A view of Blackburn Boats (Photo Courtesy Cape Ann Rowing)
Mapping the race (Photo courtesy of Cape Ann Rowing Club)
Grit. Endurance. Faith.
These can be things we muster to get through Covid, AP Physics, Costco on a Sunday and definitely Thor: Love and Thunder. But this weekend it will be what is required of the brave folks paddling, rowing and otherwise human powering themselves in the annual Blackburn Challenge—a 20+ mile open ocean circumnavigation around Cape Ann.
The event celebrates and keeps alive the harrowing story of Howard Blackburn. Born in Nova Scotia in 1859, Howard Blackburn arrived to Massachusetts at the age of 18 looking for work as a fisherman, which he found in the thriving seaside town of Gloucester.
In 1883, at the age of 24, Blackburn was fishing on the schooner Grace L. Fears when a horrific winter storm broke. At the time, Blackburn was away from the main ship in a small dory with his shipmate Thomas Welch. The storm pushed the men far so away from the ship that returning was impossible. The only hope was to begin the long row toward land.
Knowing that his hands would likely freeze Blackburn kept them tightly curved around his oars so that he could continue to row despite losing the use of them. Two days passed. Welch gave up and laid down on the floor of the boat to die. Blackburn continued to row. Five days later having had no food, water or sleep, he reached the shore of Newfoundland. There, he took Welch’s body ashore for a proper burial. In the end, frostbite took all of Blackburn’s fingers, many of his toes, and both thumbs to the first joint. But he had survived and returned to Gloucester a hero. Grit.
As it turns out, Blackburn’s grit was not specific to the events of 1883. In 1899 he attempted to sail single-handed across the Atlantic Ocean. The task had been accomplished by Alfred Johnson in 1876 and Joshua Slocum in 1898, but they had all of their fingers. In 1899 Blackburn sailed from Gloucester, Massachusetts in a modified fishing sloop, the Great Western, and reached Gloucester, England 62 days later. Endurance.
All of this brings us to this Saturday.
In the honor of Blackburn’s indomitable spirit, paddlers, rowers and everyone in between will gather in Gloucester for the 2022 Blackburn Challenge. The only big rules are that your craft must be self-powered and that you finish in six hours. However, in the details, we find a bit of the salty spirit of Blackburn as well. From the race website:
You will be paddling, rowing, or drowning in a 20-mile open ocean event. The inherent risks for hypothermia, hyperthermia, or other physical medical emergency is possible. The inherent risks for natural open ocean conditions are very large waves, mixed up current, strong wind, fog, precipitation and lightning during storms and you may be exposed to these or more. You are responsible to rescue yourself should you overturn. You are responsible to wear the safety equipment needed for this kind of extreme event including whistle, life vest, and communications as in handheld VHF. Man eating fish are present in the ocean. There are fishing vessels and much boat traffic creating hazard for collision. Faith.
And so, we wish all of the participants in this year’s Blackburn Challenge the best of luck. Dig deep. Have fun. And hopefully, somewhere, the man for which this race is named is smiling (and has all his fingers back).
Event details: The Blackburn Challenge, July 23, staggered starts from 7:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at the Gloucester Marina in the Annisquam River, finish line opens at noon at Pavilion Beach in Gloucester. Awards ceremony and festivities begin at 2 p.m.
