LONDON CALLINGTHE 2027 PLAN
Questions before
the crossing.
Life aboard Nimbus, the route, and the preparations ahead.
When and where will you launch?
The crew hopes to leave Boston Harbor on a weekend in late May or early June 2027, probably from Mayor Menino Park in Charlestown. The date and launch location are still to be confirmed.
How far is Boston to London?
Approximately 3,250 miles. The illustrative route crosses the North Atlantic toward the Isles of Scilly, follows the English Channel, and turns up the Thames. Weather and currents will shape the actual track.
How long will it take?
The crew expects roughly 40–50 days at sea, depending on conditions.
Do you stop rowing at night?
The plan is to row 24 hours a day, with two people rowing while two rest. Bryan describes approximately one-hour shifts during the day and three-hour shifts at night.
Where do you sleep?
Nimbus has cabins at the bow and stern. The crew rests between rowing shifts.
What will you eat?
Freeze-dried camping meals, heated with a Jetboil. Two Jetboil stoves will be carried aboard.
Where does drinking water come from?
An onboard watermaker produces fresh water, powered by the boat’s battery system.
Where do you go to the bathroom?
There is no conventional bathroom on board. As Bryan explained on the original site, the crew uses a bucket.
How is the equipment powered?
Solar panels charge three lithium batteries for navigation equipment, the watermaker, and Starlink. The available power depends on sunlight and what is running.
What about safety?
The planned life jackets inflate automatically and include AIS transponders, lights, whistles, and strobes. The crew will be tethered to the boat. The safety page distinguishes the current plan from the original training and equipment checklist.
What happened in 2024?
The expedition was suspended following mechanical and electrical problems. The crew was brought to safety and Nimbus was recovered. The original journal preserves the updates from that attempt. Nimbus is now stored at Hyannis Marina.
How can I follow the trip?
Follow the journal, YouTube channel, Instagram, and Facebook group, or join the email list. The route graphic is illustrative; live tracking has not yet been connected.
How can I help?
Support the expedition through Bryan’s GoFundMe, explore the crew’s chosen causes, or contact Bryan about sponsorship. Fundraising links are on the support page.
Read the original site’s FAQ · historical archive
These details were written for the earlier expedition. They preserve the original account and are not a confirmation of the 2027 crew, certifications, equipment readiness, or schedule.
FAQ
Where do you go to the bathroom?
This question is almost always asked first and I find that so interesting. Of all the things one might ask, the first thing is generally about the toilet. Well, there is no actual bathroom on board. We have a bucket and we toss it overboard when we are done. Be courteous, and rinse the bucket carefully before putting it back on the deck should be a motto.
Where do you eat?
We eat freeze dried food, like in mountaineering or the military. You can just add hot water and poof you have a meal. They are surprisingly not bad. We use a little device that heats water called a jet boil and generally the guys who aren’t rowing make the meals for the guys that are.
There is no support boat. Once we push off from shore on the Charles River in Boston, we are on our own.
What happens if you need help?
We can radio any boat in the area for assistance. Maritime law requires that they help if they can. We are in a fairly high traffic transAtlantic lane and there is probably someone within 50 miles or so at all times.
Where do you sleep then?
We have a small cabin at the bow and stern of the boat. The two people in bow swap back and forth while the two people in the stern swap back and forth between rowing and resting. It’s surprisingly not bad. You’d be surprised how well you sleep after rowing for a couple of hours
What happens if there is a storm?
That hopefully won’t happen, but the boat is build to weather some pretty big waves. When you seal it up it becomes air tight and and roll with the waves like a cork. If it gets really bad, we can put out an ocean anchor that will slow us down and keep us from tumbling.
How many hours a day do you row?
12. We take shifts. If the first shift is at noon, it would be for two hours and then swap. It would look something like this:
Noon – 2PM A-Team (working title)
2PM – 4PM B-Team (working title)
4PM – 6PM A -Team
6PM – 9PM B -Team
9PM – MidN A- Team
MidN – 5AM B- Team
5AM – 10AM A -Team
10AM – Noon B-Team
What about sharks?
We have been asked not to feed them.
What other animals do you expect to see?
Birds, lots of birds even out in the middle. Whales, they are very curious and will come right up to the boat. Maybe swordfish, sharks, possibly orca, but hopefully a Narwhal, our mascot.
How many days do you expect it to take you?
It’s roughly 3,500 miles and we hopefully going to go 3.5 MPH for 24 hours a day. It would only take us 41 days. 3.5 MPH is tougher than you might think. Anything can happen with current, weather, exhaustion…we are expecting it will take us 45 days.
Where are you landing?
We are planning on landing at Big Ben on the Thames in London.
Why are you doing this?
Life is a series of adventures and well this is a big one. We will literally be challenging ourselves against the elements and ocean and well for a certain type of person, this is our drug of choice. Plus, it is a great way to support various causes that mean a lot to us. If people find this interesting and take notice, maybe they will support the things we care about. (cough cough Veterans for me.)
How do we follow you during your trip?
You will be able to follow us online from this website, we will do call ins, and send home pictures and maybe even some video. Plus when it is all said and done, we are looking to make this into a documentary – more details to come.
Where do you get a boat like this?
This boat was build by Spindrift. They are a boat manufacturer out of Washington State. Here is a link. https://www.spindriftrowing.com/