Product Description

When James Cracknell and Ben Fogle decided to compete in the
Atlantic Rowing Race, they thought they knew what awaited them: nearly
three thousand miles of empty ocean, stormy weather and colossal physical
stress. But as the security of dry land became a distant memory, the full
enormity of what they had committed themselves to became apparent: they
were surrounded by ocean on all sides, hundreds of miles from home, trapped
together in a tiny space for every waking moment. Winning the race was
clearly going to be the least of their worries.

Forty-nine days later Cracknell and Fogle were the first pair of rowers to
cross the finishing line. They had pushed themselves physically,
psychologically and emotionally to the limit. They survived without water
rations, lost the few clothes they had, capsized, hallucinated, wept,
fought, played games, grew beards, nursed blisters and rowed a staggering
2,930 miles.

The Crossing is the extraordinarily honest account of James and Ben's epic
race. From cooking in a force eight gale and rubbing cream into one
another's blisters to swimming with whales and believing your partner has
drowned, this unputdownable account takes the reader to the very heart of
James and Ben's journey: a race that forced both men to face the truth
about themselves.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30493 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-12
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Synopsis
When James Cracknell and Ben Fogle decided to compete in the Atlantic Rowing Race, they thought they knew what awaited them: nearly three thousand miles of empty ocean, stormy weather and colossal physical stress. But their epic journey would become at times, a living hell that tested the strength of every fibre of their being. Yet, forty seven days later, James and Ben were the first pair to cross the finishing line - overtaking one of the fourman teams in the process - becoming the first British pair ever to win the race. They pushed themselves physically, psychologically and emotionally to the limit. They survived without water rations for two days, lost the few clothes they had in a freak wave, capsized, hallucinated, wept, fought, played games, grew beards, nursed blisters and rowed 2,930 miles. They will never be the same again.

Customer Reviews

Row ,row, row your boat
Read the book and then watch the DVD and seems like two diferent accounts of a journey accross the atlantic, though I suspect the book is a far meor honest account of the voyage.Ben and James were like chalk and cheese but some how it worked. Not a taxing read at all but welll worth the time and effort. Will definately read the book again!

Two naked men in a boat....
If you missed this when it was shown on tv (briefly in a one off show) then this is the story of Ben (TV host, bit posh) and James (Olympic rower, v competitive) and their race to row across the Atlantic. Its all fairly self explanatory - find a rowing partner, buy a boat, row in straight line, meet friends and family on other side of ocean. But things are never that easy.
This book gives you both sides of the story, and makes it very clear that Ben and James didn't always get on. The arguments, tantrums, bickering and resentments all make this a more honest account of their journey. I like the format of this book, in the sense that you get one account first, then followed on by the others, leading you to draw your own conclusions when sometimes they don't add up.
The actual race itself sounds amazing. The team were very underprepared and no-one thought they stood a chance of even starting, but somehow they made it. Then its all about the hard slog across the Atlantic including highlights of rowing with dolphins and the low points of capsizing in the night.
This is a great book, thoroughly recommended for anyone who is an armchair adventurer.

A journey you will read over and over again
Gripping, terrifying, heartbreaking, amazing, emotional, courageous. Just a few of the words describing the race whilst reading this book. They start as ill-equipped outsiders and finish as the first pair to cross the Atlantic in one of the greatest races since records began.

I was never popular of Ben Fogle from Castaway 2000, however since reading this book in just a few days my assumptions of him were changed dramatically. A must read for anyone who doubts the book will not be as good as this review makes out!