in 2018 Colin abrini became the first
person ever to cross the Antarctic
continent alone unsupported and
completely human-powered now he's
trading his skis for orders as part of
an elite team attempting to become the
first people in history to roll from
South America to Antarctica through 600
miles of the most treacherous and
unpredictable waters on the planet the
Drake Passage
I believe something we all have inside
of us which is these reservoirs of
untapped potential to achieve
extraordinary things
set the world record for the explorers
Grand Slam which is to climb the tallest
mountain on each of the seven continents
as well as complete expeditions to both
the North Pole and the South Pole so I
climbed the tallest mountain on each of
the 50 US states in just 21 days became
the first person to cross Antarctica
solo unsupported unaided there's a lot
of people asking a big question which is
what is next so the next thing I've got
my sights set on is to try to become the
first to ever cross the Drake Passage in
a rowboat although I've never rode a
boat before in my life I want to explore
new avenues of my mind and body and so
that for me the Drake Passage is an
incredible opportunity to do this
the Drake Passage is the waterway
between the southern tip of South
America and the Antarctic Peninsula is
known in the world of seafaring as one
of the most dangerous if not the most
dangerous waterway in the entire world
as the Southern Ocean the Atlantic and
the Pacific all converge and you know
you're gonna confront most likely you
know 30 40 foot swells you've got
icebergs you've got freezing cold
temperatures brutal storms wind weather
rain and to take that on you know not
just in a you know a sailing vessel but
in a rowboat where you're actually
having to generate all the power
yourself the emotional fortitude to keep
rowing in those conditions are going to
be very very very extremely
your route obviously won't be perfectly
straight with the waves and the currents
and whatnot but aiming right for the
peninsula so bypassing those outer
islands so to do this expedition and to
go down to Antarctica you can't just
take a vessel down there on your own
there's a lot of rules and regulations
that Antarctica requires and it requires
an assisting vessel so this will be the
first big expedition that I will
actually get to see and attend running
the logistics from the ship will be
quite interesting won't be like life on
land where I have planned projects
before it'll be a dynamic impairment to
work from from the water and from the
ocean and then I'm excited for it wide
open ocean Drake Passage and then
landing on a Nordica no big deal I love
laying eyes on it after all the planning
and preparation it's amazing to see it
the rowboat itself is just over 25 feet
in length it's basically a Spartan as
you can possibly imagine smaller of the
two hatches the co skippers will share
this one it's also where all the
navigation and stuff is so we'll be
controlling more since we're in the
leadership role the other four will
share this compartment back here it's a
little more spacious two people in there
but now the thing to imagine is there
will always be people rowing 24/7 the
boat itself needs to be in continuous
motion because the Drake Passage is so
intense that if you stop propelling
yourself you drift really quickly
constantly in this cycle of 90 minutes
on 90 minutes off
three guys rowing three guys resting
continuously crossing the Drake Passage
the safest part about this whole entire
situation right is that the boat self
rights this boat hypothetically in a
massive storm remember to flip over it
automatically flips back in massive
storms when it's kids maybe too hectic
for us to even row at all we need to
have all six of us inside with the
hatches batten down and if we're all
inside at the same time there's
basically enough room for us to just be
shoulder-to-shoulder huddled up might
last you know two or three days until
the storm subsides enough for us to be
able to continue to row this new
expedition is a completely different
challenge you know there's not just one
team member it's not just calling out
there on the rowboat
you're hungry you are 30 you are injured
you are tired well wet it's dark it's
blowing you know it's noisy it's scary
it's many things and when you put it all
together
it's major fascination for me here my
mum thinks I'm completely insane but I
see a different way I think that these
things can't be overcome I love pushing
my physical limits because I was afraid
of heights
started climbing mountains that gave way
to a passion for discovering what else I
could take on
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my elementary school principal and a dad
and was the captain of the Yale crew
team not a lot of experience with ocean
rowing just trying to do something that
is it felt to me like once-in-a-lifetime
I just left the water and a lot of open
water swimming in the ocean
I love rowing it's an amazing experience
for me is to really push my own
boundaries to try to find the edges of
human potential within myself I've kind
of identified myself as an athlete from
a very young age won my first state
championship in swimming when I was 8
years old then ended up getting the
opportunity to swim at Yale University
not long after graduating from college
ended up on this beach in rural Thailand
and were some guys literally jumping a
flaming jump rope it looked like a fun
activity so I went ahead and jumped this
flaming jump rope in an instant my life
changed you know the Rope wrapped around
my legs 25% of my body was severely
burned if I didn't think the physical
trauma was enough the emotional trauma
was even worse when a doctor walked in
he looked me straight in the eyes he
said you know I hate to tell you this
Colin but you'll probably never walk
again normally
my immediate response was looking down
at my legs like life as I know it is
over but my mother she kind of just kept
at me with this love and this positivity
and ultimately one day encouraged me to
kind of close my eyes and visualize my
future and in that moment I visualized
myself crossing the finish line of a
triathlon which is not something that I
had personally ever done before a year
and a half after being told I would
never walk again normally I found myself
at the start line of the Chicago
triathlon
you know crossing that finish line that
day there was a complete and utter
surprise I hadn't actually just finished
the race but I won the entire Chicago
triathlon that burn accident and
ultimately that recovery and what I
learned about myself that's where the
seeds were sown to kind of continue to
pushes the edges of my own potential
Colin really strives to inspire others
so when he goes out there doing these
things he is looking to push his own
personal limit but it's really in an
effort to showcase that we are all
capable of this that what we strive to
accomplish what we dream to do and be is
totally within our own capacity that's
what makes him tick pushing his limits
and finding his potential and sharing
that with others
the next expedition it's gonna take a
wild arrangement to actually make it all
happen and come together we plan as best
as we can of course we know that we'll
be encountering setbacks and obstacles
along the way there's a line line
between excitement and fears but I'm
really looking forward to it it's hard
to say what exactly I'm gonna be facing
on the Drake Passage but it's safe to
say that it's gonna be one of the most
treacherous experiences of my entire
life
follow the expedition in real time on
discovery