Ted Welman and Jack Faulkner (Medicine 2014) met whilst studying Medicine at Imperial and are about to attempt to row the Indian Ocean in world record time. Together, they are Doctors Adrift and they will spend three months at sea, rowing 3600 miles in this time. You can find out more about the attempt and follow their progress on their website: doctorsadrift.com. We caught up with them before their trip...
Can you tell us about your studies at Imperial?
"We really enjoyed the six years we spent at Imperial, both the Medicine course and the Reynolds bar! We were involved in a lot of extra-curricular activites including IC Golf, ICSM Boat Club and ICSM Snow."
What is your fondest memory of your time here?
"All IC Golf Autumn and Spring Cups!"
Tell us about your upcoming adventure…
"We are currently in the final stages of preparation to row across the Indian Ocean to raise money (hopefully £100,000) for MSF. If successful, we will be only the fifth pair to complete the 3600 mile crossing. To put it into perspective, over 5000 people have climbed Mt Everest and over 500 people have travelled into space!
The row itself will consist of rowing in shifts of two hours, 24 hours a day for approximately three months. We are hopefully going to give the world record of 85 days a good stab too! Our training has consisted mostly of regular strength and conditioning sessions combined with long stints on the rowing machine to mimic our routine on the water. We are so grateful to Sport Imperial for giving us access to the Putney Boat House for our training."
How did the idea come about?
"We actually came up with the idea of an ocean row whilst studying at Imperial over a few beers in the Reynolds bar! Unfortunately, neither of us had drunk enough to forget it the following day… We initially tried to arrange the challenge during medical school but found it wasn’t feasible. The idea continued to niggle both of us until we finally found an ideal opportunity to take a year out of our foundation medical training.
The prep has taken a full 14 months to get us to the start line and we’d be lying if we said it hadn’t been tough. An expedition like this is incredibly expensive and we are very grateful to our very generous sponsors who, in combination with a lot of extra hospital shifts, have helped us get this far."
What will you miss most?
"Definitely a full nights sleep in a comfy bed! Also the ability to talk to someone other than the other one! We’ll also definitely both be excited by a hot non-powdered meal!"
What are your plans for the future?
"We are both planning on starting core surgical training on our return from the row. Ted then intends to pursue a career in plastic surgery and Jack in ENT."
What are you most proud of in your life?
"Ask us in 3 months!"
Jack and Ted's advice to current students
"Just because a challenge seems unachievable, it doesn’t mean it isn’t. Life is short!"