BOOK US

ABOUT THE DUTCH ATLANTIC FOUR

The Dutch ocean rowing team The Dutch Atlantic Four are the winners of the toughest row race in the world, the Talisker Atlantic Challenge 2018. A rowing race of 5,000 km across the Atlantic Ocean from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean. The team, consisting of four different guys, learned in their preparation to use each other’s strength and to subordinate their personal ego to that of the team.

The team consisting of Marcel Ates, Erik Koning, Bart Adema and David de Bruijn know each other from Sloeproeivereniging in Haarlem. Here they row races of 10 – 35 km in 8-person lifeboats. When they unexpectedly won a sloop-rowing competition in Urk a few years ago, it all started. The euphoria that the rowers felt after that race in Urk was addictive, so we kept looking for new challenges that would bring the same feeling back up. In addition to the regular competition competitions, the rowing team registered for competitions in France, Ireland, Belgium, Venice and London. The adventures grew step by step and ended up in Russia in 2014 where they took me to the ‘Zhigulevskaya Krugosvetka’ or ‘Crazy River Race’, the world’s longest non-stop boat race of 145 km on the Volga. It was after this race that the men were interviewed by a local Russian newspaper. They were bluffing that they would row an ocean. At that time, the men had no idea which ocean it would be. The bluff became a joke that was often fooled about after rowing. Until the time came when the men put a bottle of whiskey on the table … the rest is history.

WHY BOOK US AS A SPEAKER?

The Dutch Atlantic Four give a visual presentation about how against all odds, “the old, the fat, the thin and the sexy”, managed to win this race. They tell you about the race, their preparation and in particular their mental preparation that made the difference. Not a boring PowerPoint presentation but a presentation of four enthusiastic guys, who inspire the audience to set goals and to start the adventure step by step based on images and stories. Make your own ego subordinate to the team ego and show that by choosing your attitude you can make a difference.