Four men from the United Kingdom are hoping to break a world record while participating in groundbreaking Parkinson's disease research — by rowing non-stop for 1,900 hours across the Indian Ocean.
It is a feat successfully completed by only half of those who have attempted it: rowing 5,700 kilometres from Western Australia to Mauritius in a 29-foot boat.
But the No Great Shakes crew are rowing for a different reason — they are taking part in a world-first study on how ongoing exercise can affect someone with Parkinson's Disease.
Robin Buttery was diagnosed with young onset Parkinson's disease just before his 44th birthday.
While his diagnosis was a challenge, he said rowing the Indian Ocean would be in a totally different league.
"I want people to see how something like this affects somebody with Parkinson's disease so they should see the good, the bad and the ugly," he said.
"It is obviously putting myself on show a little bit, but I want them to see how it affects me compared to somebody who is able-bodied and fit."
Mr Buttery said he rowed occasionally in his youth, but the stretch across the Indian Ocean was expected to take more than 60 days to complete.
"Just under 48 hours is the longest I have been rowing on the sea as one stint," he said.
"So I am definitely the novice of the crew, some would say I am mad but I am definitely keen to push myself."
A first for Parkinson's researchers
Researchers from Oxford Brooke University will monitor Mr Buttery and the crew's skipper Billy Taylor, who does not have Parkinson's as a control.
Senior clinical research fellow Johnny Collett said this was the first time this type of physical challenge had been researched for Parkinson's disease.
"We suspect that this is the first time researchers have come across anyone with Parkinson's wanting to row an ocean," Dr Collett said.
"It is a rather niche pastime.
"But anecdotally, people with Parkinson's who have done extensive amounts of exercise have reported it benefits their Parkinson's."
Researchers have spent the last year assessing Mr Buttery and Mr Taylor, who are both the same age.
They will collect information, using cameras fitted to the boat, while the crew are at sea.
Dr Collett said the research aimed to see whether repetitive exercise was beneficial to those with the disease.
"We will assess them again after the row to see how the exercise and repetitive action of rowing has effected their cardiovascular and metabolic systems," he said.
The results will be used in the university's ongoing research program into Parkinson's disease, with the hope of helping improve the lives of those living with the condition.
A personal challenge
Two other experienced crew members will join Mr Buttery and Mr Taylor on the journey — Barry Hayes and James Plummley, who in 2013 was part of a record-breaking team who were the fastest to row non-stop around the UK coastline.
Mr Buttery said, despite having an experienced crew supporting him, he would likely find the journey difficult.
"Obviously, I am going to have struggles with tremor," he said.
"All extremes can bring on tremor — cold, physical exercise can bring on tremor, so that is definitely going to happen.
"Cramps are something I get and I know I will get those while rowing extensively."
The crew will row non-stop day and night on a two-hour-on, two-hour-off shift pattern with no support crew.
Sleep deprivation and exhaustion are things that could affect the crew, but that is the least of their worries with extreme weather conditions, tanker vessels, whales and sharks likely to meet them along the way.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-06/no-great-shakes-mission-to-row-the-indian-ocean-for-parkinsons/9932242
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