Jan Martens’ will push off from the shores of Portimão, to begin the ‘Front Row’ expedition with the intention of being the first boat in history to row non-stop from mainland Europe to mainland USA! 🇵🇹🌊🚣🌊🇺🇸
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Tomorrow, Koen, Gijs and Jelle, will clamber into their cutting edge vessel, aim their bow at the horizon, and start rowing! 🌅
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We’ll be there throughout to highlight this incredible adventure, and why this boat is making everyone in the ocean rowing world sit up and take notice! 📝
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All eyes on Whaleboat tomorrow – this is an expedition not to be missed! 👀
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Read about the ocean crossing on www.jointhefrontrow.be
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Main partner: @libecohome
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Creative geniuses: Yanina and Felix from @andre_and_leon at www.andreleon.be
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Episode two of our "things you need to cross an ocean in a rowing boat" series, is called 'All About Water'! 🎬
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The crew of Jan Martens will be at sea for a long time. So where do the guys store all that drinking water? In short – they do not! 😮
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Instead, this boat is fitted with a desalination unit, otherwise known as a watermaker. 💦
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Gone are the days of ‘water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink’, now we have the technology to make water on the fly! But how does it work? ⚙️
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@Mark_Devos is our watermaker guru, who knows all there is to know about these things. Put in the simplest possible terms – a pump draws water from the ocean and lifts it into the watermaker. It goes through some filters to get rid of the lumpy bits (seaweed, krill and other large contaminants, then hits a very tight membrane – so tight that under normal pressure the membrane is actually waterproof and cannot be permeated. The pump forces the salt water against the membrane at high pressure (around a thousand psi) - this forces the pores in the membrane to open slightly (and we are talking 'slightly' on a molecular basis!), which is enough to allow fresh water to trickle through but the salt molecules are too large and so they are sent back into the ocean as waste in the form of very salty brine. This process is called ‘Reverse Osmosis’, and is the technical term for squashing water through an impossibly fine sieve until the salt falls out! 🧂
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This magical box that makes saltwater drinkable will be their lifeline for this crossing, so it's important that not only do they know how to fix it when it breaks, but they also have a backup manual water maker if all else fails. 👍
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Unfortunately, the weather has once again changed, and the launch date has now had to be put back to Thursday or Friday this week. Frustrating, disappointing, but safety is paramount on an expedition like this, so it's an important step towards a successful crossing. 🌤
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Huge thanks to Holland Nauta for the speedy delivery of our watermaker! 🏎💨
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Creative geniuses: Yanina and Felix from @andre_and_leon at www.andreleon.be
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Whilst we wait for the weather to stop messing around so that we can start rowing, we thought it was worth sharing a series with info on ’What do you need to row across an ocean??’🤓
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So here is the first episode, all about power!
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Ocean rowers need power for drinking water, steering, navigation tools, lights, comms systems, and even entertainment. Many teams have been challenged previously for many reasons; not enough solar panels, not enough sun shining, inefficient or damaged panels, not monitoring battery power carefully, or simply batteries that aren't up to the job. 👎
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To overcome these hurdles, we handed over to the electrical department... Rik and Cedric aka Sherlock Ohms and Dr Wattson! 🕵️
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Rik doesn't even use a multimeter anymore; he just uses his tongue. He's rated up to 3x400V AC! It's even been said that Cedric runs purely on solar power through his scalp, with a higher efficiency than the solar panels of the ISS! 🛰️
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As the first step to address this issue of power they went BIG with the solar panels. Not only have we now got highly efficient panels, we have also got a lot of them. ☀️
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Most of the energy will come from the solar panels on the port side (left hand side if standing in the boat looking forwards), because we will be rowing East to West and in the Northern Hemisphere so the sun will be on that side. However the efficiency of these panels means that the setup works for any route. 🗺️
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All of that energy is useless without energy storage. Our boat is cutting edge, so the normal lead acid batteries simply aren't on our shopping list. Instead we're using an enormous lithium battery! It's HUGE! 🔋
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Finally, the battery is monitored by a battery management system. This will be crucial - it means no more guessing, no more calculations on the back of a food packet. This tells us exactly what we have, when we have it, how much to use, etc, but it also stops the battery operating outside of its safe parameters. ⚠️
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Take a look at the video, where Gus explains all of this tech talk for you.📹
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Currently the weather is lining up for a Monday launch - as soon as we know we'll announce it here! 🗣️🌞
#jointhefrontrow #whaleboatO28 ...

Yesterday the good ship Jan Martens got her first taste of the Atlantic as she was finally launched! 🙌
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It’s strange to think that the next time she will get her feet back on land will be in Miami, Florida in a few months’ time! 😲
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And if you thought this boat looked great on land, just look at her in her natural environment! Poised and ready to take on the greatest adventure of her and her crazy crew’s lives, Jan Martens will be turning heads all the way across the Atlantic! 😍
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The boat is now ready, the crew are now ready, all the kit and checks and testing and procedures have been followed for their intended launch today…….but unfortunately that has now been delayed. 😩
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Due to a sudden developing depression which is heading towards the canaries, the advice from Fritz the weather router is to wait a few more days. It is frustrating for everyone, particularly for our rowers, but it’s an important step towards ensuring a successful crossing. 🌀
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The crew know that they will be experiencing some big weather once they’re in the middle of the Atlantic, but dealing with big weather whilst they are still close to land increases the danger unnecessarily – so for now, it’s time for Koen, Jelle and Gijs to stand down, relax, and refocus their minds for the day when the man that eats the weather maps says “Go”!
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Read about the ocean crossing on www.jointhefrontrow.be
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Main partner: @Libecohome
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Creative geniuses: Yanina and Felix from @andre_and_leon at www.andreleon.be
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#whaleboat #jointhefrontrow #boatbuildingisanart #atlantic #ocean #atlanticocean #oceanrowing #rowing #mainlandtomainland #libeco #whaleboatO28 #Braca-sport
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